Packing for a late summer trip to the beach? Don’t forget to pack a book or two. Here are some of the season’s most highly acclaimed literary selections on disability-related themes for readers of all ages and interests.
Novels
“True Biz”
By Sara Novic (Random House Group) 416 pages, $18, paperback
The New York Times Book Review calls Novic’s new novel about a teacher and her students at a boarding school for the deaf “tender, beautiful and radiantly outraged.”
“Happiness Falls”
By Angie Kim (Hogarth) 400 pages, $28, hardcover
When a 14-year-old non-verbal boy with autism returns from a walk with his father, alone and bloody, his family begins a desperate search to discover what happened to the missing dad. The crisis leads to a host of fascinating revelations about family members and their relationships.
Nonfiction
“The Country of the Blind”
By Andrew Leland (Penguin Press) 368 pages, $28, hardcover
As the author of this 2023 memoir gradually loses his sight to retinitis pigmentosa, he chronicles his journey into blindness while also exploring the rich culture and history of the blind community.
“Floppy: Tales of a Genetic Freak of Nature at the End of the World”
By Alyssa Graybeal (Red Hen Press) 280 pages, $17.62, paperback
Graybeal’s memoir is one of the first to be written about what it’s like to live with the connective tissue disorder Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
“Born Extraordinary: Empowering Children with Differences and Disabilities”
By Meg Zucker (TarcherPerigee) 272 pages, $18, paperback
Zucker’s latest book provides help for parents raising children with visible and invisible disabilities in a world that values sameness. Warm-hearted and honest, “Born Extraordinary” encourages parents and children to celebrate their differences.
Young Adult
“Where You See Yourself”
By Claire Forrest (Scholastic) 320 pages, $15.20, hardcover
This coming of age and romance novel chronicles wheelchair user Ellie’s senior year of high school in Minnesota and her dreams to attend college in NYC. Over the course of the year, Ellie learns that the possibilities for her future are endless!
Middle Grades
“Time to Roll”
By Jamie Sumner (Atheneum Books for Young Readers) 208 pages, $17.99, hardcover
When wheelchair user Ellie’s friends convince her to join a beauty pageant, she’s forced to contend with a variety of issues that test her self-confidence and ability to stand up for herself.
Picture Books
“Dancing Hands: A Story of Friendship in Filipino Sign Language”
By Joanna Que & Charina Marquez, illustrated by Fran Alvarez, translated by Karen Llagas (Chronicle), 40 pages, $17.99, hardcover.
“Dancing Hands” tells the sweet story of young neighbors and friends Sam and Mai who learn to communicated in Filipino Sign Language.
“A Day With No Words”
By Tiffany Hammond, illustrated by Kate Cosgrove (Wheat Penny Press) 48 pages, $14.99, hardcover.
“A Day With No Words” is the book that Black autistic author Tiffany Hammond wrote for her two autistic sons and others who are curious about non-verbal people. The book chronicles a day in which Hammond and one of her sons use a tablet to communicate.
