Beverley Brenna

I didn't know what to expect when I first got this book. In our library area it seemed like the sleeper of the Printz Honor and Award books this year. No library had it until we ordered it after the winners were announced. Taylor Jane is a young woman with asperger's who is trying very hard to become independent. She travels to France to work as a personal care assistant to her mother's boyfriend's son who has cystic fibrosis and in Taylor's eyes her mother invites herself along. Taylor is show more also working on a journal where she talks about her past, her feelings and sometimes her dreams.

I was very impressed by this book. Firstly even though it is the final book in a trilogy it most definitely works as a stand alone. I also have never read about someone who has asperger's before. I know several people who have asperger's and autism and I felt like this book really made me understand some of how they process their emotions and how difficult that is.

Taylor Jane's struggle with her mother to be seen as an adult and allowed to make decisions for herself is extremely relate-able to everyone. I see this as something that will really draw the reader in and then offer a perspective they have never given much thought to before unless their are people with asperger's in their life. This is well worth reading and I'm glad I got the opportunity to read it. show less

Enchanting.  A bit too short, as some sub-plots were over-simplified and could have benefited from expansion.  But it's not just another 'autism disorder' novel.  For one, the girl with Asperger's is, indeed, female.  And for another, she's 18, out of school, and realizing that her support system is now just her mom, and she has to find a way to grow up and learn how to make it on her own.  And by the end of the summer, she's grown a lot, and things look good for both of them.  Yay!  

This book was a very welcome change from my traditional fare. Taylor Simon has Asperger's syndrome, her case is relatively mild. She doesn't like change, at all. She does like orchids, they are uncommon like she is. She does like friends; it is difficult making them though.

This book is a beautiful coming of age story in which a girl learns that she doesn't need a boyfriend to live her life. She just needs to accept that certain changes are unavoidable. The voice of this novella makes it show more very difficult to read, but, absolutely worth every page of struggle. show less

5Q, 4P

Taylor Jane Simon is on her way to France to be a nanny, which is very important so she can put it on her resume. She sees her path to independence challenged by the fact that she has Asperger’s Syndrome, but if she can have a resume so that she can get job, she will one day be able to live on her own. Though this book is third in a trilogy, it stands on its own. Taylor is a fully realized character looking for her own identity, and her struggle towards independence is universal. The show more first-person narrative is authentic, and having read this back to back with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, I found that this title did more to bring an understanding of what life is like with Asperger’s and the real day-to-day challenges and desires. show less