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Honor Roll titles

Close-up of a face, showing a set of questioning brown eyes
December 13, 2015

When Blind Is Forever

I used to think there would be a magical cure for my blindness. I don’t remember this, but my mother assures me it’s true.

A pair of headphones.
December 12, 2015

Interview with Jennifer Rubins and Dan Zitt of Penguin Random House Audio

Audiobooks are an essential part of making reading as accessible as possible, so we’re excited to sit down with marketing manager Jennifer Rubins and head of production Dan Zitt and talk about the behind-the-scenes process of audiobooks.

Cover for The Angel Tree
December 12, 2015

Review: The Angel Tree by Daphne Benedis-Grab

Although the author got some of the details about blindness wrong, she seems very committed to diversity, and I enjoyed this book a lot.

Photo of Eric Lindstrom
December 11, 2015

Interview with Eric Lindstrom about Not If I See You First

Eric Lindstrom wrote an excellent portrayal of a blind teenage girl, so we’re happy to invite him to the site to discuss his approach, blindness tropes, and more.

Cover for Not If I See You First
December 11, 2015

Review: Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom

Parker Grant is a complex, flawed character whose blindness was handled realistically; a big part of her life, but not the only part of her life. This is definitely a book I will be recommending.

Cover for Cover for BLIND
December 10, 2015

Review: Blind by Rachel DeWoskin

Although I sometimes genuinely enjoyed myself while reading this book, those times were unfortunately outweighed by the serious inaccuracies.

Cover for Cover for BLIND
December 10, 2015

Review: Blind by Rachel DeWoskin

It’s sadly hard to see beyond Emma’s reflections on what she can’t do now that she’s lost her sight to actually find out how she’s adapting and adjusting.

Cover for Because You’ll Never Meet Me
December 9, 2015

Review: Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas

It felt like the author used Moritz’s echolocation as a way of avoiding a realistic portrayal of blindness; too many tired blindness tropes popped up throughout the book for me to love and champion it the way others have.

December 8, 2015

A Semi-Constant Waiting Game

Today we get most forms of entertainment at the push of a button, so we tend to hate having to wait. The situation is even worse if you can’t read print — resulting in an endless waiting game for blind readers.

Cover for Cover for THE YOUNG ELITES
December 8, 2015

Review: The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Lu’s depiction of life with one eye is up and down; cringe-worthy beliefs are juxtaposed with realistic depictions of the main character’s adjustment to her condition.

Cover for Cover for SHE IS NOT INVISIBLE
December 7, 2015

Review: She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick

Although Laureth didn’t represent me as a blind person, Sedgwick didn’t feed off tropes and stereotypes; instead, he met with many young blind people and found out about their lives.

December 6, 2015

Blindness Week Introduction

Disability in Kidlit will be having a week-long event focusing on blindness in YA/MG!

Cover for Cover for SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY
December 4, 2015

Review: Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

Overall, I found the portrayal of pediatric cancer iffy — better than some, worse than others. Rather than unthinking stereotypes, though, these shortcomings felt like a result of a lack of personal experience or oversights in research.

Cover for Cover for JERK, CALIFORNIA
November 20, 2015

Review: Jerk, California by Jonathan Friesen

I would’ve enjoyed Jerk, California a lot more if its depiction of life with Tourette’s Syndrome was handled as well as its technical depiction of Tourette’s Syndrome itself.

A young girl stands in front of a chalkboard; on the chalkboard is a drawing of two muscular arms held up in a power pose. The girl has her own arms crossed and looks unhappily into the camera.
November 6, 2015

Redefining Heroism

Science fiction and fantasy tell us that anything can happen, and yet disabled people are often told that their narratives don’t fit into the genres.

Cover for The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
November 1, 2015

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.

Cover for Cover for CHIME
October 31, 2015

Review: Chime by Franny Billingsley

In no way is Briony’s depression the whole point of this novel—however, it is an important piece, and it is portrayed excellently. Chime was one of the most cathartic reading experiences of my life.

October 30, 2015

Announcing Themed Weekends!

We’re excited to announce a new periodic feature: themed weekends!

Cover for Sunny Sweet Is So Not Sorry
October 30, 2015

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.

Cover for Cover for ROMANCING THE DARK IN THE CITY OF LIGHT
October 16, 2015

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.

Cover for Cover for YOUR VOICE IS ALL I HEAR
October 2, 2015

Review: Your Voice Is All I Hear by Leah Scheier

Your Voice is All I Hear will familiarize readers with common symptoms, while normalizing schizophrenia as an illness like any other; however, it is obvious that this book’s target audience is not those with schizophrenia themselves.

Cover for Cover for BRILLIANT
September 18, 2015

Review: Brilliant by Roddy Doyle

Despite good ideas and wonderful writing, Brilliant falls flat when it comes to having any constructive meaning regarding depression.

September 17, 2015

Disability in Kidlit is seeking a new team member

We’re looking to expand the Disability in Kidlit team, as the website has grown in popularity in recent months and we’re working on exciting new projects.

Cover for Cover for EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING
September 4, 2015

Review: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Everything, Everything starts out as a respectful, sensitive narrative with incredibly likable characters, but ends on a shockingly disappointing note in terms of disability representation.

Cover for Cover for A WHOLE NEW BALLGAME
August 21, 2015

Review: A Whole New Ballgame by Phil Bildner

Although several elements of Red’s autism are portrayed well and I’m eager to read the sequels, the character is often relegated to muttering statistics and nervously stimming in the background.