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Strawberry Sisters #1
Perfectly Ella
Meet the Strawberry Sisters! Oldest sister Amelia wants to be Left Alone to have deep thoughts, so she's grown a fringe to hide under. Second up is Chloe who's sport-crazy and in training to be a wrestling star (this week anyway). Littlest sister Lucy is the cute one who's training an army of earwigs. Then there's Ella. The middle one who's still trying to work out what makes her "perfectly Ella" and how to stand out in a house full of big personalities. And now there's a new Strawberry Sister. Baby Kirsti who lives with Dad and his Finnish girlfriend. Along with her sisters and one very tired Mum who's struggling to keep it all together, Ella's small home is crammed with almost-finished homework, nearly-clean jumpers and a vampire bunny called Buttercup. With so much going on, life can sometimes feel totally crazy but the Strawberry sisters have a secret weapon against the craziness of the world they live in, each other.
- GenresMiddle Grade
256 pages, Paperback
First published April 23, 2015
1 person is currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Candy Harper
9 books23 followersI grew up in a tiny house with a big family. I’m the fourth of five sisters, which means people sometimes ask me if my family are anything like the Bennetts from Pride and Prejudice. Unfortunately not, but it does mean that I still eat with my arm shielding my plate.
I’ve got a daughter (The Ginger Ninja) and a son (Goblin Baby) and a computer-genius husband. We live in a higgledy-piggledy house where I can never find anything. It usually turns up under a book. There are enough Children’s and YA books in my house to build a fort with. But I absolutely haven’t ever skived off work to do that.
When I run out of hilarious things that happened to me as a teenage that I can disguise as fiction, I take a break by writing dystopian thrillers as C.J. Harper. Nothing more relaxing than a totalitarian state where everyone is out to get you.
https://twitter.com/cjharperauthor
I’ve got a daughter (The Ginger Ninja) and a son (Goblin Baby) and a computer-genius husband. We live in a higgledy-piggledy house where I can never find anything. It usually turns up under a book. There are enough Children’s and YA books in my house to build a fort with. But I absolutely haven’t ever skived off work to do that.
When I run out of hilarious things that happened to me as a teenage that I can disguise as fiction, I take a break by writing dystopian thrillers as C.J. Harper. Nothing more relaxing than a totalitarian state where everyone is out to get you.
https://twitter.com/cjharperauthor
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 28, 2015
Candy Harper is what I would call one of my 'staple authors'. She's an author whom, whenever I see or hear of new work to be released by her, I'm on edge, watching and waiting, researching and stalking, ready to snap up advance copies of her work and every time, I'm impressed. With every new release, harper creates youthful characters I fall in love with, relationships and family connections that just turn my cold heart in a warm slushy goo, and stories that tug on my heartstrings and remind me of my own childhood. Perfectly Ella is absolutely no different and was beautiful to read.
Perfectly Ella isn't a story with a plot, at least, not in the traditional sense. It's much better described as a snippet of Ella's life, an important snippet of her life, highlighting a lot of changes that can occur in a child of her age's life. Being a young girl starting at a bigger, scarier school is a daunting process, I recall my own experiences of large schools with lots of older, more intimidating children, queen bees and popular misses and lots and lots of tension between friends and Harper explores these events so realistically and so honestly, it was extremely hard to not imagine myself in Ella's shoes, reliving this moments from my own life.
What brought this story, Ella's story, alive was Harper's characters and just how varied, well developed, realistic and relatable they all were, everything from their emotions to their actions, to there beliefs and their feelings, they were wonderful, rich and tangible - everything I love in a cast of characters. there personal struggles was perfectly realistic against their age ranges, Amelia with her confidence and air of higher power by negative and highly emotional feelings towards her parents divorce and her internal struggles on how to deal with extra family members was really delved into pretty perfectly and I definitely felt a lot in common with her throughout. Chloe and her slightly naive journey through life and her learning on how to deal with other peoples emotions better was maybe a little less developed, but was highlighted enough to keep me impressed.
Lucy, the eccentric and excitable sister who just wants to be family tugged on my heartstrings completely and if there was a character I fell completely in love with, it's her. Ella however, sadly, considering she's the leading lady, didn't feel as well developed or explored as the other girls in the family. Her niceness and her concern, love and worry for other people, as wonderful and as lovely as it was, just wasn't as impressive for me, least because she should have been the most developed in the story. However, her voice and her attitude, her emotions and her feelings, her wants and needs, I felt them more than anything throughout Perfectly Ella, I felt them deep within the darkest corners of myself, I resonated with her and I could really relate to wondering what makes me special in a family full of what feels like more interesting members.
The family aspect between the girls and their parents was really one of my favourite parts of this story though. Active parents are a must in contemporary reads for me to enjoy them more than most and active parents Perfectly Ella had. The girls mother, no matter what her other stresses and worries always made time for her children, was honest and down to earth with them and was the balance their household needed, and even when times were tough and she felt a little down, she always put her children first, and this just made me love and appreciate their mother so much more. Their Father's development and involvement was such a poignant part of the story for me personally and really created much needed depth in the story - divorce between parents and the moving on that features afterwards can always be a struggle and seeing how their Father started out in Perfectly Ella and how he learnt lessons just as much as the girls did, well, that was superbly beautiful and just made my heart smile.
Yes, this book is on the much younger side of young adult, and yes, it's not got as much depth as other books with younger protagonists such as Wonder or 8-Bit Christmas, but Perfectly Ella is a heartwarming, beautiful story of one family and one forgotten girl finding what makes her special, what makes her understand people more than other people in life, what makes friendships work and what it means to care for people, sometimes more than you care for yourself. Perfectly Ella explores families, sibling love and loyalty, divorce, distance and pain and definitely created more emotions and feelings within me than I had expected. Perfectly Ella, along with Harper's other work was gorgeous and adorable, and I'm definitely interested in seeing how and where Harper takes the series next, and who's voice we'll get to read in next. Consider me hooked on Harper.
Perfectly Ella isn't a story with a plot, at least, not in the traditional sense. It's much better described as a snippet of Ella's life, an important snippet of her life, highlighting a lot of changes that can occur in a child of her age's life. Being a young girl starting at a bigger, scarier school is a daunting process, I recall my own experiences of large schools with lots of older, more intimidating children, queen bees and popular misses and lots and lots of tension between friends and Harper explores these events so realistically and so honestly, it was extremely hard to not imagine myself in Ella's shoes, reliving this moments from my own life.
What brought this story, Ella's story, alive was Harper's characters and just how varied, well developed, realistic and relatable they all were, everything from their emotions to their actions, to there beliefs and their feelings, they were wonderful, rich and tangible - everything I love in a cast of characters. there personal struggles was perfectly realistic against their age ranges, Amelia with her confidence and air of higher power by negative and highly emotional feelings towards her parents divorce and her internal struggles on how to deal with extra family members was really delved into pretty perfectly and I definitely felt a lot in common with her throughout. Chloe and her slightly naive journey through life and her learning on how to deal with other peoples emotions better was maybe a little less developed, but was highlighted enough to keep me impressed.
"I do listen in class," Chloe protested. "just not all the time. Teachers say things ten times anyway; you only need to listen once." Mum shook her head, but she was smiling a bit.
Lucy, the eccentric and excitable sister who just wants to be family tugged on my heartstrings completely and if there was a character I fell completely in love with, it's her. Ella however, sadly, considering she's the leading lady, didn't feel as well developed or explored as the other girls in the family. Her niceness and her concern, love and worry for other people, as wonderful and as lovely as it was, just wasn't as impressive for me, least because she should have been the most developed in the story. However, her voice and her attitude, her emotions and her feelings, her wants and needs, I felt them more than anything throughout Perfectly Ella, I felt them deep within the darkest corners of myself, I resonated with her and I could really relate to wondering what makes me special in a family full of what feels like more interesting members.
The family aspect between the girls and their parents was really one of my favourite parts of this story though. Active parents are a must in contemporary reads for me to enjoy them more than most and active parents Perfectly Ella had. The girls mother, no matter what her other stresses and worries always made time for her children, was honest and down to earth with them and was the balance their household needed, and even when times were tough and she felt a little down, she always put her children first, and this just made me love and appreciate their mother so much more. Their Father's development and involvement was such a poignant part of the story for me personally and really created much needed depth in the story - divorce between parents and the moving on that features afterwards can always be a struggle and seeing how their Father started out in Perfectly Ella and how he learnt lessons just as much as the girls did, well, that was superbly beautiful and just made my heart smile.
"Ella, I would spend all the money in the world to show you that there is always room for you."
Yes, this book is on the much younger side of young adult, and yes, it's not got as much depth as other books with younger protagonists such as Wonder or 8-Bit Christmas, but Perfectly Ella is a heartwarming, beautiful story of one family and one forgotten girl finding what makes her special, what makes her understand people more than other people in life, what makes friendships work and what it means to care for people, sometimes more than you care for yourself. Perfectly Ella explores families, sibling love and loyalty, divorce, distance and pain and definitely created more emotions and feelings within me than I had expected. Perfectly Ella, along with Harper's other work was gorgeous and adorable, and I'm definitely interested in seeing how and where Harper takes the series next, and who's voice we'll get to read in next. Consider me hooked on Harper.
April 24, 2015
This book was a fantastic start to a series that I will DEFINITELY be following - if Book 2 were already up for pre-order, I would have pre-ordered it the moment I finished Book 1! Perfectly Ella tells the story of worried 11-year-old Ella, trying desperately to negotiate between the different members of her strong-minded family and friends, to figure out how to be "nice" without losing her real identity, and to adapt to her dad's new partner and baby. The whole book is so full of fantastic, perfectly-observed humor and quirky characters, I loved almost everything about it.
The characters in the book are just wonderful. I loved every one of Ella's sisters, and there were so many moments of absolutely hilarious humor in their interactions. In my Kindle, I kept highlighting different bits I adored, they were so deliciously written and so funny! The dynamics around their parents' divorce and their dad's new family (including his new partner, who is a fabulous character and a great person, but incredibly different from their mom in believably disconcerting ways) are just perfectly handled and painfully - but still amusingly - true. And watching nervous, people-pleasing Ella drive herself ragged trying to make everyone else like each other in this difficult situation was just...well, let's just say that I empathized with her a LOT.
As a matter of fact, I adored everything about the first 2/3 of this book, and I expected to be giving it a 5-star review by the end. Unfortunately, I didn't love the last 1/3 of the book as much, as a lot of really important plot and character threads were resolved too easily for my taste, without a level of (at least initial) conflict or pushback that I would have found more believable from those characters. The last third of the book also included less humor than the first 2/3, so that combination of issues made the final section feel slightly less compelling to me...
...but I was still so happy for Ella about the way that things did resolve, even if those resolutions came too easily for my taste. I loved Ella, I loved her sisters, and I cannot wait to see what happens for them next. This book would sit beautifully on a shelf next to Susie Day's Pea's Book series, Jeanne Birdsall's Penderwicks series, Hilary McKay's Casson Family series, and Natasha Farrant's Diaries of Bluebell Gadsby series. If you're a fan of any of those series, you should definitely check this book out! I can't wait to read more of this family's adventures.
The characters in the book are just wonderful. I loved every one of Ella's sisters, and there were so many moments of absolutely hilarious humor in their interactions. In my Kindle, I kept highlighting different bits I adored, they were so deliciously written and so funny! The dynamics around their parents' divorce and their dad's new family (including his new partner, who is a fabulous character and a great person, but incredibly different from their mom in believably disconcerting ways) are just perfectly handled and painfully - but still amusingly - true. And watching nervous, people-pleasing Ella drive herself ragged trying to make everyone else like each other in this difficult situation was just...well, let's just say that I empathized with her a LOT.
As a matter of fact, I adored everything about the first 2/3 of this book, and I expected to be giving it a 5-star review by the end. Unfortunately, I didn't love the last 1/3 of the book as much, as a lot of really important plot and character threads were resolved too easily for my taste, without a level of (at least initial) conflict or pushback that I would have found more believable from those characters. The last third of the book also included less humor than the first 2/3, so that combination of issues made the final section feel slightly less compelling to me...
...but I was still so happy for Ella about the way that things did resolve, even if those resolutions came too easily for my taste. I loved Ella, I loved her sisters, and I cannot wait to see what happens for them next. This book would sit beautifully on a shelf next to Susie Day's Pea's Book series, Jeanne Birdsall's Penderwicks series, Hilary McKay's Casson Family series, and Natasha Farrant's Diaries of Bluebell Gadsby series. If you're a fan of any of those series, you should definitely check this book out! I can't wait to read more of this family's adventures.
August 5, 2023
I love this book so much and didn’t want it to end
July 12, 2015
Originally posted at: http://solittletimeforbooks.blogspot....
I’m a huge fan of Candy Harper’s fun, heartwarming and incredibly sweet teen novels and Perfectly Ella was exception – I devoured it in one sitting.
Ella’s sisters are delightfully bonkers and I love them all. I have two sisters myself so I always enjoy it when that relationship is at the heart of a novel and the complex relationships between Ella, Amelia, Chloe and Lucy so multi-faceted. Like all siblings they bicker and argue and forget to consider how each other feel, but they ultimately have each other’s backs.
The girls’ mum and dad divorced a year and a half ago and everything has changed really fast – now Mum is super stressed with looking after them on her own while being a Year Two teacher and Dad has just had a baby with his girlfriend, Suvi. Baby Kirsti becomes the fifth Strawberry Sister and brings up some mixed feelings. All of the girls are struggling with the changes in their lives and that was portrayed realistically and sensitively. I remember going through the exact same emotions that the girls are: anger at Dad; jealousy of the new baby; feeling abandoned, ignored and not enough – Candy Harper hit the nail on the head.
I really liked that each Strawberry sister reacted in a different way, or at least focused on a different aspect of the fall out of the divorce. The result was the bittersweet, touching and brilliantly funny adventure of Perfectly Ella, but it really was Ella that sung for me. I empathised with her a lot. Ella’s voice is often drowned out by her loud, dominating sisters – all she has to define her is that she’s ‘nice’, and we know how English teachers view the use of that word… She puts everybody’s needs above her own in hope that everything will go smoothly and people will get on, often to her own detriment. I loved that she eventually found her voice and realised its significance.
I want more from the Strawberry sisters, please!
I’m a huge fan of Candy Harper’s fun, heartwarming and incredibly sweet teen novels and Perfectly Ella was exception – I devoured it in one sitting.
Ella’s sisters are delightfully bonkers and I love them all. I have two sisters myself so I always enjoy it when that relationship is at the heart of a novel and the complex relationships between Ella, Amelia, Chloe and Lucy so multi-faceted. Like all siblings they bicker and argue and forget to consider how each other feel, but they ultimately have each other’s backs.
The girls’ mum and dad divorced a year and a half ago and everything has changed really fast – now Mum is super stressed with looking after them on her own while being a Year Two teacher and Dad has just had a baby with his girlfriend, Suvi. Baby Kirsti becomes the fifth Strawberry Sister and brings up some mixed feelings. All of the girls are struggling with the changes in their lives and that was portrayed realistically and sensitively. I remember going through the exact same emotions that the girls are: anger at Dad; jealousy of the new baby; feeling abandoned, ignored and not enough – Candy Harper hit the nail on the head.
I really liked that each Strawberry sister reacted in a different way, or at least focused on a different aspect of the fall out of the divorce. The result was the bittersweet, touching and brilliantly funny adventure of Perfectly Ella, but it really was Ella that sung for me. I empathised with her a lot. Ella’s voice is often drowned out by her loud, dominating sisters – all she has to define her is that she’s ‘nice’, and we know how English teachers view the use of that word… She puts everybody’s needs above her own in hope that everything will go smoothly and people will get on, often to her own detriment. I loved that she eventually found her voice and realised its significance.
I want more from the Strawberry sisters, please!
May 10, 2015
Originally posted here: https://heatherreviews.wordpress.com/...
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Perfectly Ella is a charming tale revolving around four sisters – the Strawberry sisters as they come to terms with their new step-sister and the split of their family.
Ella is starting a new school and wants her two best friends to become friends too, although it’s turning out to be more difficult than she imagines. She tries to adopt the approaches her sisters would take, but that only leads to more disaster.
Meanwhile, she’s trying to keep the family together by being nice, but her efforts go unnoticed and it seems that her family is falling apart around her. When her little sister disappears with the new baby, the family panics.
I loved this story so much. It’s got a great message about being yourself and trusting that things will work out for the better if you just stay true to who you are. The relationships between the sisters, as well as their relationship with their parents was wonderful to see – even though their family was split across two households there were no bad feelings among them.
A wonderful story of trust, friendship and family ties that will have you laughing, crying and eager for more.
_____________________________
Perfectly Ella is a charming tale revolving around four sisters – the Strawberry sisters as they come to terms with their new step-sister and the split of their family.
Ella is starting a new school and wants her two best friends to become friends too, although it’s turning out to be more difficult than she imagines. She tries to adopt the approaches her sisters would take, but that only leads to more disaster.
Meanwhile, she’s trying to keep the family together by being nice, but her efforts go unnoticed and it seems that her family is falling apart around her. When her little sister disappears with the new baby, the family panics.
I loved this story so much. It’s got a great message about being yourself and trusting that things will work out for the better if you just stay true to who you are. The relationships between the sisters, as well as their relationship with their parents was wonderful to see – even though their family was split across two households there were no bad feelings among them.
A wonderful story of trust, friendship and family ties that will have you laughing, crying and eager for more.
May 5, 2015
As an adult I still love reading Children's books. The use of imagination needed to put them words into pictures, the crazy and free flowing way that they read combined together to make happiness is gold.
For me what makes them even better is a thick plot full of emotion, real life and hurt. That sounds sinister I know, but it's not. Children do see and hear things that most parents/adults don't want them too. They are involved in family feuds, divorces, etc.. So to read a book that's charming, funny, and relatable in a way in which that has a child lost in themselves gives them a great big push, a lot of understanding, and a friend. That's what makes reading so special isn't it? Books like this give a child love. Perfectly Ella is a prime example of that. It's a fast, funny, sarcastic and fantastic read teamed with heartache, boyfriends, loss, divorce, family feuding, and friendships. Each has been taken with a deep and meaningful storyline that connects you with Ella and even one or all of her sisters.
I'm really looking forward to the next book in the Strawberry Sister series.
Fab!
4/5
For me what makes them even better is a thick plot full of emotion, real life and hurt. That sounds sinister I know, but it's not. Children do see and hear things that most parents/adults don't want them too. They are involved in family feuds, divorces, etc.. So to read a book that's charming, funny, and relatable in a way in which that has a child lost in themselves gives them a great big push, a lot of understanding, and a friend. That's what makes reading so special isn't it? Books like this give a child love. Perfectly Ella is a prime example of that. It's a fast, funny, sarcastic and fantastic read teamed with heartache, boyfriends, loss, divorce, family feuding, and friendships. Each has been taken with a deep and meaningful storyline that connects you with Ella and even one or all of her sisters.
I'm really looking forward to the next book in the Strawberry Sister series.
Fab!
4/5
May 7, 2015
The first book of the Strawberry Sisters is narrated by Ella. Unlike her sisters who Ella can sum up instantly: Amelia – angry at their father, Chloe – loves sport and Lucy – unique in every way. Ella is sure about who she is and the description her sister’s give her of “nice” isn’t particularly what she had in mind.
But Ella is nice – she’s lovely, considerate and sweet. She’s also utterly convincing as a narrator because while she might be trying to get her two best friends to get along (it’s not working out) and her older sisters not to fight (that’s not happening) and helping her mum (who’s trying to balance four daughters and work) not to mention everything else… Ella falters. She grows.
I love the character development and the family dynamics in this book. Ella is the narrator but you get to know all the sisters really well. There are some really special moments, the kind where you wish you could climb into the pages and actually hug the characters you’ve come to love.
Perfectly Ella is perfectly lovely.
But Ella is nice – she’s lovely, considerate and sweet. She’s also utterly convincing as a narrator because while she might be trying to get her two best friends to get along (it’s not working out) and her older sisters not to fight (that’s not happening) and helping her mum (who’s trying to balance four daughters and work) not to mention everything else… Ella falters. She grows.
I love the character development and the family dynamics in this book. Ella is the narrator but you get to know all the sisters really well. There are some really special moments, the kind where you wish you could climb into the pages and actually hug the characters you’ve come to love.
Perfectly Ella is perfectly lovely.
March 29, 2015
Stories based around sisters is always heart warming, and Ella's family is full of joy and sorrow. One to reread!
May 13, 2015
This book was good to begin with and then it got bad by 114 i got so bored i put this story down i don't have much to say about this book.
January 9, 2016
unique and quirky characters, with a great message and vivid storytelling.
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November 9, 2024I really like this book. The characters are relatable and I can understand the craziness that goes on in the Strawberry sisters household though I am not one of 4 girls.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews