Home
/
Fiction
/
Out of Tune
Out of Tune
Jul 10, 2025 9:45 PM

Author:Beth Reekles

Out of Tune

Ashley Bennett is a straight-A student in her junior year of high school, and life is looking good: she's got a boyfriend whom she loves, a group of friends who love to party... But really, Ashley loves to curl up at home with a good book, and she can't wait to go to college. When junior year starts, the life Ashley's settled into is turned upside down - the empty house next door has finally been sold, and moving in is Todd O'Connor...

When Ashley first meets Todd, he seems aloof and cocky, and she's reluctant to share a ride to school with him as her mom tells her to. As the two get to know each other, though, Ashley comes to realise that the mysterious, brooding Todd O'Connor, who all the girls are swooning over, is actually bookish and shy, and a little bit lonely. His parents split up and he has moved away from his mother to live with his father, and since then Todd has mostly kept to himself, his books, and his guitar.

And as Todd gets to know Ashley, he forces her to realise that her relationship with her boyfriend, Josh, isn't really making her happy - Josh is selfish, arrogant, and domineering. Will Ashley find the courage to forge her own path?

Reviews

An intelligent and witty read

—— heat No.1 5*

Maxted has always succeeded in writing thoughtfully on assorted knotty issues without ever losing her sense of humour

—— Daily Mail

With her winning combination of honesty and warmth, Maxted has ensured herself another triumph

—— Glamour

Anna Maxted applies her usual intelligent, witty approach, making you laugh and cry in equal measure. Anyone who's had a sister, or ever wanted to scream with frustration about family life, will recognise themselves in this page-turner

—— heat

Hilariously funny tale which also manages to be wonderfully touching in places, too

—— OK!

Got a sister? Get ready to giggle and nod knowingly as you read this. Haven't got a sister? Get ready just to giggle as you read this anyway

—— More!

Anna Maxted has the extraordinary gift of being able to write a deeply humorous and racy tale covering the most heartbreaking situations without detracting in any way from the seriousness of the subjects of her story

—— CitytoCities

Fab and funny ... Anyone with a sister will be nodding their head the whole way through

—— Closer

Anna Maxted tells a tale of sibling rivalry with wit and emotion

—— InStyle

Warm, poignant and very funny

—— Marian Keyes

Hugely funny. Maxted writes beautifully

—— Daily Express

A riotous read with jokes galore cut through with lightly handled serious observations about the nature of poverty and the challenges of emerging female sexuality. It is also stunningly rude…

—— Sunday Express

Exuberant, funny coming-of-age tale with a highly-literate, resourceful Wolverhampton teen at its centre. As building girls goes this is one alternative instruction manual every woman should read

—— Daily Express

The self-conscious agonies of precocious yet sensitive Dolly ring painfully true, while the witty sex scenes, boozy anecdotes and one-liners make this great fun…

—— Sunday Mirror

An exuberant coming of age novel in DMs and ripped tights

—— Tatler

So funny it hurts. How to Build a Girl is Adrian Mole meets Fear of Flying. I predict they’ll be tears a plenty – both of laughter and excruciating recognition – on sun-loungers this summer

—— Harper’s Bazaar

Moran is a brilliantly funny writer, and How To Build A Girl is brimful of jokes

—— FT

This very British (and very naughty) coming-of-age novel will have you in literal hysterics!

—— Company

terrific - funny, honest and deliciously rude

—— Alice O'Keefe , The Bookseller

This is going to be a bestseller…A sharp, hilarious and controversial read

—— The Bookseller

I laughed aloud at this funny, outrageous story of a girl from Wolverhampton council estate who reinvents herself as Dolly Wilde

—— Woman & Home

as irreverent, amusing and vibrant as Moran herself

—— GQ

rowdy and fearless ... sloppy, big-hearted and alive in all the right ways

—— New York Times

Ms. Moran['s] ... funny and cheerfully dirty coming-of-age novel has a hard kernel of class awareness ... sloppy, big-hearted and alive in all the right ways.

—— Dwight Garner , New York Times

This is going to be a bestseller…A sharp, hilarious and controversial read

—— The Bookseller

Original, insightful

—— Neil Stewart , Civilian
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved