Books We Love - Anything But Typical

Before I picked up this book I had read several reviews by bloggers who were reading or thinking about reading this book aloud to their class.  It was on my list to read, but I kept putting it off because it just didn't sound like a book I wanted to read.  Well, I was wrong.  I read this book cover to cover in two sittings.  I was moved by the main character's voice and several moments were truly heartbreaking.

The main character is Jason Blake, a 12 year-old autistic boy who doesn't fit in at school and is judged by his teachers, classmates, strangers and some members of his family.  He finds a storyboard forum online where he submits stories he has written for comments by other young writers.  This forum allows him to express his ideas without being judged and it is here he is treated as an equal.  He meets PhoenixBird online, another story writer who becomes a friend.  Things get complicated when Jason's parents surprise him with a trip to the Storyboard convention where he will have to meet PhoenixBird in person, which runs the risk of ruining everything...

I am now planning to use this as my next read aloud with my class.


Nora Raleigh Baskin is the winner of the middle-school 2010 Schneider Family Book Award for “Anything But Typical.”