A review by benfiretag
Me and Sam-Sam Handle the Apocalypse by Susan Vaught

4.0

A Best Juvenile Edgar winning book about a girl, Jesse (with an 'e'), with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who wants to save her father from going to jail over money stolen from his desk at school. Sam-Sam is her dog who provides emotional support. Like many kids with ASD, she is shunned, bullied and generally treated badly by other students and even some of the adults at school. Her mother is away in Iraq for the Army and has another dog who can sniff out bombs. Jesse tries to train Sam-Sam to find treats hidden in plastic containers, but that ongoing project hasn't gone very far. She gains a new friend, who is also picked-on because he won't hit. Between the two of them, they start their own detective agency. How will they deal with the local bullies and adults with other problems? Will they solve the mystery of the theft in time to keep Jesse's father from going to jail? And how will they deal with the apocalypse of a tornado?
This is a wonderful read, teaching about kids with ASD and how they see and handle the world in all its weirdness.