After Zero

Collins, Christina. After Zero. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2018.

Elise keeps tallies in her notebook - one tally mark for every one word spoken aloud. She tries her best to stay at zero every day. If she doesn't speak, then she won't make a mistake. If she doesn't speak, she won't embarrass herself or others. Ellie's silence, though, is affecting her life at school, and once her mom clues in to the fact that things are not as rosy as Ellie is making them seem, Ellie is faced with a family secret that may prove louder than her silence.

This is an #ownvoices story according to the author information in the back of the book, and I can only barely imagine the frustration of a child or teen who is dealing with selective mutism. I was glad that the author highlighted this very real struggle that some people are facing, as well as the difficulty some students have when transitioning out of a homeschool environment and into a public school. The ending isn't a Disney-esque rosy picture where everything wraps up perfectly, but it is satisfying. Well-developed characters and a measured plot make this an ideal middle grade story. Recommended.

Recommended for: middle grade, tweens
Red Flags: bullying
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Red Pencil, The One and Only Ivan, The Benefits of Being an Octopus

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

Forget Me Not

Terry. Ellie. Forget Me Not. Feiwel and Friends, 2017.

Calli is in 7th grade and has started at a new school eleven times. Her mom has a habit of hooking up with a guy, dating for a brief period, then having a messy breakup where she packs everything into the car and hauls Calli to a new town to start over again. Calli also has Tourette Syndrome, and she has been warned not to explain this to her new teachers or classmates. Jinsong is Calli's neighbor and he likes her - possibly as more than a friend - but he's also student body president and very popular, so he isn't sure how/if he can stand up for her when the inevitable teasing starts.

Calli's chapters are told in verse, which makes this book a pretty fast read, and that fits with Calli's personality because she is interested in space but is also artistic. Jinsong's internal struggle between standing up for Calli at school and hiding his interest in her reads true and is perfect for this age group, too. The fact that Calli's mom hasn't taken the time to understand her condition and insists that she could just "not do it" when her tics occur rings true as well. The author states in a note at the end that she also has Tourette Syndrome, so this is an #ownvoices novel. I could see this book appealing to kids who enjoyed Wonder and also to those who like reading novels in verse. This is a much-needed addition to most library collections.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: Calli is bullied quite a bit, mostly by the stereotypical Mean Girl in the story; it turns out this person also bullied Jinsong because of his ethnicity and that moment is described as well.
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Wonder, Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, Absolutely Almost

The Someday Birds

Pla, Sally J. The Someday Birds. Harper Collins, 2017.

Charlie has a set routine that he thrives on, but when his father is injured overseas and is sent to a hospital across the country, everything about Charlie's routine is thrown off as his family adventures across the country to reunite with his father.

I love Charlie and I love the way his family usually accepts his differences and is willing to accommodate him. The cross-country road trip descriptions were accurate, and Charlie's obsession with finding all the different birds on their someday birds list was adorable. (He should have stopped to see the sandhill cranes when he was in Wisconsin Dells, since there's a crane sanctuary nearby.) This is a sweet story and would make a fantastic classroom read-aloud. Highly recommended.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The War that Saved My Life, Rain Reign, Fish in a Tree

Holding Up the Universe

Niven, Jennifer. Holding Up the Universe. Knopf BYR, 2016.

Libby was once called "America's Fattest Teen" and had to be removed from her house via crane because she couldn't fit through the door. That was several years and over 300 pounds ago, and now she's going back to high school. Jack is a stereotypically popular jerk of a guy who cannot remember people's faces and has managed to keep this hidden from those around him. Jack and Libby fall in love.

I agree with others that it's pretty much impossible to believe that Jack has hidden his prosopagnosia from his family, especially since he believes it began due to head trauma when he was young. The bullying and teasing and whatnot is believably typical. Other than that, this does seem to be a story where the two teens have problems just to make their romance more fantastic. Libby is not well-rounded enough, and Jack is too much of a jerk. It's a book where nothing happens and then nothing happens and then insta-love happens. My teens will love it, but I'm not impressed.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: bullying, fat shaming, underage alcohol and drug use
Overall Rating: 2/5 stars

Read-Alikes: All the Bright Places, Butter, 45 Pounds

The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko

Stambach, Scott. The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko. St. Martin's Press, 2016.

Ivan lives in an orphanage in the Ukraine. As a result of the Chernobyl accident, he and the other children at the orphanage are dealing with various disabilities. Ivan himself has only one arm/hand, no legs, and although his mind is unaffected, it is difficult for him to speak. He amuses himself by playing tricks on the other children and on the nurses, until one day a new person arrives who steals his heart away.

Initially when I read this book, I enjoyed it as much as anyone can enjoy an adventure in the mind of a teenage boy. The story was interesting because of the different setting, but it was still "teen boy loves girl and is sad and telling his story so obviously he didn't get the girl for whatever reason." It still had lots of scatological humor and references to masturbation. I wasn't super impressed. But then I read Emily's review and my opinion changed a bit. I had not thought about what this book would look like through the eyes of a parent of a child with a disability. And it's true that Ivan is particularly horrible to the other children, I didn't see this as mocking children with disabilities, but rather showing Ivan to be a particularly normal and not entirely sympathetic character. However, the reactions from the author and a few of his supporters left a bad taste in my mouth. For these reasons, this book receives 2 stars from me.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: profanity (English and Russian), scatological humor, references to male genitalia/masturbation, underage alcohol use, ableist slurs
Overall Rating: 2/5 stars

A Step Toward Falling

McGovern, Cammie. A Step Toward Falling. HarperTeen, 2015.

Emily and Lucas crossed paths when they both witnessed a classmate being attacked at a football game and chose not to assist her. They are now earning community service hours by assisting at a center for adults with disabilities. Meanwhile, Belinda, who was able to fight off her attacker, is at home, too afraid to return to school. Emily thinks all football players (like Lucas) are dumb jocks, while Lucas is too proud to come down off his society-imposed pedestal to interact with lowly Emily. Somehow the two of them must work together to apologize to Belinda and make things right.

I am glad for another book featuring a protagonist with a disability, and I appreciated the way Belinda stood up for herself and was able to return to school, in spite of her grandmother's objections. I am glad for the punishment Emily and Lucas received and that they were able to learn about a different segment of the population and grow to feel compassion for them. The whole "we're going to put on a play at the last minute and it will totally work and be awesome" idea was ridiculous, but probably exactly the type of thing teens would think would work. I saw the obvious connections between Belinda's obsession with Pride and Prejudice and Emily and Lucas's relationship, and it was an interesting addition. I didn't love this book, but I do like it.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: Belinda is attacked and groped at the football game
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Read-Alike Recommendations: Girls Like Us, Speak, All the Rage

Paper Wishes

Sepahban, Lois. Paper Wishes. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2016.

Manami and her family are sent to an internment camp during World War 2. Manami is sad because she tried to sneak her grandfather's dog into the camp and was not able to. She is hoping she can find the dog again, or that the dog can find her.

The writing in this book is very simplistic. A 2nd or 3rd grade student could easily read and understand what was going on. Manami's feelings were real, her mutism was frustrating both to her and those around her, and she experienced a serious amount of guilt over the loss of her grandfather's dog. Woven around this simple plot is the story of the internment camps, again told in a way that is simple enough for even young children to understand.

Recommended for: lower elementary as a read-aloud, middle grade
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Red Pencil, Rain Reign, The War that Saved My Life

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley for the purposes of review.

The War that Saved My Life

Bradley, Kimberly. The War that Saved My Life. Dial Books, 2015.

Ada has never left her apartment. Her abusive mother refused to have Ada's clubfoot treated when Ada was an infant, so now Ada crawls about their apartment and cares for her younger brother. With the second world war on the horizon, many parents choose to send their children out of London to keep them safe, and Ada escapes with her brother and ends up living with an older single woman who never wanted children. Ada is safer now than she's ever been, but will she ever learn to trust?

Wow, this was a hard book to read. There will be spoilers in this paragraph, so consider yourself warned. Ada's mother locks Ada in a cupboard to punish her or her brother. I spend the first part of the book wanting to slap the woman for treating her children like that. When she escapes, Ada exhibits all the typical symptoms of a person with PTSD: she gets irrationally angry, has nightmares, and sometimes experiences panic attacks that are only abated when she is wrapped tightly in a blanket. Until she escapes London, Ada has never seen grass or trees, has never been educated, hasn't ever eaten a peach or a Brussels sprout. In the country she learns and grows and recovers and is well-fed. The book has a bit of a sad ending, but it's better than I had initially expected.

I highly recommend this book to fans of WWII historical books as well as those who wish to add more books about differently abled characters to their collections.

Recommended for: middle grade
Red Flags: Ada's mother slaps her and her brother, locks her in a cupboard, and calls her horrible things. There is a mild amount of British cussing involved. Ada herself is violent toward her brother until she learns not to react that way. Survivors of childhood physical abuse and neglect may need to take special care.
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Fish in a Tree

Hunt, Lynda, Fish in a Tree. Nancy Paulsen Books, 2015.

Ally has changed schools a lot, and every time she gets to a new school, she uses bad behavior to cover up the fact that she cannot read easily.  She mouths off to teachers and spends more time in the principal's office than the principal herself does.  Ally is really good at math, but her reading difficulties have caused her grades to plummet, while her mom assures her that she would do better if she just tried harder.  Ally has tried and tried; how hard is hard enough?

I loved this book.  I love the description of dyslexia from the perspective of the person struggling with it. I loved Ally's substitute teacher and his willingness to help all of his students, even to the point of staying after school to help Ally while waiting for her IEP to kick in. The addition of Ally's brother as a character / role model for Ally was great. Not only would this book be an excellent addition to a public or school library, it should be on the to-read shelf for every teacher as a reminder that sometimes bad behavior doesn't mean the student is trying to be bad; sometimes it's a cry for help.

Recommended for: middle grade, educators and those who work with children
Red Flags: Ally is teased quite a bit by her classmates and called dumb (the "r" word is never used)
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, El Deafo, Absolutely Almost, Rain Reign

Gadget Girl

Kamata, Suzanne. Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible. GemmaMedia, 2013.

Aiko is fourteen and she's never met her father. She has cerebral palsy, and she channels her energies into drawing a comic called Gadget Girl, where the main character has all kinds of special abilities and is always saving the man in distress. Aiko's artist mother is invited to exhibit her art in Paris, and Aiko gets to accompany her. Aiko has heard of the healing waters of Lourdes and wonders if they would help her become more like Gadget Girl.

This was a fairly standard coming-of-age and falling-in-love teen girl's story, with the obvious twists of Aiko's disability and also her secret identity as a comic artist. I was glad for the emphasis on comics as well as the fact that Aiko's disability didn't really get in her way, for the most part. She was a teen girl who wanted to know her father and was tired of being her mother's muse, none of which had much to do with her abilities or lack thereof.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: mild language
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Anna and the French Kiss, The Adventures of Superhero Girl, Say What You Will

El Deafo

Bell, Cece. El Deafo. Harry N. Abrams, 2014.

Cece contracted meningitis when she was very young and consequently is severely hearing-impaired. She wears a hearing aid called "phonic ears" when she is at school so that she can hear her teacher and follow along with her class. Cece imagines herself to be a superhero with her ability to hear her teacher anywhere, even when her teacher goes to the teacher's lounge or the bathroom!

This graphic novel gave great insight into living with a hearing impairment. From the difficulties of lip-reading on television to convincing people not to speak extra loudly/slowly, Bell gives the reader insight into a different world. The readable graphic-novel format will make this book approachable for a wide range of children. Recommended.

Recommended for: middle grade
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Hurt Go Happy, The Adventures of Superhero Girl,How Mirka Got Her Sword

A Time to Dance

Venkatraman, Padma. A Time to Dance. Nancy Paulsen Books, 2014.

Veda is a dance prodigy in India and shows great potential in becoming a famous dancer when she is involved in a car accident. One of her legs is amputated below the knee, and Veda's plans for dancing are shattered. She learns to walk again, but longs to dance again as well.

This story is told in verse and does a fantastic job at painting a picture of life in India. The culture is woven throughout the story, so I ended up learning a lot without feeling like I was just sitting there learning a lot. Veda is a very realistic and likable character. I was glad for the way she was able to translate her struggles into her art. I'm not a fan of novels in verse, so I would have enjoyed this one more in straight prose, but it would be an easy recommend to kids who can't get enough of Ellen Hopkins's work.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Weight of Water, The Language Inside, The Running Dream

Say What You Will

McGovern, Cammie. Say What You Will. Harper Teen, 2014.

Amy has cerebral palsy, so she uses a walker to walk and has a device that allows her to talk as well. Matthew is struggling with OCD, and he and Amy meet when he is hired to be one of her student assistants during her senior year of high school. They fall for each other and spend the rest of the book deciding whether or not they can be together.

This is a romance novel, so it doesn't have a big, amazing plot to follow, but there definitely was plenty of character development. The author does an amazing job at allowing the reader to see the struggles of a disability as well as the struggles of mental illness. Because of all of this, I was glad I read this book.

But.

I wish Amy hadn't been so controlling/bossy toward Matthew. She kept pushing him and pushing him to work on his OCD, so the tone of the book seemed almost to say, "It's okay to struggle with cerebral palsy, but if you have a mental illness, you'd better work hard at getting better." I wanted Amy to be more compassionate toward Matthew, especially since she herself struggles with things other people take for granted, like being able to walk unassisted. Nonetheless, this was a good book, one that I'm glad to have read, and I will definitely be adding it to my library's collection.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: underage drinking, language
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: All the Bright Places, The Fault in Our Stars

Laughing at My Nightmare

Burcaw, Shane. Laughing at My Nightmare. Roaring Brook Press, 2014.

Shane Burcaw was born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), but rather than focusing on what he cannot do, Burcaw focuses on what he can do and has accomplished a lot in his twenty-one years. This book stems from his very popular blog of the same name and discusses his life so far, including learning to drive his wheelchair, going to college, dating, and Burcaw's views on facing adversity in his life. Burcaw's sarcasm and dry humor will be a hit with teens who want to read this book, and his intimate portrayal of life with a disability will serve as both a mirror and a window for readers. Recommended.

Recommended for: teens and adults
Red Flags: frank discussions of sex, how Burcaw uses the toilet; lots of profanity
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

How It Went Down

Magoon, Kekla. How It Went Down.Henry Holt & Co. BYR, 2014.

Tariq Johnson is shot outside a store in his neighborhood. He's shot by a white man who flees the scene. The aftermath of this story is told from multiple perspectives - Tariq's mother, his sister, the girl who tried using CPR to rescue him, a minister who fancies himself a voice of the people, the store owner, the owner of another nearby store, etc. This obviously is a very timely work that is a good representation of current events.

I don't feel qualified to speak on the topic of race or discrimination, so I will leave that subject for other reviewers and instead focus on the narrative itself. It was interesting to read a story from so many viewpoints. I have enjoyed books with multiple narrators before, but this one had so many narrators it became difficult to distinguish between all the voices. That being said, I think having that many viewpoints on an important event like this made sense for the story itself; I just wish I had gotten to know the various characters a bit better. I am also glad that Tariq's little sister, who has a disability, was given her own voice. She wasn't there to highlight her disability; she was just there as a kid whose brother had been shot.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: lots of language, lots of violence
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Rain Reign

Martin, Ann. Rain Reign. Feiwel & Friends, 2014.

Rose is a child with high-functioning autism. She is trying sixth grade for the second time, in hopes that she will learn the necessary social skills to succeed in middle school. Rose's father does not want help raising his daughter and has insisted that she be treated like non-disabled students, so she is not receiving as many services as she otherwise would. When a big hurricane blows through town and Rose's dog, Rain, gets lost, how will she cope with the changes in her life?

This book is so wonderful, I'd give it more than five stars if it were possible to do so. Rose is a wonderful young lady who is learning how to cope with her limitations, and it's beautiful to watch her make friends throughout the story. Even her obsession with prime numbers and her "conversation starters" made me smile. Rose's dad doesn't know how to help her, and he seems very angry and a bit too proud to accept help himself, so I felt bad for Rose from the outset of the story. But all is not lost. Rose has helpers in her life - her uncle helps take care of her, and Rose does make friends at school. The story doesn't have a Disney-esque ending, but it is a satisfying ending. Strongly recommended.

Recommended for: middle grade, people who work with children, especially children with disabilities
Red Flags: Rose's dad beats Rain and shouts a lot
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Rules, Paperboy, Hurt Go Happy

Girls Like Us

Giles, Gail. Girls Like Us. Candlewick Press, 2014.

Quincy and Biddy have both graduated from their high school's special education program, and they have been placed together to live in the above-garage apartment at a woman's home. Biddy is supposed to help around the house - cooking, cleaning, etc. - and Quincy has a job at a local supermarket. Circumstances provide Biddy with a safe space to reveal some harrowing secrets about her past while Quincy keeps a current secret safe as well. The girls become friends as they realize they have more in common then just being "speddies."

There are definitely not enough books featuring characters with disabilities, so I was glad to see this book containing two main characters who age out of the high school special education program and who are then placed in jobs where they can maintain some sort of independent life. Their lives are not portrayed as perfect and each girl tells the back story behind her placement in the special education program. Survivors of sexual assault will want to take gentle care as the story does involve a rape. Recommended.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: language, violence, one character is raped while another discusses a past rape, one character was violently abused as a child which caused her TBI (traumatic brain injury)
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Speak, Out of My Mind

Far From You

Sharpe, Tess. Far From You. 2014

Three years ago Sophie was in a car accident and nearly lost her life. Her subsequent recovery sparked an addiction to narcotics, which her parents attempted to cure by sending Sophie to live with her aunt for several months. Soon after Sophie's return, there's another accident, but this one involves murder. Used to Sophie's lies, no one will believe that she hasn't relapsed. Sophie needs to find her best friend's murderer before it's too late, and she might have to do this all by herself.

This book is told in chapters which alternate between present-day and stories from the past which relate to whatever's happening in the present. The labels at the beginning of each chapter, in addition to a change in font, make it fairly easy to follow along. I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of this story, and I tried to follow along and guess who the murderer was before the end of the book. (I was wrong.) This is a great, suspenseful story of a girl who happens to be bisexual; the focus is not on Sophie's coming-out but rather on her attempt to solve her best-friend/almost girlfriend's murder.

Recommended for: young adults
Red Flags: drug use, alcohol, sexual abuse
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alike Suggestions: The Name of the Star, Confessions of a Murder Suspect

Dirt Bikes, Drones, and Other Ways to Fly

Wesselhoeft, Conrad. Dirt Bikes, Drones, and Other Ways to Fly. HMH BFYR, 2014.

Arlo is a daredevil.  He rides his dirtbike down the highway, racing semi-trucks and leaping over hills.  He is also the #1 ranked player in the game Drone Pilot, where he flies planes to complete various missions.  His international ranking has gotten the attention of the military, who want to use him to fly real drones in war zones. Arlo doesn't want to be responsible for anyone's death, but his sister's medical bills are piling up, and he knows his family could use the money.  Arlo has to choose between what is right and what is easy.

I really enjoyed this book. Arlo is a likable character, and his stunts are never boring. Also, the descriptions of New Mexico were beautiful, and I was glad that while Arlo's sister had Huntington's, the book wasn't trying to teach everyone exactly what Huntington's is like.  I thought his decision at the end was ... interesting, to say the least.  I can't say I'd have done the same thing in his place, but I respected the journey he went on to make that decision.  All in all, this is a great book, and although I don't like to gender stereotype, I know that many of the boys in my library would LOVE to read it.

Recommended for: teens, fans of adventure/stunts
Red Flags: minor violence, minor language, Arlo's dad drinks a lot
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Eye of Minds for video game aspect, Killer of Enemies for adventure, The Green Glass Sea for setting in White Sands, NM.

The Impossible Knife of Memory

Anderson, Laurie. The Impossible Knife of Memory. 2014.

Haylee and her dad have been moving about the country to avoid dealing with the dad's PTSD, but he decides to settle down in his hometown so Haylee can go to a real school. While there, he starts to battle the PTSD demons more than he had before. Haylee is trying to live a normal life, adjust to high school, and take care of her father all at once.

I really, truly wanted to love this book. It's by one of my favorite authors, and the idea sounded great. It is a good book, and I think it's a good picture of living with someone with PTSD. But it's also very slow-paced, which is going to make it a hard sell to my students, and I had to force myself to keep reading even though the only thing that was going on was that Haylee had a hard life. Some of my students who like to read "books about kids with BIG problems" might enjoy this book.

Recommended for: older teens
Red Flags: language, violence, alcohol and drug use
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars