Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern

I read this book in about 7 hours! I could not put it down. I HAD to know what happened next. Each chapter flowed right into the next one that I rarely noticed it was a new chapter. It was worth staying up until 4 am to finish it. Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern Thankfully I am on winter break and didn’t need to worry about waking up early for work.

Amy has cerebral palsy and has always had adult aids help her throughout her day of school. Matthew is very quiet but tells Amy some hard truths she never thought of and decides her senior year she will have student aides to help her each day, including Matthew. Matthew can’t believe he agreed to do this each week and he has OCD which he thinks he is hiding from others. As they both navigate outside their comfort zones they are able to be themselves, especially Matthew who is usually quiet and shy and in the background unnoticed.

A must-have for middle and high school libraries.

Thank you A Mighty Girl for this booklist where I found the title. https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20201218&ts=20201218&p=30987
I had read many other titles on this list and plan to read a few more.
Cammie McGovern has other great titles that I have added to my To Be Read list too.

Possible spoiler alerts
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They both have so much to say to each other but don’t for too long. Say what needs to be said, life is too short. (No worries, no one dies). I felt like we all are always so worried to share our true feelings and that we don’t so we end up “wasting time” that could have been spent differently.

Learning Disabled Book Characters (part 2)

Smart on the InsideBack in October 2012, my friend Kathy Young, co-author with Eileen Gold Kushner of the book Smart on the Inside asked me if I knew of any books with characters that have learning disabilities, challenges. I had a short list so I also asked for help from the fabulous “Great Brains” of listservs: LM_NET, child_lit, YALSA-bk, and MAME. I compiled the list for Kathy and her friend Stacy to use at a presentation they made at the Illinois Reading Council in Springfield. In total they have a list of over 150 books that have characters with disabilities.

To see the list of books (8 pages) and wonderful resources for those with learning challenges, please go to Kathy and Eileen’s website for their book Smart on the Inside.   Click on the Resources tab to see the book list as well as other resources for students with learning challenges such as; Job Tips, Life Skills, Vocabulary and Discussion Questions for Smart on the Inside.

Don’t forget to like their Facebook page and follow their blog too!

Eileen Gold Kushner’s true story of struggling in school Smart on the Inside chronicles her journey from failure in school to success in businessis available for purchase in paperback or on Kindle on Amazon.

Smart on the Inside

by Eileen Gold Kushner Kathy Young“Smart on the Inside” is a great book to inspire students with learning differences; the book is also an excellent choice for parents since it would stimulate discussions about self-advocacy, self-awareness, bullying, self-esteem, accommodations, and life skills. Eileen is also available for school visits. Available on Amazon in print and eBook http://tinyurl.com/cs32ond
Free curriculum resources will be available on their interactive website http://www.smartontheinside.com/