Non-Fiction Review: The Reason I Jump

Title: The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism
Author: Naoki Higashida; translated by KA Yoshida and David Mitchell
Publisher: (US) Random House, 2013. Originally published by Escor Publishers, Japan, 2007. 135 pages.
Source: Library

Publisher's Summary:Written by Naoki Higashida, a very smart, very self-aware, and very charming thirteen-year-old boy with autism, it is a one-of-a-kind memoir that demonstrates how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives, and responds in ways few of us can imagine. Parents and family members who never thought they could get inside the head of their autistic loved one, at last, have a way to break through to the curious, subtle, and complex life within.

Using an alphabet grid to painstakingly construct words, sentences, and thoughts that he is unable to speak out loud, Naoki answers even the most delicate questions that people want to know. Questions such as: “Why do people with autism talk so loudly and weirdly?” “Why do you line up your toy cars and blocks?” “Why don’t you make eye contact when you’re talking?” and “What’s the reason you jump?” (Naoki’s answer: “When I’m jumping, it’s as if my feelings are going upward to the sky.”) With disarming honesty and a generous heart, Naoki shares his unique point of view on not only autism but life itself. His insights—into the mystery of words, the wonders of laughter, and the elusiveness of memory—are so startling, so strange, and so powerful that you will never look at the world the same way again. 


My Review: 
I grabbed this book at the library because it sounded like a really interesting way of getting some insight into autism. And in a way, it is. I was a little way in when something about it began to bother me, making me wonder if it was really what it claimed. Sometimes the voice didn't seem quite believable. I looked at reviews, and found a lot of food for thought there. After reading reviews and finishing the book, I saw two issues: the author is trying to speak for all people with autism, and the question of whether his ideas could have come from a 13-year-old. 

Most people who know anything about autism spectrum disorders know that you can almost never say "all people with autism..." and not make a fool of yourself. Naoki Higashida, being only 13, can be forgiven for thinking his experience is universal, but I made a mental adjustment and replaced all his "we" statements with "I" statements, because in the end, he's only telling us how he feels (though that insight into his behavior may help to understand other people with autism). To me, it's a non-issue. Most 13-year-olds would probably make the same error.

The bigger issue seems to be whether these are really the author's own ideas. I admit to feeling some doubt on reading some passages that seemed both strange and sophisticated. Higashida also makes a lot of rather odd statements about motivations for odd behaviors. By the time I got to the end of the book, I decided that the author's odd statements are probably his own, the result of spending too much time inside his own head, if you will. I'm impressed that he was able to articulate them, and unsurprised that some answers are bizarre while he was unable to answer other questions at all.

Many reviewers focus their doubt on the bit where he explains autism, or rather his own metaphor for being autistic: "I think that people with autism are born outside the regime of civilization...we are more like travelers from the distant, distant past." I saw reviewers wondering how much of that somewhat poetic language was the work of the translator (I'll never know, but I'm sure there are some bilingual folks who could check), as well as people who didn't believe a kid could come up with the ideas. To me, it sounds exactly like something a kid would come up with, especially a kid with plenty of brains and not much ability to connect and communicate with others. Doesn't every early teen think he/she is an alien from another world, at least occasionally?

In the end, this book bothered me less than it did many people, though I didn't find it all that readable (it's 135 short pages and still took me weeks to get through) for some reason. I saw some things in what he says that make sense, and resonate with my experience with family members on the spectrum. I read other things that I had to shrug and say "well, that's his experience."

My Recommendation:
This book does fill a gap, since most books on autism are either written by adults, either neurotypical or on the spectrum. This one is the kid's view, and is written from a place where he has not yet found a way to function fully in the world, but is old enough to wonder and worry about the need to do so. It's a good reminder that just because a person cannot speak, or speak well, it doesn't mean he does not think, or have plenty of words inside. It's flawed, it's not brilliant, but it is probably worth a look.

FTC Disclosure: I checked The Reason I Jump out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

Middle Grade Review: The Silent Boy

 

Title: The Silent Boy
Author: Lois Lowry
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers, 2003. 178 pages.

Source: Library

Publisher's Blurb: 
Katy Thatcher was the bright and curious daughter of the town doctor. She was fascinated by her father's work, and even as a child she knew that she too wanted to be a doctor. She wanted to know about people. Perhaps it was this, her insatiable curiosity, or simply the charm of Jacob's gentle intimacy with animals large and small, that fueled their friendship.

Although Jacob never spoke to her or even looked at her directly, Katy grew to understand him from the moments they spent together quietly singing to the horses. She knew there was meaning in the sounds he made and purpose behind his movements. So when events took an unexpected and tragic turn, it was Katy alone who could unravel the mystery of what had occurred, and why.

A two-time recipient of the prestigious Newbery Medal, acclaimed author Lois Lowry presents a sensitive and moving story of a wide-eyed young girl growing up at the beginning of the twentieth century and the influence of the farm community around her. Through Katy's eyes, readers can see the human face so often hidden under modern psychological terminology and experience for themselves the haunting impact of her friendship with the silent boy. 


My Review: 
The book is framed as the reminiscence of the elderly Katy, and begins with the somewhat disconcerting statement that this is a story that she never told her grandchildren, because it isn't a story for children. There's a delicious irony for the opening pages of a children's book! And, of course, the story that unfolds, though told through the eyes of the child Katy was in 1910-12, is one that some might find problematic for children.

What makes it a story for children is that it is all about both Katy finding her own sense of self as she ages from 8 to 9 years old, as well as her ability to see beyond herself and befriend the strange, silent brother of their new household help. It is the open heart that allows Katy to accept Jacob as he is that sets her apart from most other people. And that insight is what will break her heart, because when the blurb says that Katy alone could unravel the mystery, it means that literally--and we all know about how much people listen to 9-year-old girls.

My Recommendation:
This is a story that will probably move kids beyond resistance to historical fiction. The use of real photos at the head of each chapter lends a sense of reality, but the story itself is both wholly formed by the period in which it is set, and wholly outside of any time. Boys or girls should enjoy this for the sake of understanding the silent boy, and the can all cheer on Katy in her desire to break the norms of her time and be a doctor.

FTC Disclosure: I checked The Silent Boy out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

Middle Grade review: How to Speak Dolphin

Title: How to Speak Dolphin
Author: Ginny Rorby
Publisher: Scholastic, 2015, 264 pages
Source: Library

Summary:
It's been 2 years since Lily's mother died, and though she loves her little brother Adam, his severe autism has made him the focus of all their lives. Lily is frustrated because her step-dad doesn't seem willing to deal with Adam's problems, and she doesn't have any friends. That's a lot for a 12-year-old to cope with. But when Lily makes a friend at last, and Adam seems to respond well to dolphin therapy, it looks like things are getting better. But however much Adam loves Nori, Lily is beginning to see that a dolphin should be wild, not kept in a tank.


My Review: 
How to Speak Dolphin is a well-written book that deals honestly with autism. In some ways, it seems a bit piled-on to have all of Lily's other problems, but the author handles it well. For example, my initial reaction to Lily's new friend being blind was that it seemed a bit gratuitous, but Rorby makes sense of it. It takes someone special to understand and cope with Adam, as Lily's classmates seem unable to do, and so to be a friend to Lily (who I think has been forced by circumstances to mature faster than average, as has Zoe due to her blindness. Realistically, Lily resents Adam, or the demands and constraints his autism puts on her, but she wants more than anything for him to get the help he needs to learn to communicate--and she's willing to give up a lot to help him.

I also wondered at first if the author was tackling too much with Lily's other issues: having lost her mother, trying to work out how they are a family with her stepfather, and the whole question of animal rights. But, again, on reflection, it works. If the only issue in her life were Adam, the book would end up being just a book about dealing with autism (not bad, but less interesting), rather than a book about a girl dealing with a whole lot of difficult problems caused in part by growing up.

Recommendation:
This isn't the best book I've read this year, but it is a good, engaging read for kids from about 9 up. It would be of particular interest to those who wonder about (or are dealing with someone who has) autism, but there is plenty in there to interest kids for other reasons (especially animal lovers!).

Full Disclosure: I checked How to Speak Dolphin out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."