It’s hard to read this book and not fall in love with the two main characters, Autumn Knight and Adonis Miller.
Each of these fourteen-year-olds is “pinned” in some way. Autumn can hardly read at all, and Adonis was born without legs. But Autumn has other exceptional talents such as wrestling, and shows great talent as a chef. And Adonis is smart as a whip, and a good teacher-in-the-making. But they are trapped by how they have chosen to cope with their disabilities.
Autumn is head over heels in love with Adonis, and sees the fact of their disabilities as an indication that they are meant for each other. She leaves him a note:
Disabled is me not being able to read. And you with out legs. So (u + me) = perfect. Right?”
Autumn hates reading because she can’t do it, and she objects to being curtailed from what she can do as punishment. Finally though, she gets the message that if she just applies the same determination to reading as she does to her other skills, she will succeed.
Adonis, too, learns that letting go of control to let someone else into his life isn’t as scary as he thought; in fact, it’s kind of nice.
Evaluation: I loved this book! Autumn has awful grammar, and Adonis is as rigid as a tent pole, but you’d be amazed at how quickly each of them grabs your heart and won’t let go.
Rating: 4/5
Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc., 2012
Filed under: Book Review Tagged: | Book Review
Putting this on my list!
I probably wouldn’t have even considered this one if I hadn’t read your review. now to get over Autumn’s grammar.
This one is new to me. I’m glad you liked it.
I am with Beth, I would not have given this book a second glance from that cover. Glad you enjoyed it so much!
Right there with the rest of them. Especially with that cover, which looks…I don’t know. Cheap? Shallow? Teenagery? Anyway, it does not advertise a book about teens with disabilities for sure.
I love the cover! What did turn me off was the premise (girl wrestler – I hate wrestling). But I have read Sharon Flake before, and I know she is a super author. And the whole idea is, Autumn has legs that REALLY WORK, and Adonis doesn’t have legs. And he has a brain that REALLY WORKS, and she doesn’t! Working together, they become a great team! I’m telling you, it’s a wonderful heart-warming story!
The description of the book doesn’t sound great to me but I can tell that you loved it, so I’d be willing to give it a try.
I’m with Kathy. This wouldn’t have been on my radar except for your review.
I don’t like the cover, but it sounds like this one really sheds light on what it might be like for a teen to live with disabilities. I might just have to read this one.
This one sounds interesting to me…just might pick it up!