BOUNDLESS

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.