Review: What I Couldn’t Tell You by Faye Bird
All the way through the book, I felt that something was slightly off with the portrayal of Tessie’s selective mutism, but in a way that made it hard to pin down.
Blog overview
Post listing
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.
Hypermobility and Representation
It’s clear that many people, including pre-diagnosis me, don’t know much about hypermobility; this only makes the need for representation more necessary.
Looking Back at 2016, and Looking Ahead to 2017
We take a moment to look back at our favorite posts and reads of the year, and to look ahead to the substantial changes 2017 will bring at Disability in Kidlit.
Finding Yourself in a Book: Why I Wrote Blind Spot
I wanted to write about a real girl with real emotions struggling in a world that too often is unforgiving to those who don’t fit the right mold.
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.
Review: Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland
The characterization and descriptions of Grace do disabled readers a disservice in more ways than one.
Review: Dead Girls Society by Michelle Krys
I appreciated the honesty and authenticity with which the emotional aspects of serious illness were written; the actual details of day-to-day life with cystic fibrosis, however, were a mixed bag.
Review: Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
Skim does a good job of showing misguided attempts to help those with depression, and lets the reader see the absurdity for themselves.
Review: Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling by Lucy Frank
I wish this book, featuring a girl newly diagnosed with Crohn’s, had existed when I was a teenager—my recurring thought throughout was, “Oh my god, someone wrote a book for me!”