Review: Wonder by R.J. Palacio
In the time since I first read Wonder, my understanding of my disfigurement, and the world it occupies, has transformed. How will I now read and receive what was the most personally representative book of my life?
Browsing: middle grade
Post listing
Review: A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold
Despite some reservations, our reviewer would recommend this contemporary novel about young Bat – and the reviewer’s ten-year-old goddaughter agrees.
Review: Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell
Princess Tilda does not demonstrate the need to “overcome” her clubfoot, that word many of us in the disability community have come to loathe. To me, Tilda represents a new kind of heroine, who is strong and doesn’t need saving, but also acknowledges and shows her vulnerability and insecurities.
On Voice, Autism, and Parrot-Ear
“How did you manage to capture that voice?” beta readers would ask. “How did you know to describe those particular feelings?” I was starting to have a few self-revelations about that.
Review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
Wonderstruck is wonderful. It is, to date, the most creative and ambitious novel about the d/Deaf experience in America I’ve ever come across.
Interview with Melissa Shang about Mia Lee is Wheeling Through Middle School
Kayla Whaley talks with thirteen-year-old activist and author Melissa Shang about her recent middle grade debut.
Review: Game World by Christopher John Farley
Eli is a refreshing wheelchair-using character who regularly surprises and aids the protagonist with his skill set and mind.
Review: Young Knights of the Round Table by Julia Golding
Linette is more a convenient plot device than a protagonist, and disabled readers deserve more. Young Knights of the Round Table is a prime example of incidental disability done wrong.
Review: Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
From a mythology buff’s perspective, I was delighted with Odd and the Frost Giants. From a disability perspective, though, I was confused.
Review: Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby
One of the more authentic reflections I have seen of what it can be like to grow up deaf—this is the kind of book I wish I could have had when I was younger.