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.

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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.

You Don’t Even Kow Me by Sharon G. Flake (2011)

You Don't Even Know Me by Sharon FlakeI really, really enjoyed reading “You Don’t Even Know Me” by Sharon G. Flake. I usually do not like to read short stories; they usually don’t sit well with me; the stories may not connect well together and that turns me off (too much ‘jumping around’). The stories had a different main character but it worked well.

I was just talking with a coworker how this book would be perfect for high school students to choose a story and write/respond to the story. Students can respond to the literature instead of writing about “what makes me happy’, “what I did over break”, or some other topic. These stories will help students think more critically.

The stories had me on the edge of my seat, not knowing where they were heading. The stories were edgy enough but not over the top. I would think, ‘oh this story is going to be about…’ and took a dramatic turn that I didn’t expect. A few stories don’t have a ‘complete’ tidy ending. Students could elaborate on the endings in a class or small group discussions and have them share their point of view of what happened and what they think is going to happen if the author continued writing.