Good Different
by Meg Eden Kuyatt (Author)
"The next Wonder. Good Different should be required reading." -- Good Morning America
An extraordinary novel-in-verse for fans of Starfish and A Kind of Spark about a neurodivergent girl who comes to understand and celebrate her difference.
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.
Selah's friends pull away from her, her school threatens expulsion, and her comfortable, familiar world starts to crumble. But as Selah starts to figure out more about who she is, she comes to understand that different doesn't mean damaged. Can she get her school to understand that, too, before it's too late?
This is a moving and unputdownable story about learning to celebrate the things that make us different. Good Different is the perfect next read for fans of Counting by 7s or Jasmine Warga.
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Publishers Weekly
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.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
The next Wonder. Good Different should be required reading. — Good Morning America
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
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
Meg Eden Kuyatt is a neurodivergent author and college-level creative writing instructor. She is a 2020 Pitch Wars mentee, and the author of poetry books. When she isn't writing, she's probably playing Fire Emblem. If she could be a Pokémon, she'd be Charizard. Find her online at www.megedenbooks.com or on Instagram at @meden_author.
JUV039050 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emotions & Feelings
JUV077000 - Juvenile Fiction | Neurodiversity
Emotions
Novels in verse
Self-perception
Self-actualization (Psychology)
Self-control in children
Autistic girls
Neurodiversity
Self-actualization
