by Cynthia Lord
ages: 9-13
First sentence: “
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Catherine’s little brother, David, has autism. Which really isn’t that bad, in Catherine’s mind. Sure, it means she has to babysit, and keep her stuff away from him, and write up rules so he can understand how the world works. But, she really does love her little brother, even while she hopes for a more “normal” life.

Then, when a girl her own age — Kristi — moves in next door, she has the chance. As it turns out, she also meets a guy — Jason — at her brother’s Occupational Therapy appointments. Jason, however, is in a wheelchair and can’t talk except for pointing at word cards on a tray attached to his chair. Catherine strikes up a friendship with him, and enjoys his company, yet she’s afraid to tell Kristi about it.

While the conflict in this book is minimal — mostly it’s just Catherine’s frustrations with her life being defined by her younger brother — it’s a really engaging book. While I have minimal experience with any sort of disabilities, I liked that she didn’t treat them as anything exceptional. Fact: Jason was in a wheelchair and couldn’t talk. It didn’t hinder his character development or the plot. Lord even managed to get across Jason’s sense of humor. Fact: David was autistic. Again, it wasn’t something that was seen as a challenge — though for Catherine it certainly was at times — but rather as just part of who David was. Lord writes in such a way that treats everything with not only humor, but also sympathy, which makes everything feel exactly right.

And all of it together made this book simply un-put-down-able.