lcl_reads's Reviews (211)

One thing I will say about this book is that I do not think it should be marked as young adult. While the main character is a teenage, it tackles some pretty traumatic events.

Sisson is clear in the foreword that this book has a pretty narrow focus on the mothers that have relinquished their parental rights in private infant adoptions. I greatly appreciated the tight reporting and that the book is very focused. Sisson's reporting is methodical and very thorough. No only does she do initial interviews, but follows up with the women 10 years later. I particularly valued the first person narratives from the women that are interspersed throughout the book. The narratives represent a balanced variety of experiences the mothers have with placing their children for adoption.

A straightforward, if a bit over simplified dramatization. The whole thing seemed a bit too tidy. Every character fit a high school stereotype to a tee and there wasn't much nuance.

I appreciated the ways that Leland sought out knowledge for himself and shared that evolving understanding with the reader. Ableism is entrenched in our society and Leland highlights the ways he had to confront certain ideas himself in a very frank and honest way. I learned a lot about the way Leland experienced losing his sight, which also made me think about my own experiences with disability, and specifically blindness.

One of my favorite aspects of this book was that Leland highlighted that there isn't one way of being blind (or disabled for that matter) and that there are differing opinions and ideas amongst blind people. The conversation around audio descriptions really stood out for me. Accessibility is hard work and there is not always a clear right or wrong way to do it, but I think continually seeking to understand and learn from others should always be the goal and Leland modeled that throughout his journey.