  | Good different Author: Kuyatt, Meg Eden | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
Seventh-grader Selah Godfrey knows that to be "normal" she has to keep her feelings tightly controlled when people are around, but after hitting a fellow student, she needs to figure out just what makes her different--and why that is ok.
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| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 5.10 Points: 4.0 Quiz: 518123 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (03/01/23)
Booklist (+) (12/01/23)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 03/15/2023 *Starred Review* This beautifully written novel in verse follows one girl’s journey as she learns that she’s on the autism spectrum and comes to embrace herself. Seventh-grader Selah lives by her list of how to be a “Normal” person. This school year is already hard: best friend Noelle isn’t in her class, her new school uniform is itchy, her homeroom teacher is loud, and her classmates think she’s weird. It’s exhausting for her to hold in all the bad feelings all the time. When Selah’s annoying classmate Addie starts braiding Selah’s hair one day without asking, Selah instinctively lashes out. She inadvertently hits Addie and gets suspended. As she learns more about her potential autism diagnosis, a supportive English teacher assures her she’s not “damaged” and encourages her to express her feelings through poetry. Selah says, “I used to think / my rules could save me, make me happy, / but all I see now are the ways / they make me feel like I’m not enough.” In an author’s note, Kuyatt describes her own autism diagnosis, discusses masking and the degree to which the disorder is especially misdiagnosed in girls, and provides a list of resources and tools for autistic kids and their parents and educators. Ultimately, readers will empathize with Selah and rejoice with her as she learns to accept herself as she is. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.
