Charity is a 13-year-old girl with autism who can’t talk and has a body she can’t control. Most people, “the thinkers”, assume she can’t learn. But just because her brain works differently from most people’s, it doesn’t mean she isn’t intelligent.

When her parents enroll her in the public junior high school, Charity now faces her greatest fears. Will the other kids make fun of her or ignore her completely? She starts off on a trial basis, but will her behavior get her kicked out before she really gets started? Can she be the girl who advocates for those who can’t speak?

Inspired by a true story, Real follows Charity, with the support of teachers, newfound friends, and family, as she stands up to prove that people are worthy of being included.

Told through Charity’s point of view, this book is captivating and beautiful. She shares her frustrations on not being able to communicate but then you see her journey of gaining her voice through typing and reading text and her world expands greatly.

Though education still has a long way to go for neurodiverse students, this book gave me hope that we’re at least going in the right direction. It really opened my eyes to how much people have had to fight to simply be treated like everyone else and receive a fair education. The amount of times “thinkers” wouldn’t listen to Charity and her parents or school aides had to fight for people to talk and listen to her was astonishing.

“Their labels do not define me. They only limit me.”

I highly recommend this book to everyone. The world definitely needs more books like these where those who haven’t had a voice finally get heard. It’s also a great starting point for discussions about disabilities and ableism. Please read this. ( )