You hate school. Your family is beyond annoying. Your only friend comes from a different planet, and she’s about to leave.
What’s a girl to do?
So begins Esme’s adventure into a world beyond the stars. A world of strange creatures, thrilling journeys, heroic rescues and instant fame.
Oh, and school. Lots of school.
Along the way she discovers that friends may be greener on the other side, but they still can’t be trusted.
Millions and billions of light years away from Earth, she sets in motion a plan to escape. Unfortunately for her, they aren’t about to let their prize exhibit leave anytime soon…
Extract:
#galaxygirl features a series of blog posts written by Esme to help her mum ‘come to terms’ with her decision to run away and live in outer space. The following extract gives a first glimpse of her home life:
That afternoon, I walked home from school with all the enthusiasm of an asthmatic tortoise who’d developed a painful limp. I wondered what new delights awaited at that place we optimistically called ‘home’.
Isaac and Maisie have perfected the art of being the most annoying little brother and sister in the world. I had no doubt they’d be applying these skills when I got in. Especially as their dad was taking them out for the evening – which always made them more irritating than usual.
I wondered, not for the first time, what my dad was like… You never liked to talk about him, Mum, but whatever happened between the two of you shouldn’t have stopped me having a relationship with him.
Something I read in the RE classroom came to mind – If life chucks lemons at you, just pick them up and make lemonade. Right then, I felt like I had enough lemons to set up a lemonade factory AND a chain of lemonade shops across the country.
Daisy Way was as busy as ever. Kids playing football in the street, being shouted at by the old man at number forty-four. Two dustbins had already been knocked over, so I didn’t blame him.
The street’s name was a clever disguise, designed to trick people into thinking it was a lovely place to live. But the noisiest people in Bournecombe all seem to have been dumped here.
As usual there was plenty going on when I walked in. You were with your mates in the front room, the TV properly blaring out. One of them was in full flow, sobbing about the latest ‘chapter’ in her love life.
One of your friend’s kids was crying to Maisie about hurting his toe, ‘the one which went to market’. Her other kid was busy stealing marbles from Maisie’s jar, the one she got for her seventh birthday.
Isaac was on the toilet, shouting, ‘Hey everybody, my poo is ready and waiting to leave bottom town, right about… NOW! Choo choo! Choo choo!’
Situation normal.
While you were busy ignoring all of this, I wandered into the kitchen. I couldn’t help overhear you trying to comfort your friend. ‘Never mind, there’s plenty more fish in the sea.’ You said the same thing to her when she broke up with her last boyfriend.
I honestly don’t know why you bother. Maybe you should all just focus on your daytime TV shows and forget about men?
With Come Whine With Me blaring out from the front room, I managed to find a clean glass amongst the debris of the kitchen cupboards. Taking my juice upstairs and laying down on my bed I thought how, just for once, I’d like to come home to a quiet house. Not have two or three of your mates moping about the place.
#galaxygirl features a series of blog posts written by Esme to help her mum ‘come to terms’ with her decision to run away and live in outer space. The following extract gives a first glimpse of her home life:
That afternoon, I walked home from school with all the enthusiasm of an asthmatic tortoise who’d developed a painful limp. I wondered what new delights awaited at that place we optimistically called ‘home’.
Isaac and Maisie have perfected the art of being the most annoying little brother and sister in the world. I had no doubt they’d be applying these skills when I got in. Especially as their dad was taking them out for the evening – which always made them more irritating than usual.
I wondered, not for the first time, what my dad was like… You never liked to talk about him, Mum, but whatever happened between the two of you shouldn’t have stopped me having a relationship with him.
Something I read in the RE classroom came to mind – If life chucks lemons at you, just pick them up and make lemonade. Right then, I felt like I had enough lemons to set up a lemonade factory AND a chain of lemonade shops across the country.
Daisy Way was as busy as ever. Kids playing football in the street, being shouted at by the old man at number forty-four. Two dustbins had already been knocked over, so I didn’t blame him.
The street’s name was a clever disguise, designed to trick people into thinking it was a lovely place to live. But the noisiest people in Bournecombe all seem to have been dumped here.
As usual there was plenty going on when I walked in. You were with your mates in the front room, the TV properly blaring out. One of them was in full flow, sobbing about the latest ‘chapter’ in her love life.
One of your friend’s kids was crying to Maisie about hurting his toe, ‘the one which went to market’. Her other kid was busy stealing marbles from Maisie’s jar, the one she got for her seventh birthday.
Isaac was on the toilet, shouting, ‘Hey everybody, my poo is ready and waiting to leave bottom town, right about… NOW! Choo choo! Choo choo!’
Situation normal.
While you were busy ignoring all of this, I wandered into the kitchen. I couldn’t help overhear you trying to comfort your friend. ‘Never mind, there’s plenty more fish in the sea.’ You said the same thing to her when she broke up with her last boyfriend.
I honestly don’t know why you bother. Maybe you should all just focus on your daytime TV shows and forget about men?
With Come Whine With Me blaring out from the front room, I managed to find a clean glass amongst the debris of the kitchen cupboards. Taking my juice upstairs and laying down on my bed I thought how, just for once, I’d like to come home to a quiet house. Not have two or three of your mates moping about the place.
Author Bio:
Having single-parented her three daughters, she’s been ferociously playing catch up with this writing lark. She recently completed a Masters in Writing for Children at Winchester University. #galaxygirl is her debut middle-grade book.
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