Reviews

This book made me cry. I have gone my whole life reading hundreds upon hundreds of books and I have never felt seen, I have never felt understood. In every essay, I saw a piece of myself that I've never seen reflected in any book before and it hurt, in a good way though.

"To my younger self and all the disabled kids today who can't imagine their futures. The world is ours, and this is for all of us"

I nearly cried when I read this dedication in class. I am crying as I type this because I am that person. I have spent so much of my life feeling like there is no place for me in this world because I have never seen a place for me in this world but this book showed me there is. I didn't know how much I needed this book until I read it. I can't put into words how this book makes me feel, I ache because I see so much of myself in the painful parts of these stories but they've also reminded me that I am not alone and that things get better and that I am valuable and that I have a place in this world.

rachelkc's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted fast-paced

3.75

micsdirt_nbooks's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

3.25

bookshelvesandboybands's review against another edition

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5.0

Thank you to Delacorte Press, Alice Wong, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

"These stories… are not focused on being ‘special’ or ‘inspirational.’ Rather, they show disabled people simply BEING in our own words, by our own accounts.” - Introduction from Alice Wong.

Disability Visibility (Adapted for Young Adults) is an abbreviated version of Disability Visibility (First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century), released in 2020. Containing 17 of the stories included in the full version, this book presents readers with new perspectives, thoughts and ideas that are approachable for both adult and young adult readers.

The true beauty of this book is that despite the gravity of the content, it left me with hope:
Hope that young (and less young!) readers with disabilities will see themselves in these stories. That their takeaways are that they are whole people deserving of access and love and joy and support and success. Hope that our society - which is so heavily centered around ableism - will become a place that’s accessible to everyone. Hope that everyone who reads this walks away with a refreshed intention and/or understanding, on how we can work together to make the world an equitable, safe, and accessible place for people with disabilities.

There’s also hope in the fact that this is a YA book, which means that we can give younger readers the tools, knowledge, and language to engage in difficult - and necessary - conversations early on.

If you can’t tell, I strongly urge you to read this book. It’ll leave a lasting - and hopeful - impact.

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