The YA Bookshelf: Daisy, Bold and Beautiful by Ellie Collins

Audience

Children!

Genre

Lower MG, Fiction

Pages

150

Recommended For and Similar Reads

Daisy, Bold and Beautiful is an influential and memorable read for young middle schoolers! It is motivational and realistic, showing all preteens that anything can happen if they persevere! Similar reads are The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordian, Knapsack Journey Home by Kathleen Janz-Anderson, Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary, Ruby the Red Fairy by Daisy Meadows, or Pandora Gets Jealous by Carolyn Hennesy.

Summary by Author

D.J. and her dad moved far from the small town and only home she ever knew. Now she’s starting middle school in the city with kids she’s never met. She tries to make friends, but they all appear to be slaves to screen time. D.J. just likes to garden, nurturing plants, watching them grow and thrive. It seems she’ll never find a way to fit in, but then she awakens in a gorgeous garden where she meets Persephone, Goddess of Spring. She must be dreaming; her new friend can’t possibly be real—and what could she know about getting along with gamers? D.J. really needs some ideas, or she might never find her own place in a complicated world.

Quick Statements

For a book with no action, Daisy, Bold and Beautiful was a gripping and electrifying tale of friendship and coming of age! Our hearts were warmed by DJ's perseverance and especially Persephone’s humanity, who is depicted as a menacing goddess in other books but a welcoming friend with wise tales to tell in this one. All in all, Daisy, Bold and Beautiful is exactly that: bold and beautiful!

Review, 5/5

Opinions: I strongly encourage elementary and middle schoolers to read Daisy, Bold and Beautiful because it is empowering for young girls and entertaining for everyone! Woven into the enchanting plot were resonating themes that teach preteens how to be themselves, trust their friends, and step out of their comfort zone. Although the themes were dominant in the book, trust us when we say they weren’t overpowering! Readers who prefer action to the sophisticated side of stories will be just as entertained by Persephone’s anecdotes and DJ's videogame playing. Complimenting these alluring elements of the book were the characters, who you’ll hear more about in Our Favourite Thing. DJ stole my heart from the first page and leads readers through anxiety, anticipation, and admiration to a perfectly perfect ending. Thanks to Ellie Collins’ judicious writing style and use of literary devices, it was easy to engage, relate, and learn. I adore everything about Daisy, Bold and Beautiful and I believe you or your child will too!

Our Favourite Thing: As I mentioned above, I love the variety of character voices in Daisy, Bold and Beautiful! Each of the sixth-graders has their own personality and motivation to be friends with DJ, which gives readers an opportunity to love them for different reasons. The range in personalities and dialects also made the dialogue more interesting and engaging. The characters were by far my favourite part of Daisy, Bold and Beautiful!

Our Least Favourite Thing: Hmmm… is it okay if I don’t have a least favourite thing? Daisy, Bold and Beautiful is a thematic, engaging, and resonating book for elementary and middle schoolers! Who can say no to Persephone sharing anecdotes and DJ learning to be herself and make friends? This book is 5/5 stars for a reason: there are no faults!

Author Information

Ellie Collins wrote her debut novel, Daisy, Bold & Beautiful when she was turning eleven and just beginning sixth grade. She finished writing Mylee In The Mirror, the second in her multi-award-winning middle-grade Greek mythology fantasy series before heading back to school for seventh grade and turning twelve and Mad Max & Sweet Sarah before eighth grade and becoming a teen. She writes amid a very busy extracurricular schedule, including a spot on both a gymnastics team and a trampoline and tumbling team, as well as taking weekly piano lessons. She's an avid gamer who loves hanging out with friends. Her love of Greek mythology inspires her writing.

Interview with Ellie Collins

What is your favorite part of the writing process?

I really like making up the characters for my stories. Before I make my book outline I write down everything I can think of about my characters – what their [full] names are, how old they are, what they look like (I even find an image online that “becomes” my character), what their home life is like, what they like most in life, what they’re most afraid of, etc. I always include at least one or two things that the reader will never find out about the character from the story. Most of my characters go by names of people I know in real life, and their personalities have some things in common with who they’re named after and some things that are nothing like that person.

How do you handle writer’s block?

I don’t actually get writer’s block very often. First, I think writer’s block happens most when you’re slowly writing your way through the story, especially if you’re trying to write a whole bunch in one setting. Well, I record myself telling the story and my mom types it for me (since she types a lot better and faster than I do). When you’re just speaking the story, I think it flows a lot easier and it’s not so easy to get “stuck”. Also, I never really try to tackle big blocks of the story all at once. Between school, gym practice, piano lessons, etc., I’m pretty busy, so a lot of my “writing” is recorded in little sections while I’m in the car going from one activity to another. Then I have plenty of time to think about what I want to add next when I get in the car the next time.

Do you write for yourself or for your readers?

I never really thought of myself as a writer at all. At the end of the summer when I was ten, my mom yelled at me one day because I had spent too much time playing video games. I didn’t know what to do. I love to create things, but I didn’t feel like drawing or making crafts like I usually do, so my mom suggested I write a story. That’s when Daisy, Bold & Beautiful was born. Writing is just another way for me to try to express my creativity, so I guess I do it mostly for myself, since I always feel the need to get that creativity out one way or another.

What is the best part about being a young author?

Well, there’s two things that are great about it. As far as writing middle grade books, I think being a young author makes it easier for me because I’m really familiar with what middle grade kids do and say. I’m not an old person trying to remember what I would have done or said 20 or 30 years ago when I was a kid – I’m a kid now, so it’s all fresh. The other thing is that it’s really fun traveling and participating in signing events. I got to go to Paris to accept an award for Daisy, Bold & Beautiful, I’ve been to awards ceremonies in Miami twice now, which were super-fun. I had a signing table at a Spring Fairy Festival, which was a blast and at a Geek Faire, which was totally awesome. It’s so much fun meeting new people, both readers and other authors!

Is there a story you’ve always wanted to write but never have?

I don’t think so. Every time I’ve wanted to create a story, I’ve been able to do it. Lately I’ve been having fun creating stories by way of animation, so I’m having fun with that.

What was your favorite scene of Daisy, Bold & Beautiful to write?

Oh, I definitely most enjoyed writing any scene that involved Overwatch. I’m a huge gamer and I’m super into Overwatch, so I had a lot of fun writing about it! It was funny, because another author who I met at an awards ceremony was giving me all sorts of kudos for writing a book that tells kids about how “horrible video games” are “ruining the lives of kids these days”. (She hadn’t read Daisy, Bold & Beautiful; she had just read the back of the book, so I guess she just assumed it was a nagging, preachy story about how screen time is nothing but a bad thing.) I just looked at my mom and had to try really hard not to laugh, because even though my character, D.J. isn’t a fan of video games, I totally am, so I guess I’m just one of those punk kids whose life has been ruined by those evil video games!

If you could ask a famous author 3 questions about their books/inspirations/etc., who would it be and what are the questions?

I think I’d want to talk to Rick Riordan, the author of the Percy Jackson series. I’d ask him why he chose the specific gods and goddesses he focused on. I chose Persephone for my first book because she’s my all-time favorite Greek goddess. Is Poseidon his favorite god? I’d also want to know what ways he researched the gods and goddesses in his stories. Some myths are told slightly differently, and gods and goddesses are described a little differently depending on where you read about him. Did he keep all of his research limited to one or two sources, or did he really look around at all sorts of different sources? Did he go to Greece to research? I’ve been trying to convince my mom that I need to go do my research there; maybe if he said yes, she’d let me!

What does success mean to you?

Well, I’m all about creating, so to me success is when I set out to make my idea or inspiration real and I’m able to complete it – able to make it real for everyone to enjoy.

Other Books by Ellie Collins

Despite her age, Ellie Collins is an accomplished author with multiple published works. Check out the rest of her series!