Jason Blake is an autistic 12-year-old living in a neurotypical world. Most days it's just a matter of time before something goes wrong. But Jason finds a glimmer of understanding when he comes across PhoenixBird, who posts stories to the same online site as he does. Jason can be himself when he writes, and he thinks that PhoenixBird - her name is Rebecca - could be his first real friend. But as desperate as Jason is to meet her, he's terrified that if they do meet, Rebecca will only see his autism and not who Jason really is.

"This is an enormously difficult subject, but Baskin, without dramatics or sentimentality, makes it universal." - Booklist, starred review

Jason Blake is a 12-year-old autistic boy who is trying to be understood in a "neurotypical" world. He tries to speak the NTs' language but finds they aren't good listeners. Nora Raleigh Baskin lets us see inside the mind of a bright young man struggling to be accepted for who he is. Tom Parks is the voice of this extraordinary preteen who is determined to tell his story in his own voice, but in the language neurotypicals speak and understand. Parks's delivery is concise, even as he communicates the stifled confusion that language presents to kids on the autism spectrum. He brings to life an inspiring new hero in a story greatly enhanced by its transition to audio. N.E.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

 

Nora Raleigh Baskin has written several novels for middle-grade readers and teens, including Basketball (Or Something Like It), In the Company of Crazies, and her first book, What Every Girl (Except Me) Knows, for which she was chosen as a Publishers Weekly Flying Start. Nora lives with her family in Connecticut.

Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
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