Member Reviews
Disability Visibility is a collection of essays from disabled people explaining how they experience things on a regular basis. The full book has been out since last year, but this new version has been adapted for young adults. I love the representation shown in this book. Once again disabled young adults can find community and hope while reading this. Non-disabled people can see where their privilege makes access to things so much easier. Disability Visibility shows that even though great strides have been made for inclusion, we still have a long way to go for all people, no matter their abilities, to be able to access what they need in every day life. 4.5 stars
This was such a great, and important, read. Reading these contributors truths brings you into their lives and gives you a better understanding oh what life is like for differently a led individuals. Sharing stories about and by individuals who are living various experiences is something our world needs more of.
An excellent collection of essays on disability and chronic illness, drawn from the full/"adult" version of this book. I don't know why there needs to be a separate YA edition, but I suppose that the length and some of the essays are more suited to reading in classes or as families or with friends. I'm an advocate for disability issues, and would happily put this book into the hands of everyone I know, although the title is bizarre to me: visibility is working here in an ableist context.
Disability Visibility (Adapted for Young Adults), edited by Alice Wong, gives an excellent look into the lives of 17 individuals with a variety of disabilities. The authors provide insight into their daily lives and the struggles that are often exacerbated by social and governmental inaction. While each of the stories contain eye-opening segments, Jeremy Woody's account of being deaf in prison and Haben Girma's chapter about guide dogs in particular will cause readers to reexamine their understandings of those topics. Despite the fact that most of the stories in the book do not feature teens, Disability Visibility is recommended for any young reader seeking to learn more about the lives of people with disabilities.
I love the story collection feel to this book and that you’re able to hear about disability directly from those experiencing it. A quick, insightful and eye opening read. Very good book and I learned a lot from it. Amazing the resiliency people have and the unexpected challenges you don’t realize others may be going through.
5 stars
In this abbreviated version of last year's _Disability Visibility_, Wong refines the essay selection and targets the pieces to a teen audience. The writings and experiences are compelling and reflect the diversity that Wong mentions in the introduction. Any reader of this work will come away learning something new, feeling connected to at least one experience that is totally unlike theirs, and hoping for more.
I'm grateful that the original text exists because the only complaint I can imagine from this version is the desire for more. Fortunately, enthusiastic readers - teens and adults alike - can find that in the original version if they so desire.
This is a memorable read that I look forward to sharing with students and beyond for years to come.
I read the original version of this book, and it absolutely blew my mind. It is a wonderful anthology with so many perspectives, all urgently important.
This is a great adaptation for younger readers. The selections that were chosen to include in this anthology are absolutely age appropriate, and I hope beyond hope those who read it will pick up the original version, which has even more challenging and gorgeous writing.
This is one of those books that has the potential to expand minds, so adapting it for a younger and more impressionable crowd was a very inspired move.
Thanks to the publisher for the advance peek at this book!
I haven't read the original version, so I'm not sure how it compares ( I think it is the same just a shortened version with less pieces in it?). But, the pieces that they chose to include in this version are great reads. I have a love-hate relationship with anthologies, because a lot of the times some pieces are just way better than others, but this wasn't the case here. This book features all kinds of disabilities from a diverse group and is a necessary book for readers of all ages.
Thank you to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for sending me a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Disability Visibility (Adapted for Young Adults) is a collection of 17 first-person essays from disabled authors with a vast range of lived experiences. Representation matters so, so much and it’s important to have accessible narratives for every age. Whether or not you can relate to the specific experiences the authors share, you will find something that resonates with you within these pages.
I haven’t read the original version yet (why is it that I always come across the young readers’ version before the original?), so I can’t say if (or how) any of the included essays were adapted from the original.
Thank you again to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the privilege of reviewing an ARC.
This book affirmed my belief that books are mirrors, windows, and doors. These short stories were not only the “own voices”’stories of people with disabilities, but also of other marginalized groups who happen to have a disability. While I felt it was a little too difficult for my 5th grade students, I might use select essays with my 6th graders as it is a good bridge between my courageous characters and activism units. These weren’t as inspiring as they were honest. I’d encourage people to read them to gain perspective about things most people don’t experience firsthand.
This is a wonderful collection of stories that highlight the experiences of disabled people. This is a great resource for kids to read and either see themselves reflected in new ways or learn empathy for those around them.
While representation has improved in many areas, there is still not enough and especially when it comes to hearing from authors with disabilities. Some of the facts shared I did not know (there was an ugly law?!) and many experiences shared can help youth readers without disabilities develop their level of understanding and empathy. An important work with a range of authors. I look forward to reading the adult version and to purchasing and recommending this version to students and secondary librarians. What a gift the featured writers have given readers to share some of their truth.
I thought this book touched on a lot of important topics. First hand accounts from actual disabled people (instead of their parents/siblings/friends/random observers) is so important and alarmingly hard to find. These were very well told, and almost universally compelling. I'd absolutely order this for my library.
That being said, I did notice that a lot of the stories tended to lean towards an "~INSPIRATIONAL~" tone, which I'm personally not a huge fan of. However, I know this is a revised edition for the YA audience, so maybe it was important to maintain a positive outlook for that age group. I wish we were allowed to just *exist* sometimes, without having strong feelings about it.
The other thing I noticed is that the vast majority of the stories feature physical disabilities. That's likely because the editor herself is physically disabled and would have more experience in that area. So I want to make it clear that I understand why that happened and I don't see this as a hugely bad thing, more like an oversight.
But there wasn't a single story about learning disabilities. High school is when learning disabilities tend to impact you the most, so their absence stood out to me.
(Also, I'd really rather rate this 4.5/5, but that's not an option here.)
I wish this YA adaptation had been around just a few months earlier when I used the adult version for a book club. The YA version is more accessible and still contains important stories about varied disabilities from #ownvoices authors.
We need to talk about (and do something about) disability justice in every corner of American society. This collection of carefully-chosen essays, written by disabled people with a wide variety of experiences, is an important contribution to conversations about building social change.
Young people who are disabled will, hopefully, feel seen, companioned, and empowered to live their lives as they want to. People who are not disabled will definitely walk away from the collection with deepened understanding and productive anger at the injustices baked into our institutions and ways of being community.
Many teens and young adults are eager to get started making this a more just, more peaceful world. This book will be a vital part of that work.