Give Me a Sign – The Bookish Mutant

Happy Monday, bibliophiles!

Here in the U.S., July is Disability Pride Month! In the three years that I’ve been making these lists, disability is still forgotten even in many intersectional feminist circles, and the importance for uplifting the disabled community has never been more important than know, what with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, where disabled people, especially those who are immunocompromised, were disproportionately affected. Every year, even though I look in as many places as I can, it’s difficult for me to find books with disabled stories at the forefront that don’t center suffering or being “inspiring.” (As of now, I have only ever read one book with my disability, SPD, and heard of only one other. Inspiration for me to write my own stories…) So with these lists, I hope to provide disabled books with a wide range of representation, both in terms of disability and in the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality.

NOTE: my memory (and the internet) is imperfect, so if I’ve misrepresented/mislabeled any of the specific rep in these books, don’t hesitate to let me know!

KEY FOR TERMS IN THIS POST:

MC: Main character
LI: Love interest
SC: Side character

For my previous lists, click below:

Let’s begin, shall we?

♿️THE BOOKISH MUTANT’S BOOKS FOR DISABILITY PRIDE MONTH (2024 EDITION)♿️

FANTASY:

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth – Andrew Joseph White | YA | Autistic MC, Nonverbal autistic SC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25
Squire – Sara Alfageeh & Nadia Shammas | Middle Grade | MC with prosthetic arm | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Echo North – Joanna Ruth Meyer | YA | MC with facial scars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Godkiller – Hannah Kaner | Adult | MC with facial scars and prosthetic leg, Deaf SC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Prayer for Vengeance – Leanne Schwartz | YA | Autistic MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Whispering Dark – Kelly Andrew | YA | Deaf MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️

SCIENCE FICTION:

Junker Seven – Olive J. Kelley | Adult | Autistic MC with facial scars and prosthetic leg, Deaf SC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Floating Hotel – Grace Curtis | Adult | Blind MC, MC with speech impediment | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hunger Makes the Wolf – Alex Wells | Adult | Visually impaired MC (wears eye patch) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Machinehood – S.B. Divya | Adult | Epileptic MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75, rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Spare Man – Mary Robinette Kowal | MC with chronic pain (uses cane and a service dog) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Other Side of Infinity – Joan F. Smith | YA | Dyslexic MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

REALISTIC FICTION:

The Luis Ortega Survival Club – Sonora Reyes | YA | Autistic/Selectively Mute MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
So Lucky – Nicole Griffith | Adult | MC with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Where You See Yourself – Claire Forrest | YA | MC with cerebral palsy (wheelchair user) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Give Me a Sign – Anna Sortino | YA | Deaf MC, LI, and SCs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.25
Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling – Elise Bryant | YA | MC with chronic migraines, Dyslexic MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl – Brianna R. Shrum & Sara Waxelbaum | YA | Autistic MC | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! Have you read any of these books, and if so, did you enjoy them? What are some of your favorite books with disabled rep? Let me know in the comments!

Today’s song:

this song makes me SO so incredibly happy!! thank you to Horsegirl for recommending it!!

That’s it for this month’s recommendations! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Happy Thursday, bibliophiles!

Here we are, and once again, the year is nearly over…at least we have season 5 of Fargo to distract us from the inevitable passage of time.

Let’s begin, shall we?

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

Break aside, November has been on the busier side, but it’s been a productive one for me. It’s been chaos as far as my workload has gone, but part of that chaos was the editing that led me to send off two of my short stories for consideration to be published in some school literary journals! I won’t hear back for several months, but I’m so excited!! The initial impostor syndrome has faded (it’ll probably come back in a few months, mark my words…I’ve got my NyQuil ready), but either way, I’m really proud for taking this first step. Now, the workload chaos is in the form of looming final projects, which is not nearly as fun, but at least I don’t have to take a stats final at the crack of dawn like last year.

My reading has been a bit slower this month (see above), but as far as enjoyment goes, I’ve had a much more successful month! I had another 5-star read in the form of Ceremony (me when mixed-race experience and themes of storytelling), and I only had one book in the 2-star range for this whole month! I ended up reading a ton of literary and literary-leaning fiction for no particular reason, but the ones I read this month were almost all hits. I’ve had some more time to blog, what with break and whatnot, so it’s been fun to write more frequently before finals hits me like a train.

Other than that, I’ve just been trying to draw and play guitar (when I can), watching Taskmaster and The Great British Bakeoff (hEY NOW NO SPOILERS US AMERICANS HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL FRIDAY FOR THE FINAL), trying to ignore how cold the weather is, and rejoicing the return of Fargo! FARGO! I FEEL ALIVE AGAIN!

…say, are we gonna talk about how utterly insane episode 3 was? Just me?

Also, for your casual amusement, here’s the mess that is my Apple Music Replay for this year:

READING AND BLOGGING:

I read 15 books this month! Again, slower than normal, but it’s impressive to me, given how much editing and pre-finals chaos has consumed me this month.

2 – 2.75 stars: