Beverley BrennaBesprekingen

This book was a very welcome change from my traditional fare. Taylor Simon has Asperger's syndrome, her case is relatively mild. She doesn't like change, at all. She does like orchids, they are uncommon like she is. She does like friends; it is difficult making them though.

This book is a beautiful coming of age story in which a girl learns that she doesn't need a boyfriend to live her life. She just needs to accept that certain changes are unavoidable. The voice of this novella makes it very difficult to read, but, absolutely worth every page of struggle.

Enchanting.  A bit too short, as some sub-plots were over-simplified and could have benefited from expansion.  But it's not just another 'autism disorder' novel.  For one, the girl with Asperger's is, indeed, female.  And for another, she's 18, out of school, and realizing that her support system is now just her mom, and she has to find a way to grow up and learn how to make it on her own.  And by the end of the summer, she's grown a lot, and things look good for both of them.  Yay!  

I didn't know what to expect when I first got this book. In our library area it seemed like the sleeper of the Printz Honor and Award books this year. No library had it until we ordered it after the winners were announced. Taylor Jane is a young woman with asperger's who is trying very hard to become independent. She travels to France to work as a personal care assistant to her mother's boyfriend's son who has cystic fibrosis and in Taylor's eyes her mother invites herself along. Taylor is also working on a journal where she talks about her past, her feelings and sometimes her dreams.

I was very impressed by this book. Firstly even though it is the final book in a trilogy it most definitely works as a stand alone. I also have never read about someone who has asperger's before. I know several people who have asperger's and autism and I felt like this book really made me understand some of how they process their emotions and how difficult that is.

Taylor Jane's struggle with her mother to be seen as an adult and allowed to make decisions for herself is extremely relate-able to everyone. I see this as something that will really draw the reader in and then offer a perspective they have never given much thought to before unless their are people with asperger's in their life. This is well worth reading and I'm glad I got the opportunity to read it.

I didn't know what to expect when I first got this book. In our library area it seemed like the sleeper of the Printz Honor and Award books this year. No library had it until we ordered it after the winners were announced. Taylor Jane is a young woman with asperger's who is trying very hard to become independent. She travels to France to work as a personal care assistant to her mother's boyfriend's son who has cystic fibrosis and in Taylor's eyes her mother invites herself along. Taylor is also working on a journal where she talks about her past, her feelings and sometimes her dreams.

I was very impressed by this book. Firstly even though it is the final book in a trilogy it most definitely works as a stand alone. I also have never read about someone who has asperger's before. I know several people who have asperger's and autism and I felt like this book really made me understand some of how they process their emotions and how difficult that is.

Taylor Jane's struggle with her mother to be seen as an adult and allowed to make decisions for herself is extremely relate-able to everyone. I see this as something that will really draw the reader in and then offer a perspective they have never given much thought to before unless their are people with asperger's in their life. This is well worth reading and I'm glad I got the opportunity to read it.

I didn't know what to expect when I first got this book. In our library area it seemed like the sleeper of the Printz Honor and Award books this year. No library had it until we ordered it after the winners were announced. Taylor Jane is a young woman with asperger's who is trying very hard to become independent. She travels to France to work as a personal care assistant to her mother's boyfriend's son who has cystic fibrosis and in Taylor's eyes her mother invites herself along. Taylor is also working on a journal where she talks about her past, her feelings and sometimes her dreams.

I was very impressed by this book. Firstly even though it is the final book in a trilogy it most definitely works as a stand alone. I also have never read about someone who has asperger's before. I know several people who have asperger's and autism and I felt like this book really made me understand some of how they process their emotions and how difficult that is.

Taylor Jane's struggle with her mother to be seen as an adult and allowed to make decisions for herself is extremely relate-able to everyone. I see this as something that will really draw the reader in and then offer a perspective they have never given much thought to before unless their are people with asperger's in their life. This is well worth reading and I'm glad I got the opportunity to read it.

I didn't know what to expect when I first got this book. In our library area it seemed like the sleeper of the Printz Honor and Award books this year. No library had it until we ordered it after the winners were announced. Taylor Jane is a young woman with asperger's who is trying very hard to become independent. She travels to France to work as a personal care assistant to her mother's boyfriend's son who has cystic fibrosis and in Taylor's eyes her mother invites herself along. Taylor is also working on a journal where she talks about her past, her feelings and sometimes her dreams.

I was very impressed by this book. Firstly even though it is the final book in a trilogy it most definitely works as a stand alone. I also have never read about someone who has asperger's before. I know several people who have asperger's and autism and I felt like this book really made me understand some of how they process their emotions and how difficult that is.

Taylor Jane's struggle with her mother to be seen as an adult and allowed to make decisions for herself is extremely relate-able to everyone. I see this as something that will really draw the reader in and then offer a perspective they have never given much thought to before unless their are people with asperger's in their life. This is well worth reading and I'm glad I got the opportunity to read it.

5Q, 4P

Taylor Jane Simon is on her way to France to be a nanny, which is very important so she can put it on her resume. She sees her path to independence challenged by the fact that she has Asperger’s Syndrome, but if she can have a resume so that she can get job, she will one day be able to live on her own. Though this book is third in a trilogy, it stands on its own. Taylor is a fully realized character looking for her own identity, and her struggle towards independence is universal. The first-person narrative is authentic, and having read this back to back with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, I found that this title did more to bring an understanding of what life is like with Asperger’s and the real day-to-day challenges and desires.

This book is a wonderful book about Taylor, a teenager with Asperger's Syndrome. It is well-written and gives readers insight into how a person with Asperger's might think and feel. Taylor is trying to become an independent young woman. She hopes to go to college, get a job and live on her own. The first step she believes is to spend the summer working as a babysitter (or in Taylor's words, a personal care assistant) in southern France...an adventure in itself as she's never been outside North America. While her mother is also on the trip, Taylor believes this summer job to be critical in her future success. Throughout the summer, Taylor becomes more assertive in doing what she wants vs. what her mother wishes her to do, eventually ending up with her travelling alone to visit an ailing woman.

Taylor has Asperger's syndrome. She is very excited to have been offered a summer job in France, caring for a handicapped boy. She only hopes that her mother doesn't marry the boy's father before the summer ends, or the job will not count for her resume. 19 years old, Taylor is ready to take steps towards being a responsible adult, even if her mother is not ready.

These short stories deals with serious life issues. All of the characters find courage and a way to overcome. I liked how Beverley Brenna employed different writing mechanics to create distinct voice for the characters. For example, the story about boy with Down Syndrome was written without capitals and correct punctuation. A great collection of encouraging first and third person narratives.

I enjoyed Wild Orchid, by Beverly Brenna because it really stayed in the true voice of Taylor Simon, who is an eighteen year old girl living in Alberta, Canada with Asperger’s Syndrome. There were so many qualitative traits that spoke true of her experience with this condition; yet, the story is written as a narrative diary in Taylor’s own extremely likeable and real voice. It's a great book because so few are written about a girl's perspective/experience with Asperger's.

Reviewed by Kristin Butcher (CM Magazine, January 20, 2006, Vol. 12, No. 10) 'Until I read this novel I knew autism as an outsider looking in. Wild Orchid has allowed me to see it from the inside out.'
http://umanitoba.ca/outreach/cm/vol12/no10/wildorchid.html

Reviewed by Lisa Doucet (Canadian Children’s Book News, Winter 2006, Vol. 29, No.1)

Reviewed by Joan Marshall (Resource Links, October 2006 (Vol. 12, No. 1)

Wonderful story told through the eyes of an 18yo young woman who has Asperger's Syndrome. Would suggest all friends and family of someone who has Asperger's read this book. People w/ Apserger's may enjoy it also.