Review of "Becoming Ellen" by Shari Shattuck

Ellen Homes, the main character in the story, learns to step out of her shell in order to help others. She establishes social relationships with people and becomes less shy by the end of the book. She also discovers that her friends have their own insecurities and fears that she can help them overcome. Ellen knows about the system of foster care that often fails children because she was one of them. She gets an abused boy to trust her and with the help of the people she knows saves him from a bad situation. Likewise, the case of a young girl is successfully resolved due to Ellen's intervention. This is not an entirely believable story because too many situations just fall into place fortuitously but the good characters are so heart-warming and loving that I couldn't help but be pulled into the story.