Author: Elle McNicoll
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: We Could Be Heroes by Margaret Finnegan
The Way to Bea by Kat Yeh
Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher): Ever since Ms. Murphy told us about the witch trials that happened centuries ago right here in Juniper, I can’t stop thinking about them. Those people weren’t magic. They were like me. Different like me.
I’m autistic. I see things that others do not. I hear sounds that they can ignore. And sometimes I feel things all at once. I think about the witches, with no one to speak for them. Not everyone in our small town understands. But if I keep trying, maybe someone will. I won’t let the witches be forgotten. Because there is more to their story. Just like there is more to mine.
My opinion: I bet most of us have never considered the role that most accused witches played in their communities, the causes of their existing outsider status. That idea is at the center of this book and is used as the framework to consider the role of current outsiders. McNicoll is asking us to consider the difference between being accepted and being expected to fit in.These characters feel the need to assimilate to a degree without losing their true selves. At the same time, we're considering community responsibility. This is a place having to come to terms with the ugly parts of their history without covering it up. A solid read for our times though probably not one with a lot of staying power.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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