I could not put the book down. It was captivating and emotional. I loved every minute of it. Great mystery

I had some difficulty with this story as I enjoyed the plot, but felt that a book like this advertised for middle grade readers about a young woman with a disability seems a little mistaken.

When a series of unexplained illnesses and even death occur at Sunnyside Plaza the police begin to be concerned. The residents are all teenagers or adults who are developmentally disabled.
Sal is one of the residents and even though she can't read she is very observant. Sal and some of the other residents figure out what is happening.
I am waffling about the book. My sister works in a similar type home and at first I thought a staff member was going to end up being guilty. Thankfully not the case. I also wonder about the main characters being too old for a children's book where main characters are usually children. The mystery itself was also pretty simplistic.

Sunnyside Plaza by Scott Simon is a short novel named for an adult group home, and narrated by one of the residents, Sally Miyake. Sal can’t read, or tie her shoes, but she notices things. When two deaths and a serious injury occur in the home, Sal gets to know the detectives that investigate the cases. The book is partly a mystery, but mainly about Sal’s acceptance of who she is, despite the attitudes of “outside” people.
I really liked Sal’s story. It’s unusual for a book for a middle-grade audience to be written from an adult perspective, even one with a childlike heart. The mystery is not as diabolical or heavy as I expected, but also feels a bit tame even for younger readers.
The relationships are where this story really shines. You can feel the affection Sal has for her friends, both old and new, and the love they feel for her. I liked the messages and themes of the book, and the peek inside a place most of us don’t often think about.

This book made me very uncomfortable. The plot was ok but the way it was told was unsettling for me, and not in a good way.

I had a lot of trouble writing this review.

I'm the sister of someone with an intellectual/developmental disability (Down syndrome) and as he moves through his teen years, I've certainly seen the difference in how both peers and strangers view him; there's a shift as people realize that things which seem cute or understandable for a small kid aren't going to "go away" or "get better." (I did find the number of people who were viscerally upset or uncomfortable a little unrealistic. Like, maybe you've never met someone with a disability before, but you must know that they exist in the world?) So on the one hand, a book about the inner life of an intellectually disabled adult, including the reality of group homes as families are not always physically/emotionally equipped to keep their relatives at home, particularly as they age. I did find the inclusion of neurotypical characters who were loving and supportive to the residents of Sunnyside Plaza.

On the other hand, I'm tremendously wary of authors writing "in the voice" of non-neurotypical people; even with a background as a family member or (former) caregiver, it seems somewhat exploitative. I also did find the age grouping a little iffy: I think that there are adults, teens, and children who would find this book appealing to, but the association of an adult narrator with a middle grade audience because of an intellectual disability seems unfortunate; I also think that the there is a lot of death in here which is treated very lightly and moved past quickly in order to keep the book in a younger age range.

Didn't care for this book. It felt like a chance for the author to show off how virtuous he was by caring about people with disabilities. The instances in the book of prejudice against the residents of Sunnyside (a woman calling the cops because they were dining in a restaurant?) were unrealistic and characters who didn't respond negatively to the residents were constantly talking about how the residents had changed their lives for the better, just by being them. What might have been a moving story came across as empty and self-congratulatory.

I received this ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sunnyside Plaza is a residential home for adults with cognitive impairments. Sally, known affectionately as Sal Gal, loves it there. She works in the kitchen with Conrad, helping make sandwiches and fishing for fruit in cans. When several residents suffer strokes, London Bridgrs and his partner Esther turn up to investigate why.

I liked the book, the character and story. Where I got stuck on this book was that it's a middle grade novel and I think it will struggle to find it's audience. I think most kids in the middle grade age bracket will struggle to relate to the adult characters.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

I wasn't really sure why this was geared towards children.

Scott Simon's an American treasure, and this book--well, this book is too. Not only does it celebrate the ordinary lives of people who might be a bit outside the mainstream, but it does it with grace, dignity and gentle humor. I love books that make me see the world differently, that illuminate life for me--and this book did. Thanks, Scott Simon.