The Power of Books

Books have the amazing power to inform and to make us feel.  When faced with characters in a book who are different from us or who are going through experiences unlike our own,  books can sometimes help us understand a different world, culture, viewpoint.   And at the same time, these stories and characters may remind us of ourselves and help us understand our own lives better or make us realize we aren't alone.

The following books go into the minds and worlds of characters with differences - physical, mental, and emotional.

Marcelo in the Real World

by Francisco X. Stork

Marcelo, is a teenager with Asperger's syndrome who has long heard his own music,  when his father makes him take a job at his law firm so that Marcelo can experience the real world, Marcelo realizes that his way of thinking and interacting may be different, but it is every bit as real and valid in the real world.

Found at: Public Library.

Why chosen:  The unique qualities of Marcelo's personality help him to set a wrong to right; and he gets the girl in the end.

Anything but Typical

by Nora Raleigh Baskin

In this story, Jason finds the way he can be the most "normal" is when he is interacting with people online through his writing; in this way people can't see him, but what should he do when he has the chance to meet a girl with whom he has been sharing his stories.


Found at: Public Library.

Why chosen:  The story allows the reader to see through the eyes of an autistic boy and how that feels.

Wonder

by R.J. Palacio

Told from the perspective of many characters, Auggie Pullman, born with a severe facial deformity and home schooled most of his life, starts middle school where he is faced with a bully who seems to have turned the school against Auggie, but the power of kindness wins in the end.

Found at: Public Library.

Why chosen:  For its uplifting message that we all have the power within ourselves to make a difference by choosing to be kind.

All the Broken Pieces

by Ann E. Burg

This book, written in verse, is the story of a boy who is forced to leave his family behind during the Vietnam War to find a "better" life in a new family and country; his life feels broken as he tries to sort out the pieces and the sadness and the guilt he feels about leaving his family behind.

Found at: Public Library.

Why chosen:  This book provides another perspective on what it means to be different, to accept oneself, and to fit in.