Review: Graceling and Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
This series is a fascinating look at how a writer can acknowledge the “magical cure” trope and improve on the portrayal in later books.
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Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
The Mara Dyer trilogy remains one of the best fictional depictions of PTSD that I have come across. That just makes it more disappointing when the series badly misses the mark on other issues.
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: The Half-Life of Planets by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin
While some elements of the representation were handled decently, I ultimately wasn’t a fan.
Review: You Look Different in Real Life by Jennifer Castle
While Rory’s portrayal isn’t flawless, it’s well researched, and a significant step in the right direction of treating autistic characters as regular teenagers and integral parts of the cast.
Review: Romancing the Dark in the City of Light by Ann Jacobus
Jacobus nailed the struggle with addiction, she nailed physical limitations, she nailed alcoholic and disability-related depression, she nailed the chaos of the active alcoholic, and she nailed the hopelessness and despair that can come from all of it.
Discussion: Stigmatizing Treatment of Mental Illness in Fiction
Many characters who may be mentally ill reject treatment out of hand, considering therapy a waste of time and suspecting medication will turn them into a zombie. Why are these narratives so popular? What are the alternatives?
Interview with Corinne Duyvis about Otherbound and On the Edge of Gone
Our reviewers interview author and Disability in Kidlit editor Corinne Duyvis about disability tropes, survival in the apocalypse, and writerly research.
Autistic Representation and Real-Life Consequences: An In-Depth Look
A thorough overview of common autism tropes that mirror and reinforce real-life stereotypes, with links to news stories, research, book reviews or commentary, and blog posts describing relevant real-world experiences.
Discussion: Intersectionality and Disability
Diversity in children’s literature is often represented as an either/or, without intersectionality; characters can either be autistic or gay, for example, or a wheelchair user or Black, but rarely both. Why is that?