Jane has always been happy living in kinship care with her two eccentric aunts and seeing her sailor father when his ship is in. But one day she notices a new picture in her father's cabin--a photograph of a small boy and girl. That is when she finds out for the first time that she has a half-brother and sister. Jane is determined to find out more about them, so she and her best friend Plato Jones set out on a mission to track them down. `They track down her brother and sister to their home in the East End of London. There she finds still more surprises lie in store for her. Can Jane at last be part of a 'proper' family, or must she always remain the outside child? This is the story of a girl and her family and the secrets they keep from one another. Both funny and poignant, The Outside Child is a beautifully drawn study of adolescence from one of Britain's most skilled writers for children.