zinelib 's review for:

Where You See Yourself by Claire Forrest

4.5

challenging fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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Wheelchair user Effie is in her senior year of high school. She's focused on college and maybe a boy. To me, Effie read as somewhat younger than 17/18, and had some weirdly stilted takes. She meets an alum of the school she wants to go to and observes that he's rich, and concludes to herself that the school (Prospect University, which sounds kind of like Pratt Institute) she wants to go to will set her up for success. But, despite some writing I didn't relate to stylistically, I appreciated this novel and learned from it. 

The abled world sucks and doesn't give a fuck. As often as not, the ADA door openers are Effie's high school don't work. She observes

In the minds of Mill City High School, the door is not the technicality, I am the technicality. 

and

A wave of shaky heat washes over me as I realize that sometimes I don't want to ask for accomodations because I want to feel "normal." But it is in those moments where I am not accommodated that I feel the least normal.

Forrest is effective at helping non-disabled readers see what disabled people are up against, all the time.