Here's another new book we've just added to our library collection at AME:
Addie is a storyteller-in-writing, has ultra-sensitive hearing, and loves sharks. She is also autistic, and bullied by a teacher who equates neurodiversity with bad behavior. When Addie finds out that her town's history includes witch trials that resulted in the deaths of innocent women, her passion turns from sharks to learning everything she can about the trials and memorializing the victims.
This novel is more than just a book about witch trials--it is window into a person's experience with autism. We learn about the exhausting work of masking to function in everyday life, and Addie's preference of being called autistic rather than "a person with autism":
""I'm autistic," I correct him, almost automatically. "It's something you are, not something you have. ..."
Addie is fortunate that her older sister, Keedie, is also autistic. As we read the conversations between Keedie and Addie, we learn more about how they process sensory information and cope with overstimulation.
It's Monday, and I read a "windows and doors" book that taught me more about autism. What has a book character taught you?
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