Elsie the Outsider

The one thing ten-year-old Elsie wants more than anything is a friend who will accept her for who she is. But friends are tough to find when you are the only blind kid in your school. When Amy and Krista, the most popular girls in class, ask Elsie to sit with them at lunch, she wonders: am I finally going to fit in? It seems like no one at school will ever look past Elsie's disability, but things change when she meets Tanner and Shaylyn. Elsie starts to think about what devoted friends look like, and what it means to be a friend. Are Amy and Krista who they seem? Will Elsie find her devoted friends? Or will she always feel like an outsider?

The one thing ten-year-old Elsie wants more than anything is a friend who will accept her for who she is. But friends are tough to find when you are the only blind kid in your school. Elsie often wonders, "Do kids do not want to be my friend because I'm blind, or is there another reason?" When Amy and Krista, the most popular girls in class, ask Elsie to sit with them at lunch, she wonders: am I finally going to fit in? Elsie's hopes are crushed when she realizes that Amy and Krista's reasons for asking her to sit with them are not what she hoped. It seems like no one at school will ever look past her disability... but things change when she meets Tanner and Shaylyn. Tanner shows Elsie that just maybe, a devoted friend will look past her blindness and see her as a person. And when Elsie finds herself in danger, Shaylyn proves that real friends are there when you need them the most. Has Elsie found a way to belong? Or will she always feel like an outsider? 'Elsie the Outsider' is the debut novel of author Breck Campbell, based on the author's own experience living with blindness and struggling to make friends. This middle-grade novel explores themes of friendship, belonging, and bullying, all while navigating the tumultuous life changes of adolescence. 'Elsie the Outsider' takes a deep, authentic look at the challenges of life with a disability, and the struggle to fit in with your peers. It inspires young readers to look past the surface of people and see who they truly are.

Breck Campbell is a native of Boonville, MO. She was the first child to parents that had no idea what they were doing. They do not give instruction manuals. Breck was born with Septo-Optic Dysplasia and had absolutely no vision since birth. This disability created challenges and struggles for Breck however you would never know by the smile on her face. Breck never let her diagnosis hinder her spirit or her desire to succeed, it did however, often leave her as an outsider. Breck graduated high school, went to college, and received two degrees only to be told, more suggested, this job is not for someone like you. Breck told me one time after a job interview "Dad, I could literally feel their faces drop when I walked in with my cane." Discouraged Breck took the one outlet that she understood the best writing. She has always been a storyteller and could capture a moment better than most adults I encountered. Her mother and I suggested she tell her story. The story about the struggles with making friends and being bullied. Maybe by telling her story she could somehow heal. There is a lot of traumas in Elsie, trauma that Breck experienced firsthand, this opportunity allows Breck the opportunity to heal. While Breck is healing we hope that this book will help another person, adult or child, cope with bullying, isolation and generally just feeling left out.