Eclectic, affirming, and triumphant.
Seventeen stories center on kids with chronic illnesses, mobility and sensory disabilities, and neurodivergence.
In genres ranging from realistic fiction to fantasy, readers meet an intersectionally diverse array of protagonists. A nonbinary, Latine bruje with juvenile arthritis is determined to apply to a prestigious magic school despite their Papi’s overprotectiveness in Gabe Cole Novoa’s “El Examen,” and a transgender boy struggles with focus and fatigue in H.E. Edgmon’s “How To Love a Firefly.” Many characters are fighters. In Cindy Baldwin’s “Aspen Jones and the God of Death,” a violinist with cystic fibrosis must outwit Death after she inadvertently sacrifices her sister in exchange for a cure, while in Samira Ahmed’s “Breathe Easy,” a South Asian Muslim tennis player with asthma leverages social media when her family’s landlord won’t address a mold problem. Mo Netz’s “Mrs. Gutierrez, You’re Not Going To Believe This” adds a dash of humor as a wheelchair user’s classroom journal becomes a madcap superhero origin story. Together, the stories candidly portray disability’s various facets, including external and internalized ableism, the uncertainty and relief of diagnosis, the power of representation, and above all, resilience. Some stories may leave readers wanting more details, but the sum of the parts is a celebration of disabilities including autism, dyslexia, diabetes, and more.
Eclectic, affirming, and triumphant. (contributor bios) (Anthology. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2026
ISBN: 9780374393670
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...
At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.
Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975
ISBN: 0312369816
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
