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baitzelm's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
denizgokturk's review
5.0
Bu kitapla iki ayım geçti. Gecelerimi ve gündüzlerimi bu kitap için harcadım. Charity... Bana şu iki ay içinde o kadar çok şey öğrettin ki... Teşekkür ederim. Seni ellerime almak için sabırsızlanıyorum.
sara_hudson's review
3.0
This book does a lot of things well. Charity's voice is authentic and clear. The authors do a masterful job of putting us in her head and feeling her struggles. The pacing feels a bit off for me - it was a bit slow to get started, and then the climactic scene at the hearing felt rushed. That evil mom really needed more of a comeuppance.
This book will open some eyes to the assumptions we make about people who move through the world differently than we do.
This book will open some eyes to the assumptions we make about people who move through the world differently than we do.
3rian's review
4.0
I wish I had more books like this when I was a kid.
The narrator is a teenager named Charity, who had been diagnosed with low-functioning autism and is unable to control her body or communicate with the world around her. She is highly intelligent with loving and supportive parents, but struggles with how she is perceived as the exact opposite by nearly everyone else.
I haven’t read any young adult fiction in a while, so it took me a little bit to shift gears and roll with the simpler dialogue and situations, which are pitched with the younger reader in mind. There are some heartbreaking scenes right at the beginning involving mistreatment at a special-needs school - nothing over the top, but hard to read as it was cruel and sadly completely believable. The transition to a mainstream school is at the heart of the book and introduces a cast of supportive characters as well as bullies.
The plot beats are familiar and the story moves through them really quickly to arrive at a positive resolution, but that didn’t detract from the reading experience at all. For me, the book’s main strength was in how it helped me empathize with the narrator, not just her frustrations at feeling like a prisoner in her own body but also the awareness (and fear) of impending uncontrollable outbursts and the calming effects of self-stimulation like rocking back and forth or flapping hands. I also appreciated the insight into a different type of thought process, as Charity processes situations by making connections to memorized animal reference guides (right down to the page number). It’s all presented very sincerely and with great care.
Real is an important and worthwhile book, successfully voicing an example of a neuro-diverse perspective for young people. We could always use more like it as it’s never a bad thing to encourage kindness and understanding.
The narrator is a teenager named Charity, who had been diagnosed with low-functioning autism and is unable to control her body or communicate with the world around her. She is highly intelligent with loving and supportive parents, but struggles with how she is perceived as the exact opposite by nearly everyone else.
I haven’t read any young adult fiction in a while, so it took me a little bit to shift gears and roll with the simpler dialogue and situations, which are pitched with the younger reader in mind. There are some heartbreaking scenes right at the beginning involving mistreatment at a special-needs school - nothing over the top, but hard to read as it was cruel and sadly completely believable. The transition to a mainstream school is at the heart of the book and introduces a cast of supportive characters as well as bullies.
The plot beats are familiar and the story moves through them really quickly to arrive at a positive resolution, but that didn’t detract from the reading experience at all. For me, the book’s main strength was in how it helped me empathize with the narrator, not just her frustrations at feeling like a prisoner in her own body but also the awareness (and fear) of impending uncontrollable outbursts and the calming effects of self-stimulation like rocking back and forth or flapping hands. I also appreciated the insight into a different type of thought process, as Charity processes situations by making connections to memorized animal reference guides (right down to the page number). It’s all presented very sincerely and with great care.
Real is an important and worthwhile book, successfully voicing an example of a neuro-diverse perspective for young people. We could always use more like it as it’s never a bad thing to encourage kindness and understanding.
aheinicke27's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
katiemayveil's review
5.0
Charity is 13 years old, she likes pizza, strawberry shakes, music, swimming, and puzzles. She is highly intelligent and has an almost perfect memory, but no one knows that because she has never spoken.
Her mom picks out her outfits, which are usually an all pink mess that Charity despises. She goes to a 'school' for mentally handicapped children where abuse happens, she gets shut in the 'time-out' closet at least once a week for hours at a time. All of that changes one day when Charity's mom stops by the school unannounced and see's all the ridiculous things happening there. She is then on a quest to have Charity attend an actual school that will support her learning.
Charity is accepted into a regular middle school, where she has a wonderful aide that helps her with motor skills, meditation to help her control her body, and she finds friends who don't care that she can't talk. She slowly finds her place in school and with her peers and thoroughly enjoys learning. When she is finally given the means to communicate for herself, she is beyond happy, but still unfulfilled. She realizes that she needs to be the voice for others like her who can't express themselves verbally.
Real by Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard was a tear-jerker. I loved that the viewpoint of the story is Charity's and that we can hear her 'voice'. It made me wonder how many times I may have treated someone in Charity's shoes differently. This would be a phenomenal book for a discussion group, a classroom, or for a parent and children. It starts a conversation that should be happening regularly, but most likely isn't.
Her mom picks out her outfits, which are usually an all pink mess that Charity despises. She goes to a 'school' for mentally handicapped children where abuse happens, she gets shut in the 'time-out' closet at least once a week for hours at a time. All of that changes one day when Charity's mom stops by the school unannounced and see's all the ridiculous things happening there. She is then on a quest to have Charity attend an actual school that will support her learning.
Charity is accepted into a regular middle school, where she has a wonderful aide that helps her with motor skills, meditation to help her control her body, and she finds friends who don't care that she can't talk. She slowly finds her place in school and with her peers and thoroughly enjoys learning. When she is finally given the means to communicate for herself, she is beyond happy, but still unfulfilled. She realizes that she needs to be the voice for others like her who can't express themselves verbally.
Real by Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard was a tear-jerker. I loved that the viewpoint of the story is Charity's and that we can hear her 'voice'. It made me wonder how many times I may have treated someone in Charity's shoes differently. This would be a phenomenal book for a discussion group, a classroom, or for a parent and children. It starts a conversation that should be happening regularly, but most likely isn't.
llamallama527's review
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
thekittenholy's review
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
coolsaluki11's review against another edition
5.0
Great book!
Must read for everyone! So good and inspiring! It holds a special place in my heart! So genuine and I finished it in 2 days!
Must read for everyone! So good and inspiring! It holds a special place in my heart! So genuine and I finished it in 2 days!