Review: Omegaball by Robert J. Peterson
I was intrigued by the virtual-reality premise, but this book is a veritable hotbed of misogyny and a case study in how not to write a wheelchair-using character.
Browsing: wheelchairs
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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.
Turning Points
For as long as I could remember, I had been surrounded by people with special needs; I wasn’t aware that there were kids my age that didn’t have disabilities.
Review: I Funny by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein
We have so few stories—especially lighthearted ones—with wheelchair-using characters that I’d hoped I’d be able to recommend I Funny, but it’s a dangerous narrative wrapped up and presented as “good messages.”
Review: The Sunny Sweet series by Jennifer Ann Mann
Although it lacks detail in its portrayal of spina bifida, this is a well-written, cute series featuring a very cool character with the condition.
Review: Rules by Cynthia Lord
This is a book about a girl with an autistic brother. The autistic brother is crucial to the plot, but her actual brother is really more of a plot device than anything else.
Review: Centaur Rising by Jane Yolen
Despite elements that I saw as didactic or inauthentic, there is a lot that kids will like in this book.
Discussion: Warning Flags and Turn-Offs
Clichés, ableist language … what kinds of words, phrases, or situations used in book or character descriptions send up warning flags for our contributors?