I’m Acknowledged in This Book!

For the past few years, I’ve made myself available as a sensitivity reader (or authenticity reader) for able-bodied authors who are creating a character with cerebral palsy. An authenticity reader is anyone who is living an experience that the author is not. That reader is able to share their real-life perspective so that the fictional representation is more authentic and avoids stereotypes. More about sensitivity reads on my website. 

FLY, by Alison Hughes, is the third professionally published novel for which I’ve served as a sensitivity reader, but it’s the first where the character with cerebral palsy is the story’s main character. Felix is a fourteen-year-old power wheelchair user. Every portrayal of CP that I’ve commented on has been different from my own CP, either milder or more profound. I don’t always feel comfortable speaking as an authority on CP when everyone’s experience is different. But that’s why it’s recommended to have multiple sensitivity readers when feasible.

Working on this manuscript was lovely because it’s a middle grade novel in verse, which makes it a more approachable project than a longer work, and it already had so many “cerebral palsy moments” where my only comment was “Yes!”

FLY was released by Kids Can Press on October 4, 2022, and the author sent me a signed copy. I recently read it, and I really, really love seeing the way a story changes from later-draft manuscript to published version. Yes, I feel proud when I see that a suggestion of mine made it into the book, but I also love seeing other changes, changes that I wouldn’t have thought of that make the story much better. So, yes, I wholeheartedly recommend FLY for anyone twelve-ish and up (the content does include some drug-dealing at school). And I’m not just recommending FLY because I had a small part in it. The story is just the right mix of funny and serious, with just the right amount of sarcasm and introspection.

If you’re looking for more stories about people with cerebral palsy, here’s the goodreads list I created for books that feature cerebral palsy in any way. I’m only allowed to “vote” for 100 books, and I’ve reached my limit, so please add more books if you know of any!