VVMBookBlog

Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Anything but Typical is talking about the main character who is autistic, but the title is also fitting of the book. The main characters, Jason, tells his story which focuses on his family, his writing, and perhaps his new girlfriend. Jason often has difficulties communicating verbally with people but is a fantastic writer. He is most comfortable when he is writing online. This is how he meets Phoenix Bird who he considers to be his girlfriend. Life gets complicated when he has the opportunity to meet with her at a writing conference.

This novel shows the difficulties Jason faces communicating with others. My favorite character of the books is a minor character, Aaron Miller. He is accepting of Jason and engages with him during lunch. Although Jason is autistic he is an intelligent young man, but not everyone takes the time to notice him.

This is one of my favorite kinds of books–teen main characters trying to make sense of their world and who they are, parents who seem to be clueless, possibilities of hope laced in the story, and enough action and conflict to keep me reading to the end!

17-year-old Liam is the son of a former fashion model and a straight-arrow, no-nonsense father who doesn’t approve of anything Liam does.  Too much bad behavior finally gets Liam kicked out of the house and he goes to live with his father’s brother, “Aunt Pete,” a DJ, glam rocker, who is gay, lives in a trailer and has his own issues with Liam’s father and grandparents.  It seems like Liam couldn’t find many more ways to get in trouble, even after moving in with Aunt Pete.  But working with Liam to figure out why he is such a “screwup” is what keeps us reading to the end of this very satisfying story.

Go Liam!

As this story begins, DeShawn is 12 and living a large city housing project with his grandmother and older sister–his mother was killed earlier in the crossfire of neighborhood  gang warfare.  Even at 12, DeShawn has seen much evidence of gang violence and knows many friends and relatives who are now dead or in jail because of gang activities.  He’s smart enough to know that he wants and needs to stay away from gangs, and a couple of his teachers try to help him get enrolled in a special school that would improve his hopes for the future.  Unfortunately, life for him, his family and friends depends so much on the activities of the rival gangs in his neighborhood that trying to escape it is nearly impossible.

The book is divided into sections based on DeShawn’s age until he reaches 18, and his life becomes more and more complex and challenging.  I had to keep reading to see what would happen to DeShawn, all while feeling the hopelessness of his living situation, which was the author’s purpose in writing this book.  I think students who enjoy reading our “street lit” books will like this one, even though the dialogue and language didn’t seem very authentic–”school-safe” maybe but not authentic.

The author says we as a country need to do something soon about the problems of inner-city youth and families, and gives information and data to support his message. It’s a hard topic to read about and harder still to experience.

14-year-old Arnold “Junior” Spirit is a Spokane Indian who has lived on the “rez” all his life.  He has an older sister whom he admires very much and a mother and father who love him, even though his father is a chronic alcoholic. Arnold has several disabilities due to his hydrocephaly or water on the brain, and has some physical conditions that make him a target for bullying.  And he has a talent for cartooning.

Arnold has always attended the school on the reservation but a classroom incident in the first days of his 9th grade year prompts one of his teachers to recommend that he leave the rez school for a better school–the nearest public school 22 miles away.  Now branded as a traitor to his reservation family, Arnold faces the many challenges to being a reservation Indian in a very white school.  He doesn’t back down from any challenge and doors open for him in every situation.

In spite of some tough social and living conditions in Arnold’s life, this book is funny, fun to read and hopeful.  It’s definitely for more mature readers who can read beyond just the words to the amazingly courageous person that is Arnold.

Shelby is 13, has three sisters and a mom who happens to be Japanese-American, and who has led an “interesting” life–Shelby and her sisters all have different fathers.  They have all been taught by their mother that what’s important in life is how they look.  That causes Shelby some concern because she doesn’t feel as pretty as her sisters.  What value does she have if she isn’t pretty?

Everything and everyone gets tested when Shelby’s mother is in a bad car accident and ends up in the hospital for a long period of time recovering from disfiguring facial wounds among other physical damage .  Since none of the sisters are old enough to be responsible on their own, they all have to go live with their own fathers, and some of the fathers aren’t so great.  The months spent with their fathers teach them all, including the fathers, what a strong bond the sisters have with each other and the relative importance of “outside beauty” in their lives.

This story really presents a different type of “family” and I’m not sure a similar family in real life would get along as well as these sisters do.  Perhaps I’m being too judgmental and difficult situations bring children together.  What do you think?