Beauty and the Bin

Description

Parents are humiliating - especially when they're eco-warriors. Laurie loves her family and she wants to join them in making the world a better place. But right now, she doesn't want to fish food out of bins, she wants to wear a pair of ordinary tights and have the money to order a hot chocolate at the cafe after school. When a competition comes to Silverdale High looking for the next generation of entrepreneurs, Laurie finds herself unexpectedly in the spotlight. The homemade beauty remedies and potions that she has been posting online are stealing the show, and the most popular girl in the school wants to team up for the win. It seems like Laurie can achieve normality - and even popularity - at last. But will her eco-warrior family accept that she no longer wants to be part of their close-knit gang, and can she find success and glory without losing sight of her true self? Joanne O'Connell's Beauty and the Bin is a fresh and funny debut about friends, family, school and being a young eco-warrior. 'Funny, warm, and just so refreshing . . . I loved this sparkling debut." Carlie Sorosiak, bestselling author of I, Cosmo

Joanne O'Connell is a journalist whose inspiration sprang from a year-long column she wrote for the Guardian called 'Goodbye Supermarkets', during which she met food waste campaigners, such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and eco-chef Tom Hunt, and presented a short video about taking her children foraging on a Scottish Island. She has written for The Observer, The Times, The Daily Express, The Independent and various glossy magazines, and is the author of The Homemade Vegan. She occasionally appears on television and radio, including BBC Breakfast and Radio 4's Woman's Hour. She lives in the north west of England with her husband and two daughters, where she writes copy for food brands and teaches cookery in local schools.

Funny, warm, and just so refreshing. Laurie is a winning protagonist, with brilliant eco ideas. Truly, I loved this sparkling debut -- Carlie Sorosiak, bestselling author of I, Cosmo