REAL by Carol Cujec & Peyton Goddard

 

If you liked OUT OF MY MIND by Sharon M. Draper, you will want to pick up a copy of REAL by Carol Cujec & Peyton Goddard. Inspired by Peyton Goddard's real-life experiences, readers will learn about living with autism and not having the ability to communicate.

Charity is smart. She has a near perfect memory and awesome math skills. The problem is no one knows. Her autism hides the real Charity behind what people see on the outside. She doesn't have control over her body movements so she bounces, jumps, and flaps. She can't verbalize her thoughts and feelings so no one knows what's going on inside her brain.

Since Charity can't go to regular public school, she is sent to a special school that supposedly helps neurodiverse students. Rather than helping these students, Charity and others are treated roughly, ignored, and shut in a timeout closet for hours. When Charity's parents discover the abuse, they demand that she be allowed to attend the public middle school.

With the help of kind teachers, Charity is given an opportunity to learn. With the aid of a person trained to instruct Charity, she learns to type her thoughts and responses. Her first communication is to type "I am intelligent." It still isn't easy for Charity. There are bullies and people who don't think she should be mainstreamed into regular classes and especially not the advanced classes. She demonstrates her true abilities and with help she learns to calm her body and behavior.

REAL is an emotional story that will have readers cheering and crying as they follow Charity's battle to prove she is more than just what people see.