Edie and her best friend, Oscar, are starting secondary school. Oscar is the sort of best friend you'd want to have - he even carries spare tights for Edie for when she falls over. Edie has Cerebral Palsy and this makes her wobbly and so she falls over quite a bit. When Oscar and Edie are put in different groups at school, they have to learn to adapt to not being so reliant on each other - something that Oscar, with his new friends (and girlfriend!) seems to find easier than Edie. It takes some gentle nudging from her teachers but Edie finds some new interests and starts to learn more about herself. A fab, funny story about the big move to secondary school, friendship, belonging and finding out who you are. Lovely!

I have CP, and I know it's cliche, but I wish this book had been around when I was a kid, Read it myself and then read it with my 8 year-old daughter. We had a beautiful time, and have now bought both books!

Love, love, love! The Amazing Edie Eckhart is so refreshing and fun! Rosie Jones is a brilliant writer and this book is effortless, educational and inclusive. This makes it an absolute delight to read!

I have to fall in line with every other review I have read of this book and say that I adore Edie Eckhart and loved reading her ‘diary’. And I would have loved it even more when I was a pre-teen myself and going through similar issues of identity, jealousy and confusion.

I love that the main character in the story has cerebral palsy, as there is definitely not enough representation of disability in fiction, but more importantly, her CP is part of who she is but not what the story focuses on. The heart of the book is Edie’s struggle to uncover who she wants to be, how she wants to relate to other people, and to understand and balance her conflicting feelings – relatable to anyone, of any age.

Funny, moving and extremely well-written, with a main character that will win your heart and hold onto it after the book has ended, this is an absolute must-read for all children, parents, teachers… everyone really!


Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

The Amazing Edie Eckhart is a stunning debut from comedian Rosie Jones. Entertaining and heartfelt, it follows Edie as she starts at secondary school, with all the trials and tribulations of friendship, first love and starring in a school play. Edie is a real and relatable character, flawed, fearless and funny, who just happens to have a disability. This superb characterisation is what makes The Amazing Edie Eckhart such an enjoyable read.

This was a hugely fun and a sweet diary format story about Edie, a school girl with cerebral palsy transitioning from Primary to Secondary school. Why does she have to make new friends? Can't she just stick with her all time BFF Oscar who is SO amazing he even carries around extra tights for her when she falls over? Are the teachers being too tough on her, or are they just encouraging her to try new things, especially when an opportunity comes along to be in the school play? Then there's the plan, the plan to get a 'boyfriend'. Highly recommended for fans of Jacqueline Wilson, Jen Carney's 'The Accidental Diary of BUG', and Dork Diaries!!

Edie is 11 years old a just about to start secondary school, Edie has cerebral palsy - she talks slowly and falls over a lot but this does not bother her.. Her best friend is Oscar and they do everything together.

When they start secondary school Oscar makes new friends and even gets a girlfriend, Edie does not know what to do without Oscar but her teacher encourages her to audition for the school play.

Through this Edie find new friends and learns not to rely on Oscar as much.

This book teaches about friendship and dependence on people and that you have to believe in yourself.

Such a lovely middle grade book, I read it to my daughter in the evenings before bed and we both really enjoyed

The writing was easy to understand and flowed nicely, so nice to read a story where some feels like they need to do certain things in a certain way. Discovering all these talents and hobbies she didn't know she had/like before and how growing up does mean changes but they can quite often be good changes which i think is a really important message for all children to know

Where to start?!

The writing of Edie is great, she is so funny and confident. Her ‘voice’ is perfect for an 11 (nearly 12!!) year old. She is carefree, strong, and not held back because of her disability. She does seem to fly off the handle a little, but, she admits when she is wrong and apologises! She expresses the common thoughts and emotions of young people starting Secondary School and the changes they encounter. We see Edie begin to grow up and find herself, her strengths, and her place in life, realising that actually, she doesn’t need to be like everyone else or necessarily fit in. She discovers new hobbies, friends, and love interests.

I love that the book is written in diary format, it feels like you are right there experiencing it all with Edie and not just viewing her life from a distance. The story is laugh-out-loud funny, with great one-liners and comments that make you think ‘yep, because it’s TRUE’! There is just the right amount of angst and cringe, it is fully relatable to teens/pre-teens.

I would recommend this book for everyone, including parents/teachers/adults of all kinds. There are excellent jokes that will make you giggle too, Clare Balding and Alan Carr both feature (lol), you’ll have to read the book to find out more!

The book contains excellent disability, LGBTQ, young carer, and sausage roll/pizza/Maccy D’s representation throughout. Jokes aside, so many positive elements feature casually and as the norm (as in life, and as it should be). This is exactly the kind of writing we need for children today, funny, bold, inclusive.

Recommend for all aged 8 and over! Will be getting a copy for our school library!

The Amazing Edie Eckhart is a fantastic middle-grade story about Edie, who is just starting out at secondary school. The book is the debut from Rosie Jones, a popular British comedian.

Edie is an average eleven-year-old girl; she has a loving family and a best friend named Oscar who shares her love of sausage rolls and Marvel films. She also has cerebral palsy which makes her a little wobbly, more likely to fall over, and a little slower at talking. Edie has always relied on Oscar to help her out – he even carries a special box around with him that includes plasters and spare tights – but at their new school they are put into separate classes and Edie realizes she won’t always be able to rely on him anymore.

Initially reluctant to be without her BFF, Edie argues with the school, but as Oscar begins trying out new hobbies, making new friends, and even getting a girlfriend, Edie begins to wonder if she had been allowing her disability and her reliance on Oscar as an excuse not to push her own limits. When an unexpected opportunity presents itself, Edie discovers that she has previously unrecognized talents and interests, and even begins to make some new friends of her own, but can she do it all without losing her best friend in the process?

This was an outstanding book from a new author who also lives with cerebral palsy, giving the story real insight into the experiences of a disabled tween taking those first big steps into real independence. Edie’s disability is obviously a key element of her story, but it never takes over to *become* the story. Instead, we see how Edie faces some big changes in her life, dealing with the occasional unthinking comment or obstacle as a result of her cerebral palsy but being a very average tween girl at the same time. This is very far from the kind of “inspiration porn” stories that are often shared regarding disability and is instead a story that is genuinely heartwarming and also laugh-out-loud funny, Sophie was also surprised and delighted to spot some strong, unexpected LGBTQ representation here too.

Sophie loved this one and is already hoping for more middle-grade books from Rosie Jones in the future and more from Edie Eckhart too.

I really like Rosie Jones, and this did not disappoint! It felt like the most refreshing children’s book I’ve read in a while, and I can’t wait to read anything else she writes, especially if it’s a sequel! The perfect read for any child who likes a laugh while reading, or is getting ready to make the move to secondary school.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Edie wants to be a writer and her mum has provided her with a new diary. She and Oscar are eleven, have been best friends since their first day in reception when he determined to make her legs better (she has cerebral palsy), and are about to start secondary school. However, they are put in different classes, which forms the catalyst for a whole host of new activities, friendships and preoccupations, all told in Edie’s voice with a great deal of humour.
The book charts their first term, and when Oscar joins the football team, Edie is encouraged by her form teacher to sign up for the school play. Thinking she is needed as a writer, she produces a script for “A Christmas Carol” but is persuaded to audition for a part and discovers her love of performing.
This is a funny, warm, positive and uplifting book. It celebrates difference, friendships, family love, first attempts at romance and finding your place in a group as your true self, as well as an extremely positive view of the wisdom of teachers!
A great read and an essential for a school library.

This is a fab new #UKMG #ownvoices story! All change on entering secondary school for #TheAmazingEdieEckhart [Really love the first few chapters of #TheAmazingEdieEckhart by @josierones! Edie has a fab best friend, a lovely little brother, great taste in clothes & chips, & has cerebral palsy. Thanks for the proof @HachetteKids #UKMG #DisabilityLit https://t.co/Wd30UurhP4]

Perfectly pitched for middle grade readers, this is the book I wish I’d read when I was eleven! Engaging, brilliantly casually inclusive and laugh out loud funny. It’s a joy to see gay and disabled characters and young carers represented in such a positive and fun way. The characters and their experiences of starting secondary school are immensely relatable. Rosie Jones has proven herself to be a stonkingly good writer with a fresh and relevant voice.

As a massive fan of Rosie Jones, I was super excited when I saw that she had released a children's book. Even more excited when I found out that the central character of said book would have cerebral palsy. The disability that Rosie Jones lives with.
I sped through this book, and immediately fell in love with the protagonist Edie Eckhart. I loved how ballsy she was, and that the disability wasn't central to the plot. I also enjoyed the fact that the school were putting on a show too!
There is so much within this book, and as a secondary school teacher I loved how Jones had written about the first year of secondary school. It felt incredibly real, and I'm sure lots of young readers will relate to the situations Edie Eckhart finds herself in. I have read a lot of YA and middle grade books, and they always fit to the same generic formula. This book felt so modern, and fresh. As expected with Rosie Jones as the author the book is incredibly funny too.

I absolutely loved reading this, and it felt like a warm hug! I will definitely be recommending to my students.