The Doughnut Club

By Author / Illustrator

Kristina Rahim

Genre

Representation & Inclusion

Age range(s)

11+

Publisher

Nosy Crow

ISBN

9781805133667

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

08-05-2025

Synopsis

A fresh take on family and what it means to fit in. Hugely commercial and filled with heart, this book is for every reader who needs help being true to themselves. Perfect for fans of Sarah Hagger-Holt and Benjamin Dean.

Donor-conceived Quinn loves her family, but she often feels the odd one out. Not only because she's the only one with red hair and green eyes, but because she would rather be quietly drawing than surfing or rock-climbing or whatever mad activity her mums and brother Olly might like to do on holiday.

But when Quinn's mums tell her and Olly they have sixteen donor siblings, Quinn is really excited. Maybe one of them will be more like her! The only problem is her parents want them to wait until they are older to contact anyone.

As she tries to secretly find out more, Quinn starts to lose sight of what's really important - especially when she starts to believe her worst enemy could be one of her siblings! Can she find a way back to her family, whilst finding a way to tell them how she really feels?

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Reviews

Louisa

Coming of age stories have always explored feelings of not fitting in - but how might those feelings be complicated if you didn't really know who one of your biological parents was, or how many half-siblings you might have?

Quinn is 12 years old and donor-conceived. She loves her family - her younger brother Olly (also donor-conceived) and her two mothers - but she can't make sense of the way she feels different from all of them. They love adventure sports; she likes drawing. They like action; she likes peace and quiet. With her red hair and green eyes, she doesn't even look like them. When her mums tell her that she has 16 half-siblings, Quinn is all ears. Maybe one of them will be like her!

Her mums are adamant that she is still too young to make contact, but she is desperate to meet them. Tracking them down secretly requires doing things she knows are wrong, but she can't stop herself. As she finds out more, worry mounts. What if her nemesis, the ghastly Monika, turns out to be her donor sibling?

Full of tenderness and humour, The Doughnut Club is fun to read and easily relatable, whether or not you are donor-conceived. I found it very thought-provoking, too. Despite growing numbers of donor-conceived children (and by 2030, it is predicted that there will be an average of one or two in every primary school), I've never previously seen a story for children that addresses what it would be like to be in their shoes. A good title for promoting inclusivity and understanding of difference.

288 pages / Reviewed by Louisa Farrow, teacher