Friday, November 22, 2019

Varnished Unvarnish

Same but Different: Teen Life on the Autism Express by Holly Robinson Peete, Ryan Elizabeth Peete, & RJ Peete.
New York : Scholastic Press, 2016.
183 p. ; 22 cm.

A teacher assistant stopped in recently to ask about a biography dealing with autism.  We ended up finding this family biography written mainly by two high school twins - the boy "Charlie" has autism and the girl "Callie" does not.

The book is written in alternating chapters where each sibling talks about the experiences of life being a teen and about life dealing with autism. 

The book can be really blunt and honest - the girl talking about frustrations and embarrassing situations, and the boy talking about being frustrated and misunderstood.  What brings the book together is the familial love that binds these young people and the that undergirds their whole family.

I think this is a great, easy to read, and interesting introduction to autism.  I would definitely recommend it.