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Lots going on here, but it's well integrated. Kiara is being home-schooled after attacking a girl (who had tormented her) in school. It wasn't the first time she'd lost her temper. Having Asperger's syndrome makes it hard for her to read people and to keep friends. She's used to having new people hang out with her until they see some of her quirks: not liking being touched, relating all situations to the X-men saga, being super literal, naive and obtuse.
So when two boys and their parents start renting a house nearby in the neighborhood, Kiara is determined not to blow this chance at friendship. Even when she begins to realize that the boys' home lives are seriously messed up, even though the older boy, Chad, tries to use her to do some weird (illegal? she wonders) stuff, she's still torn by her desire to have a friend. And she likes playing with superhero wrestler figures with the younger brother, Brandon.
Added to this mix is the fact that her mom has left to go earn a living performing with a band in Canada, leaving Kiara's dad to work a boring job, raise Kiara and wish HE were still able to play out. (Their family band has folded.) Kiara's older brothers are off at college; she overheard one of them say that she was an accident, a mutant from the chemo drugs her dad had taken before she was born. (Hence her ID with the mutant Rogue character from X-men.) Kiara tries various clumsily devious ploys to get her mom to come home.
Kiara starts BMX biking with Chad, and runs into one of her older brother's friends at the track. She starts filming the BMX riders' stunts and posting them on YouTube. The older boys recognize her developing skill, and she starts to feel like she might belong to this group. But what has she gotten herself into? Are they too mature? And Chad wants to join in--is he too much trouble?
This has great bike action, stuff about filming, and suspense about Chad and his family troubles, as well as less extreme tensions in Kiara's own family. The author has done a great job of capturing the challenges faced when trying to navigate social situations with Asperger's. It's based on her own experience, and you can tell.
So when two boys and their parents start renting a house nearby in the neighborhood, Kiara is determined not to blow this chance at friendship. Even when she begins to realize that the boys' home lives are seriously messed up, even though the older boy, Chad, tries to use her to do some weird (illegal? she wonders) stuff, she's still torn by her desire to have a friend. And she likes playing with superhero wrestler figures with the younger brother, Brandon.
Added to this mix is the fact that her mom has left to go earn a living performing with a band in Canada, leaving Kiara's dad to work a boring job, raise Kiara and wish HE were still able to play out. (Their family band has folded.) Kiara's older brothers are off at college; she overheard one of them say that she was an accident, a mutant from the chemo drugs her dad had taken before she was born. (Hence her ID with the mutant Rogue character from X-men.) Kiara tries various clumsily devious ploys to get her mom to come home.
Kiara starts BMX biking with Chad, and runs into one of her older brother's friends at the track. She starts filming the BMX riders' stunts and posting them on YouTube. The older boys recognize her developing skill, and she starts to feel like she might belong to this group. But what has she gotten herself into? Are they too mature? And Chad wants to join in--is he too much trouble?
This has great bike action, stuff about filming, and suspense about Chad and his family troubles, as well as less extreme tensions in Kiara's own family. The author has done a great job of capturing the challenges faced when trying to navigate social situations with Asperger's. It's based on her own experience, and you can tell.