Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin

★★★★★

I know a couple people on the autism spectrum, but not well enough to know if this book is an authentic portrayal of autism. For what it is, this book touched me quite a bit. I felt like I could relate to both Jason and his mother, and I think I am leaving this book with a better understanding of people with autism. 

At first, the book felt didactic, like it was written for the express purpose of teaching readers about autism. But Jason won me over pretty quickly, and it didn't take long for me to feel invested in his story. The narrative was disjointed, which interrupted the flow of the story, but I think that approach was used intentionally to reflect Jason's non-linear way of thinking.

I appreciated that Jason was matter-of-fact about life's inequities; he understood more than people thought. He may not have shown it, but he knew when he was being treated poorly because he was different. His self-awareness, expressed through simple statements, was poignant.  

[M]om and dad couldn't make everything all right, even when they say, Don't worry. Everything is going to be all right. It's not. (p. 89)

You don't always get what you need. (p. 91)

"It's strange being in a hotel without Daddy and Jeremy, isn't it?" she says to me. Most things are strange to me, I'm thinking." (p. 154)

I loved that Jason understood his mother in meaningful ways, even though he couldn't always express himself. Like when his mom cried, he observed that it would have been better if his dad were with him, because his dad wouldn't have cried, yet he said, "[I]t's okay. That's what my mom is like. She can't help it. We all have things we can't help doing." (p. 193)

I really enjoyed the ending. I admit, I was a bit wary, afraid it would be one of those over-the-top happy endings that are so common in middle grade fiction. I don't want to put any spoilers in this review, so I'll just say it was satisfying, for me, and still realistic.

A couple nitpicky things, which I ignored when choosing my rating. First, this book threw around a lot of acronyms when describing Jason's autism. In most cases, the acronyms were explained, but I'm pretty sure SPED and IEP were never explicitly defined. I'm a stickler for clarity, so I wish the text spelled out Special Education and Individualized Education Program.

Also, I was a bit distracted by a number of typos in the edition I read. Every now and then, a word was dropped, e.g., "I don't why it is." (p. 142). Or, words were transposed, e.g., "I want to you know." (p. 192)

Gathering Blue (The Giver #2) by Lois Lowry

★★★

*** Warning: This review contains spoilers!! ***

Gathering Blue is just as thought-provoking as The Giver, and part of its appeal was comparing and constrasting Kira's village with Jonas's community.

Kira's village lived in poverty and fear, with an every-person-for-themselves way of life. Yet, good-hearted people like Kira and Matt still flourished. At one point, referring to plants, Kira marveled at how "blossoms continued to bloom and she was awed to see that vibrant life still struggled to thrive despite such destruction." (p. 90) That description could be a metaphor for Kira and Matt's own lives, how the cards were stacked against them, yet they flourished. Taken further, it could be a metaphor for all of humankind; though the world had faced destruction, and shocking societies had grown out of ruin, the humanity of people like Jonas and Kira could lead people towards a better existence.

Matt was my favorite character. So capable and open, with such an infectious spirit! I would love to read more about him.

This book ends on a hopeful note, but as with The Giver, I put the book down wishing for a sequel. I can imagine Kira leading Thomas, Jo, and Matt in slowly introducing more compassion and equity into their society, but how? How will they handle the Council of Guardians, and Jamison in particular? Does the other community really become known to the village, and how do the villagers react to the news? What happens when everybody finally learns that there are no beasts?

As far as I could tell, there was nothing in this book that made it clear it existed in the same universe as The Giver; we only know the two stories are related because this book is marketed as a companion book. Just one line gives a hint at a possible connection, when Matt tells Kira that there is a boy her age in the other community who has very blue eyes. From The Giver, we know that Jonas and Gabriel had "pale eyes", which could indeed mean they had blue eyes. It's a very thin connection, but it's intriguing to wonder if the boy might be Jonas in a contemporary timeline, or Gabriel many years later. 

The Giver (The Giver #1) by Lois Lowry

★★★

*** Warning: This review contains spoilers!! ***

I really enjoyed the writing in this book. It was straightforward and descriptive, and I think its matter-of-fact simplicity evoked a sense of calm and order, reflective of the community in the story.

I can imagine this book making a big impression on young readers, showing them the value of having choice, and how our individuality brings richness to our lives. Readers of all ages may be touched by the reminder that even if sometimes life is inconvenient, painful, or sad, it is the same range of emotions and experiences that allows us to feel joy, love, and excitement.

I was a bit thrown, however, by the uncertainty of the genre. I went into the book believing it was a kind of realistic utopian fiction, maybe futuristic or post-apocalyptic, but within the realm of possibility for humans on Earth. The totalitarian world of Sameness was intriguing; both benefits and disadvantages were clear, though its inhumanity was exposed when Jonas was introduced to the pill, even before we found out what a "release" really meant.  

Then I got to the part about the Giver transmitting ideas to the Receiver telepathically. Suddenly, I had to recalibrate my understanding of this world as one in which some people had a supernatural ability. And the fact that people couldn't see color, how could that be explained? "Memories" had odd, unexpected qualities; they could only be held by one person at a time, and they never disappeared, but needed to be held specifically by someone in the community. As these sci-fi / fantasy components emerged, the book became less of a kind of warning for us humans, and more like an interesting story of some other species, perhaps one that might be encountered on Star Trek: The Next Generation. (Incidentally, some of these details held together better in the movie version, which I watched after finishing the book. In the movie, all citizens were given an injection since birth - this could explain the color blindness - and there was advanced technology that contained memories within the community at the Boundary of Memory.)

I can see the poetry in the final scene (which Lois Lowry called "intentionally ambiguous" (p. x) in the Introduction of the edition I read), but I am personally not a fan of vague endings open to interpretation. I like closure, and I like knowing what the creator of the story intended for their characters. Though I much prefer happy endings, I admit that if I am forced to choose, I might have to say that I think Jonas and Gabriel died in the snow. (I was actually quite pleased when the movie delivered the more uplifting option of the happy ending.)

Finally, the book left me with some lingering questions. First, I understand that the Giver plays a vital role in the story, but Jonas is clearly the protagonist. Why not name the book after the Receiver? Maybe because Jonas became a Giver when he transmitted memories to Gabriel? Or, as my husband suggested, because Jonas, at the end of the book, was the Giver for the entire community?

Second, what happens to the community when they receive all of Jonas's memories? How do they manage, and how is their society changed? Will the original Giver be able to effect change, or will the Committee of Elders squash the potential as they did when Rosemary was released? I wish these questions could be answered in a sequel.