(Teen fiction)
I have a hard time keeping up with book clubs and reading non fiction for work, so when I can read a fiction book that is related to my job and MAY be a good recommendation for a client to read, I take advantage! I heard about this book on tik tok and it sounded like it would be relatable for my teenage clients!
“Selah knows her rules for being normal.
She always, always sticks to them. This means keeping her feelings locked tightly inside, despite the way they build up inside her as each school day goes on, so that she has to run to the bathroom and hide in the stall until she can calm down. So that she has to tear off her normal-person mask the second she gets home from school, and listen to her favorite pop song on repeat, trying to recharge. Selah feels like a dragon stuck in a world of humans, but she knows how to hide it.
Until the day she explodes and hits a fellow student.”
Written in a different poetry style format, I loved this book because it read like a journal. I was looking for a book that my clients could relate to, and it feels like you’re reading the journal of this sweet girl who can’t understand why she struggles so much to be “normal”. How relatable for so many of my clients, and to be able to read this and relate to the day to day challenges , the big emotions, the fidgety, word losing moments, is so powerful! I wish I could have read a book like this when I was a child I feel like I may have felt a bit seen even though I wasn’t exactly like Selah! I loved that through it all, Selah learns is ok to be different and finds the label that validates her experience, which can be a major life moment for many autistic individuals !
What book should I try to read next?
Be Your Own Sunshine 