May 14, Rebecca McNutt rated it it was amazing. Nostalgic, far out and utterly disturbing, Ann Martin takes a step away from the sunny mood of The Babysitter's Club and gives a story filled with creativity, sadness and growing up in a time when mental illnesses were stigmatized heavily by the world. It was well-written, vibrant and descriptive, and I highly recommend it. Nov 07, Connie rated it it was ok. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here. Martin has written, to my knowledge, three books now involving autistic characters - a stand-alone novel in the 80s, that BSC book, and now this one. I like to be complete, so I thought I'd check this one out and compare it against my memories of the others. First, you should note that Adam's characterization clearly reflects increased knowledge of autism. This is as it should be - Ann M. This is as it should be - the other two books are painfully outdated Adam is never officially diagnosed, but it's fairly clear from the speculation "some thought it was autism, some thought it was schizophrenia" and a few specific details of Adam's behavior he engages in scripted speech, he has the savant skill of calendar counting, he is totally lacking in the social awareness that says do NOT stare at women's chests that he's intended to be on the spectrum.
How accurate is this depiction? The calendar counting did annoy me. Most autistics are not savants and only about half of all savants are autistic - Kim Peek, the inspiration for Rain Man, was not autistic, for example. I was happy to see that Adam is a real character. He has interests and feelings and a life. You get the feeling that he has some greater purpose than to simply provide character development for his niece.
This is in contrast to disabled particularly autistic characters in many other books, who really are just there so the people they come in contact with can have a renewed appreciation for life or be kinder or I don't know what. Some commenters has mentioned that his behavior is "inconsistent" - he's "sometimes childish, and sometimes adult". This is accurate, though. They still have adult feelings, even if in some ways their understanding isn't up there. Which brings me to another point, there are some mildly adult situations in this book.
Adam stares at his crush's chest, and accidentally walks in on her with her boyfriend. It's not really that bad, but of course every family will have to make its own judgments about appropriateness. And now we get to the end of the book, and the reason I gave it such a low rating. After seeing that he really doesn't have a chance with the pretty young woman who works at the bank and after a trying few days where he had it made clear to him, again, that his family doesn't really want him to act the way he is , Adam goes and kills himself.
And Hattie who considers herself to be like her uncle in some way, although the reasons why are never given thinks it over and calls this brave in her mind. Not the sort of braveness she'd like, but brave all the same. It's not the suicide or the lackluster condemnation of the act that concerns me - actually, it's very clear that suicide has major repercussions for the people you leave behind. And this might be unfair, but I think the context is important.
We're not living in a world where people love and accept the disabled. We're not living in a world where this is ONE voice about autism and suicide. We are living in a world where prominent autism organizations can make videos where mothers say - in front of their verbal autistic children! And when called on it, these same organizations can then claim that every parent of an autistic child really wants them dead.
Alison Singer, in the short film Autism Every Day. We are living in a world where parents who locked their autistic son in a room and set the house on fire aren't convicted of murder. We are living in a world where it is common for people who kill their autistic children, in fact, to be praised for their "courage" and their "love". We're living in a world where there are parents of autistic children who feel no compunction about saying that autism is worse than cancer because at least the children with cancer die.
But at least most of these people don't go out and say that those other kids are lucky enough to die faster than the autistic kids! In short, we're living in a world where the lives of autistic individuals and disabled individuals in general are not considered as valuable as those of "normal" people. The suicide in this book could have been handled differently. Our main character could have reasoned that if his family loved him they could have accepted him better instead of hiding him away - remember, she had only found out about him that summer!
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She could have suggested that if he wasn't so ostracized and patronized, he might never have taken that drastic step. In fact, there is a real suicide risk among autistics, similar to the recently publicized risk among gays. Or, the "oh, it was brave not to want to live in this world he doesn't fit into" bit could have been made in isolation from a culture which says that all the time.
Instead, you read the book and her thoughts, and it's hard not to hear it saying yet another variation of "those people are better off dead". This is a message that society does need to hear again. In particular, it's a message that autistic children do not need to hear again. Yes, I said autistic children. In this day and age, we have to accept that you can't assume the only people reading a book with an autistic character are NTs with no idea about autism.
Many of them instead will be on the spectrum somewhere. Or they'll be siblings of autistic children - they don't need that message either. I'm sure the underlying message was not Ann M. However, unfortunately, intent isn't some magical glitter that removes all wrong. The message is there whether she intended it or not, and it's one that is actively harmful. I really can't advise this book for anybody, unfortunately.
View all 3 comments. May 10, Ellen rated it did not like it. This book was well-written. The story takes place in a time period that I could relate to--the s--and I had an understanding of some of the things it mentions, such watching home movies on an old reel-to-reel projector.
A Corner of the Universe
Even so, I never really got into the story. The first three chapters seemed to emphasize how boring and predictable life was for the shy young girl who is the main character. In fact, after making it through the first three chapters, I had to re-read the jacket cover descript This book was well-written. In fact, after making it through the first three chapters, I had to re-read the jacket cover description to remind myself that something really would be happening, and to encourage myself to keep reading. It wasn't until the fourth chapter that a plot was introduced. The young girl who is the main character is also the narrator, and there are times when she switches from past-tense to present-tense in her narration, which was not comfortable for me as a reader.
I never really developed an emotional attachment to her or her uncle, so I didn't feel a need to cry when her uncle died. I was, however, proud of the girl when she stood up at his funeral and conquered her own fears by focusing her remarks to the girls who had been her tormentors. As she told them that her uncle was not weird, but was a real human being, she seemed to be affirming her own self-worth and acknowledging that other people's opinions of her value would no longer matter to her.
That made the read worthwhile, but this isn't a book that I'll read again or even recommend to anyone I know. Jun 12, Nicole Fellows rated it really liked it Shelves: This book is about a girl named Hattie who lives in a boarding house with her parents where she has the opportunity to meet many interesting people. On one particularly special summer, she finds out about her uncle that she never knew she had.
She realizes that the reason no one talked about him was because he is mentally handicapped. The story talks about Hattie's summer with her uncle Adam and how she grows to love him very much. She has many difficult experiences as she struggles with the fa This book is about a girl named Hattie who lives in a boarding house with her parents where she has the opportunity to meet many interesting people. She has many difficult experiences as she struggles with the fact that everyone does not treat Adam the same as everyone else. She doesn't understand why other people, including her family, can't love Adam just the way he is.
This book deals with many difficult issues including mental handicaps and death. However, I think the author did a good job of handling these issues to create a story that will take you on an emotional roller coaster as you experience everything right along with Hattie. I loved that the book sends a strong message of treating everyone equally and not judging people before you get to know them.
I think that this is something that is truly important for children to learn and understand. Jan 05, Kristi rated it really liked it Shelves: I was so excited when I started reading this book. I loved finding a strong female character to encourage my daughter and other girls her age 5th grade at the time.
A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin | Scholastic
Hattie's struggle to be herself while also yearning to fit in is such a classic and important issue for pre-teen girls, and finding it shared in a touching and beautifully-written way was wonderful to see. When Adam came along, I enjoyed seeing how the family dealt with him and felt it added depth to the book. I felt that Adam's me I was so excited when I started reading this book. I felt that Adam's mental issues and the subsequent family reactions to him were handled honestly and accurately. However, when Adam commits suicide even though I felt it was a wonderful addition to the plot as a reader as a mother and teacher I questioned who I could share this book with.
I know I'm not ready to share this with my fifth grade daugther, and I'm not sure what "youth" audience to recommend this to because of the emotionally-wrenching ending to the book. I don't know what kids I want to expose to that level of grief, but I'd love to share the rest of the book with them. Oct 22, Bianca Patterson rated it it was amazing. This book honestly portrays the life of Hattie, an eleven year old girl who has recently discovered that she has an uncle, Adam, who has mental disabilities.
Since it is written in 1st person, the reader gets the story from a child's point of view and can better understand what it is like for Hattie to deal with her Uncle Adam's condition. The characters in the book are convincing, which makes the reader sympathize with both Adam and Hattie. Because of Adam's disabilities, the book presents issues in real life and is considered a Contemporary Realistic Fiction Novel. How to describe this book? Heart warming, realistic comfort read.
I grabbed it because I've been in a middle grade phase and I used to read Ann M. Martin's Babysitters Club series as a girl. The main character Hattie is so sweet and I enjoyed reading her discovery of her 21 year old uncle who is mentally challenged. It's a fast read that provides much food for thought. Oct 13, Sam McGraw rated it it was amazing.
This was a very thought prvoking, heart-felt story that bored me to tears.
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But, I enjoyed it thoroughly when poking fun at the cheesy plot, flaky characters, and horrible acting. Apr 19, Erin Mash rated it really liked it. A character strength that the main character, Hattie Owens shows is kindness. She shows this because as she is sensitive and kind towards her mentally disabled cousin, Adam, a friendly platform. Oct 13, Kayla Smith rated it it was amazing.
This book was incredible. It included so much symbolism, which helped me go more in depth of the book, and understand Hattie, and Adam more. I can't believe the ending it was a surprise, and I wasn't expecting it. Oct 10, Maggie rated it it was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. But it made me want to live at a carnival. I loved Adam and his energy. It's hard to imagine what time period it is though but overall it was a really good book.
Feb 10, Melissa rated it really liked it. I read this because I was a fan of Ann M. Martin 's Babysitters Club series when I was growing up. The story also sounded interesting. I like that it took place in It seemed like an idyllic time, but still carried its own set of complications. I love that most of the story was set at a carnival and I could even picture everything happening. I got this as an audio book, read by Judith Ivey.
She did a lot of different voices and characterizations, but some of the characters got easily mixed u I read this because I was a fan of Ann M. She did a lot of different voices and characterizations, but some of the characters got easily mixed up for me. Still, Hattie was easy to relate to, as I remember being shy when I was 12 years old. I love how accepting she is of her uncle, even when everyone else treats him like he doesn't belong. It's not really clear if he is developmentally disabled or mentally ill, but perhaps there was less labeling and categorizing in the 's.
I felt like Ms. Ivey exaggerated more when she read his part and made him seem like a caricature. I noticed something similar in the movie Flipped. Overall, it was a well-told story that kept me engaged throughout. Hattie's grandmother reminded me of Emily Gilmore in some ways.
She was rich and obsessed with what everyone thought of her. It made her really harsh at times, but she had a soft side too. I was surprised by the dark turn the story took and did not expect the outcome toward the end. I think it would be an interesting book for kids to read in school and discuss afterward. Feb 14, Erin Ramai rated it really liked it Shelves: A Corner of the Universe is appropriate for students in grades It was a Newbery Honor book in I listened to the audio version of this book.
The summer of is a season that the novel's narrator and protagonist, almostyear-old Hattie Owen, expects to be as comfortably uneventful as all the others had been in her small, tranquil town of Millerton, PA. She's looking forward to helping her mother run their boarding house with its eccentric adult boarders, painting alongside her father, and reading. Then year-old Uncle Adam, whom Hattie never knew existed, comes to stay with Hattie's grandparents Nana and Papa , because his "school," an institution for the mentally disabled, has closed down permanently.
Intelligent but child-like owing to his disability, Adam visits Hattie often. Hattie then meets Leila, the daughter of the carnival owners who come to town. However, after Adam suffers a breakdown on the Ferris wheel, she moves away with the carnival.
Throughout the summer other people come to stay at Hattie's boarding house, such as a woman with a son and daughter who recently suffered the death of her husband and moved away, but needed a place to stay while job hunting. As various other events mark Hattie's "uneventful" summer, she comes to better understand Adam.
But when he tragically commits suicide , it leads to everyone—including herself—realizing that none of them had understood Adam as much as he needed them to. How will it be used? You are now registered! Preview the latest newsletters here.
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