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Honor Roll titles

Cover for Unfolding
May 5, 2017

Review: Unfolding by Jonathan Friesen

The portrayal of epilepsy in this book was frustrating and disrespectful. People with epilepsy deserve better than this.

Cover for Handbook for Dragon Slayers
February 17, 2017

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.

May 20, 2016

#diklSFF: A Conversation About Disability in Science Fiction and Fantasy

We recap the highlights of our #diklSFF Twitter chat, including a link to the full Storify.

Cover for Game World
May 6, 2016

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.

Screenshot from Captain America: The Winter Soldier showing the Winter Soldier in action, his arm clearly visible.
March 27, 2016

(Not) Engaging with Disability: Convenient Approaches in SFF

Magic and technology often minimize disability in SF/F. How can authors meaningfully engage with disability and the ways that speculative elements can affect disabled characters?

Photo of Leigh Bardugo
March 26, 2016

Interview with Leigh Bardugo about Six of Crows

We sat down with NYT bestselling author Leigh Bardugo to talk about her most recent series, its depiction of disability, and more!

Cover for Six of Crows
March 26, 2016

Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows portrays disability with incredible nuance; it’s realistic, respectful, and perfectly integrated into the characters and story.

March 25, 2016

Worldbuilding About, Through, and With Autism

Speculative fiction is work that focuses on difference, work that immerses us in it. But the choices we make when building a fictional world can reflect on the world that we live in now. So how do we worldbuild with disability in mind?

Photo of Corinne Duyvis
March 24, 2016

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.

Cover for Otherbound
March 24, 2016

Review: Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis

I highly recommend this book to readers with disabilities who enjoy fantasy, particularly amputees. It’s great to see one of our own portrayed authentically and centered as a main character in an exciting adventure.

Discussion: Magical Disabilities
March 23, 2016

Discussion: Magical Disabilities

When we talk about disability and sci-fi/fantasy, the first thing many will think of is the magical disability trope. But what does this trope entail and imply? And how can you subvert it?

Cover for Bitterblue
March 23, 2016

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.

Photo of Courtney Summers
March 22, 2016

Interview with Courtney Summers about This Is Not a Test

We invite Courtney Summers to the blog to discuss researching and writing mental illness, disability in her zombie novel, and the lack of diversity in apocalyptic narratives.

Cover for The Shattering
March 21, 2016

Review: The Shattering by Karen Healey

Keri’s anxiety seems more of a framing device than anything else; The Shattering doesn’t contain as thorough a portrayal of anxiety as I’d hoped for, though its representations of other kinds of diversity more than make up for that.

Cover for The Rest of Us Just Live Here
March 20, 2016

Review: The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Despite reservations about the ending, I would recommend The Rest of Us Just Live Here; it’s a welcome addition to YA novels involving OCD and anxiety.

March 19, 2016

Overcompensating: Magical Erasure of Blindness in SFF

These magical or futuristic “fixes” seem rooted in a discomfort with disability: many writers cannot (or don’t want to) imagine a life without sight and therefore create excuses to give their character equivalent sighted experiences.

Cover for Young Knights of the Round Table
March 18, 2016

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.

Cover for Earth Girl
March 17, 2016

Discussion: Fictional Disabilities

In science-fiction and fantasy, you invariably run into fictional disabilities and allegories. Do these “count” as disability? What makes them work successfully in a book?

Cover for Bleeding Violet
March 16, 2016

Review: Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Hanna is a character with bipolar disorder; she’s not “bipolar disorder, the walking human diagnosis.” I think people who share the disease will find something soothing in seeing someone who both manages and mismanages her illness realistically.

March 15, 2016

Disability Metaphors in Sci-Fi and Fantasy

While I don’t think disability metaphors are sufficient disability representation, I do think that they’ll come up naturally in many stories, and that they’re relevant to the discussion of disability in SFF.

Cover for Odd and the Frost Giants
March 14, 2016

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.

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.

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.