Out of Place

When twelve-year-old Cove Bernstein becomes the target of a school-wide bullying campaign, she sets out to find a way to leave her home on Martha’s Vineyard for New York City, where her best friend lives. But Cove discovers that friends can appear in the unlikeliest places, and maybe home isn’t the worst place to be after all.

Jennifer Blecher’s debut novel is a voice-driven story about bullying, friendship, and self-reliance that hits the sweet spot for fans of Ali Benjamin’s The Thing About Jellyfish and Erin Entrada Kelly’s You Go First.

Twelve-year-old Cove Bernstein’s year has gone from bad to worse. First, her best friend, Nina, moved from Martha’s Vineyard to New York City. Then, without Nina around, Cove became the target of a bullying campaign at school. Escape seems impossible.

But opportunities can appear when you least expect them. Cove’s visit to a secondhand clothing store leads her to a surprising chance to visit Nina, but only if she can win a coveted place in a kids-only design competition. Cove doesn’t know how to sew, but her friend at the retirement home, Anna, has promised to teach her. And things start really looking up when a new kid at school, Jack, begins appearing everywhere Cove goes.

Then Cove makes a big mistake. One that could ruin every good thing that has happened to her this year. One that she doesn’t know how to undo.

Jennifer Blecher’s accessible and beautifully written debut novel explores actions and consequences, loneliness, bullying, and finding your voice. This voice-driven friendship story is for fans of Rebecca Stead’s Goodbye Stranger and Jodi Kendall’s The Unlikely Story of a Pig in the City.  

Includes black-and-white spot art throughout.

One girl, a quiet island, and one big chance to find her way back to her best friend.

• Dealing with Bullying: When Cove becomes the target of a mean-girl campaign, she has to decide whether to hide or stand up for herself for the first time.
• Intergenerational Friendship: To win the contest, Cove needs to learn how to sew–fast. Her only hope is Anna, a retired seamstress at the local senior center with secrets and lessons of her own.
• Finding Your Voice: A moving coming-of-age story about discovering who you are when the person who knew you best is a thousand miles away.
• A Martha’s Vineyard Setting: Explore the sleepy, windswept island that feels like home for Cove, but also a cage she’s desperate to escape.