Ellie Pillai is Not Done Yet

By Author / Illustrator

Christine Pillainayagam

Genre

Romance & Relationships

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

Faber

ISBN

9780571387250

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

06-06-2024

Synopsis

Ellie Pillai has decided to be a better friend, daughter, future sister and all round Better Person. Which means Trying To Help and sometimes doing the exact opposite.

Armed with Dr Jada's podcast on how to beat heartbreak she's determined not to get distracted from her mission by Ash Anderson (ex-boyfriend), Shawn Kowalski (current bandmate) or the cute guy she just met at her Aunt's wedding (future husband?). Because Ellie Pillai is better than the boys she thinks she loves.

But then the song she wrote about heartbreak goes viral and suddenly all anyone wants to talk about is love and who she's going to choose, when Ellie Pillai wants to choose anything except that feeling of not knowing what you want. Throw in some exams, an audition for drama school, a record company in New York, a heavily pregnant mum and a Granny with a penchant for emotional blackmail and Ellie Pillai is more confused than ever. Why is being a better person so hard? And can you beat heartbreak, if you're not really sure you want to?

See earlier titles: Ellie Pillai is Brown Ellie Pillai is (Almost) in Love plus a Q&A with author Christine Pillainayagam introducing Ellie Pillai is Brown.

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Reviews

Ruth

Ellie Pillai is Not Done Yet, the third novel in the Ellie Pillai series by Christine Pillainayagam is as fabulous as the first two. Chock full of relatable teen issues, Ellie is once again exploring romantic and family relationships as well as negotiating her friendships.

In this book, she is particularly focused on trying to be a better version of herself, but even this is not without its challenges. As her world is about to change with the wedding of her Auntie and the imminent birth of a new sibling, Ellie tries not to lean on her friends following the break up of her book two romance. One constant remains, her love of music, and this permeates the pages of the story once again with QR codes which link to original downloadable tracks, making this media-friendly book a sure fire hit with young people.

Christine Pillainayagam continues to treat her readers to a likeable well rounded central character and she includes Ellie's thinking as she works through issues to illustrate the range of things currently affecting her, which many young people will relate to, including first love, family expectations, diversity and future plans.

The novel is littered with a variety of text conversations, making the book an easy read and very on trend. The cover once again is an attractive drawing of Ellie which is both eye catching and offers a great forward-facing dynamic shelving choice for all three complimentary books in the series. The chapters are 'prettied up' with doodles and the edges are coloured, also with added doodles.

Highly recommended for mid teen students and upwards.

416 pages / Reviewed by Ruth Cornish, school librarian