"RULES FOR CAMOUFLAGE
1. Whenever you need to
2. Anytime it seems necessary
3. Not with people you trust
4. How do you figure out who to trust?
5. Almost always in public.
6. Definitely with grown-ups
7. ALWAYS at school
8. Never at the zoo."
Evvie, protagonist of Kirsten Cronn-Mills' Rules For Camouflage, is neurodivergent. Life was challenging after her sophomore year diagnosis. Now she understands her brain and how to work with it. And she's discovered a real passion. She volunteers after school at a zoo where they're testing the intelligence of a day 🐙. She's become enamored of Aretha and her species. She's also met kindred spirits among the staff and caught the interest of a cute fellow volunteer. In fact he may be more than just a friend.
Unfortunately high school can be a very unkind space for anyone who is different. At Bluestem Lake Area High School, in addition to the student bullies there's a teacher who is determined to keep Evvie from graduating 🎓 if she won't conform to her rules.
Hence the need for rules for camoflage.
There is one place in the school that has been created as a sanctuary for neurodivergent students. The Lair is a place where they can get a break from the pressure and stress and be valued for who they truly are.
But its continued existence is being threatened.
Evvie is a shero you can't help rooting for. Please join her for her (hopefully) final year of high school.
On a purrrsonal note, today when I went to Orono Public Library to get my new bunch of inter library loans I met and befriended by a very gentle, dignified, friendly and big dog named Bailey. I'll post a picture tomorrow. She was bred a lot and then discarded. Fortunately she now has a loving home and time to make friends at the library.
A great big shout out goes out to Bailey and all the good rescue dogs and cats.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
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