Publishers Weekly
★ 02/20/2023
In Kuyatt’s heartfelt debut, free verse poems explore middle school changes via the first-person viewpoint of an autistic 12-year-old. Selah Godfrey has always liked rules-oriented Pebblecreek Academy, where she knows exactly “what I’m/ supposed to do.” But when she enters seventh grade, everything’s different. Amid the crowded hallways, loud cafeteria, and itchy new uniforms, Selah’s rules for “Being a ‘Normal’ Person” include resisting the urge to talk about dragons, remaining on her “Best Behavior,” and otherwise masking until she can calm herself in the bathroom. When a classmate braids her hair without asking, and Selah’s reaction causes a bloody nose, Selah is regarded as a social pariah and threatened with expulsion. Isolated from her peers, she takes the advice of her beloved, similarly wired grandfather and starts to write in a notebook, further finding her voice through a kind English teacher’s poetry assignment. Kuyatt, who is autistic, uses candid lines to present Selah’s story, conveying her mother’s well-intentioned denial of Selah’s needs, and Selah’s own experiences, self-knowledge, and eventual self-advocacy. Selah is white. An author’s note and resources conclude. Ages 8–12. Agent: Lauren Spieller, TriadaUS. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Good Different:
A Schneider Family Book Award Honor Book
A School Library Journal Best Book
Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Older Readers
"The next Wonder. Good Different should be required reading." — Good Morning America
★ "This beautifully written novel-in-verse follows one girl's journey as she learns that she's on the autism spectrum and comes to embrace herself. Readers will rejoice with Selah as she learns to accept herself as she is." — Booklist, starred review
★ "Heartfelt. Kuyatt uses candid lines to present Selah's own experiences, self-knowledge, and eventual self-advocacy." — Publishers Weekly, starred review
"This moving new novel in verse will build empathy among neurotypical kids for the challenges their autistic peers face, and help autistic kids discover the power of their own voices. Highly recommended." — A Mighty Girl
"Here's a book that throws that dumb stereotype of the stoic autistic experience out the window — it's full of deep feelings and soul-searching and is just an absolute joy." — Common Sense Media
"A beautiful story about family relationships, support, and how to communicate with people you love but can't completely relate to." — Child Mind Institute
"A brilliant, deeply moving, and redemptive novel about neurodiversity and living on the spectrum." — The Reading Eagle
"Relatable, profound and beautifully heartfelt. I loved it." — Elle McNicoll, author of the Schneider Family Book Award Honor-winning A Kind of Spark
"A powerful addition to literature about the autism experience. Selah is funny, insightful, and poetic in her quest to balance fitting in and staying true to herself." — Laura Shovan, co-author of Sydney Taylor Notable novel A Place at the Table
"Meg Eden Kuyatt portrays the experience of being an autistic girl with authenticity and heart. Her beautiful verse paints a vivid picture of the challenges and the joys of being autistic. Selah is a hero that readers will root for and remember." — Sarah Kapit, author of Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!
"Throughout Good Different, Selah learns it's okay to stand up and it's okay to stand out. Meg Kuyatt's powerful debut finds Selah answering the age-old question: Why be normal when you can soar like a dragon?" — Eric Bell, author of Alan Cole Is not a Coward
Kirkus Reviews
2023-02-08
An autistic artist just wants to survive seventh grade.
Selah, a White girl, is a “good kid,” praised for her schoolwork—but inside, she’s a “dragon.” She can’t abide noise, smells, or touches, and her mother has been extremely clear about hiding her differences in public. But her “normal-person mask” is fraying. When Selah is praised for getting an A on a test and there is loud applause, she thinks, “I want to crawl / under my desk.” Eventually, Selah has a violent outburst: Now classmates and teachers treat her like a wild animal. In her notebook, Selah writes free verse about being a dragon—a metaphor for all her neurodivergent frustration with social norms. She worries that she shouldn’t share her poetry (“My feelings are loud. Rude. / BIG. Sometimes / angry. Are those OK in poems?”), but the verses ultimately allow her to share her scary feelings. It’s a revelation when she finds fellow neurodivergent geeks at FantasyCon. Happy, married adults use earplugs and sensory tools, wear color-coded communication bracelets, and speak calmly and without shame about their autism. Can these tools help when educators at her private school are hostile to autistic kids’ needs? Can they help when even her neurodivergent mother doesn’t want to recognize that Selah isn’t “normal”? Through her poems, Selah believably mends her family and starts a movement in her school, showing readers ways that “different” can be wonderful.
Short free-verse vignettes beautifully evoke despair, loneliness—and determination. (author’s note, resources) (Verse fiction. 9-12)
