Good Different

Juvenile fiction in verse 

"Pretending to be a Normal person is tiring.

As soon as Mom pulls into the driveway

and I get inside, I change

     take off my Normal-person mask

     put on my headphones 

     play my favorite pop songs on repeat."

     One of the most promising signs in Juvenile fiction these days is books with neurodivergent narrators written by neurodivergent authors.  Meg Eden Kuyatt's Good Different, written in verse is a beautiful example of this subgenre.

     Selah knows that she's different.  She has a list of rules on how to be a Normal person that help her blend in.  Her mother pressures her to do all she can to pass.  Her grandfather who lives next door is different also.  

"Pop's the only one who gets me,

says 'we're cut from the same cloth,'

like we're two matching button-down shirts

in the same closet'"

     Up through sixth grade she loved the predictability and rules of her school 🏫.   They made it so that she didn't have to stress over the many decisions already made for her.  She felt like, despite not being Normal she fit in.

     In seventh grade everything seems to change.  Selah and her best friend are in different classes, only getting together at lunch.  The interests of her peers have changed.  Now they are all into crushes.

"I'd rather talk about 

myths or dragons 

but keep that part of me

locked up

because I know the girls 

don't want to talk about myths or dragons."

     The new difficulty of blending in at school isn't the only challenge Selah faces.  Loud people who throw parties with bonfires at night have moved into the house next door.  Her mother says they aren't that loud.  They're loud enough to keep Selah from sleeping.

     One day Selah unexpectedly feels somebody's fingers in her hair.  She reflexively moves defensively and then realizes she's given the girl, Addie, who was playing with her hair a bloody nose.  Suddenly most of her classmates act like she's strange and dangerous.  Addie's mother is trying to get her kicked out of school.  Her principal tells her that if there's another incident she'll have to leave, a prospect she finds terrifying.

     But all is not lost.  Selah begins to learn about the spectrum and accommodations.  She begins to share poetry that helps some of her peers identify with her.

     Good Different is the poignant and powerful coming of age narrative of a girl discovering that although her brain is different it's also beautiful.  I highly recommend it to middle schoolers both on and off the spectrum.

On a purrrsonal note, well it's been a good week.  I've had my fun evenings and made progress on my writing and studio reorganization.  My writing corner, the niche created by my bureaus and the closet look amazing.  Now I have to tackle the bunk bed and the floor and decide which Christmas 🎄 ornaments I want to add to my wall decorations and which to store in my shed.  Then it's on to the rest of the house.  (Jules)

It's looking good.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to you, our readers.  Hope you're having a great weekend.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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