Born With - Erika and Gianni by Lorna Schultz Nicholson

 

I have read a few other books by Lorna Schultz Nicholson Bent Not Broken  and Fragile Bones are both books that share stories of high school students involved in the 'Best Buddies' program and really highlight how much we can all learn from each other.  

Born With is the story of Erika, a girl with Down Syndrome and Gianni, a boy who has been paired up with her at school.  Erika and Gianni are great characters, they both love to sing and act and are both auditioning for the play Grease put on at their high school.  Both Erika and Gianni have different problems that they must face.  While it is challenging for both of them, they learn from each other how to face these problems and move forward.

Once again, Lorna Schultz Nicholson does a great job describing the characters and situations that many people can relate to.  I would highly recommend this series of books!

Fragile Bones - Harrison and Anna by Lorna Schultz Nicholson

 Several years ago I read Bent not Broken  that told the story of the 'Best Buddies' program at a high school where special needs students are paired with a student in mainstream to have fun and learn about one another.  I really enjoyed Bent Not Broken, and then I realized that there were more books in the series.  

Fragile Bones is the story of Harrison, a boy in grade 10 who has autism and Anna, who is in grade 12 and is wanting to be a doctor.  The two are paired up because of Anna's interest in medicine and Harrison's love of knowing all of the bones in the human body.  When Harrison gets upset, he recites the bones in certain locations in the body.  As both Anna and Harrison learn about each other, they also learn about themselves as they are pushed to try different things.  

While this book is set in a high school, it is appropriate for Intermediate students.  I really love how Lorna Schultz Nicholson describes the characters, they are always very believable.   

Bent Not Broken by Lorna Schultz Nicholson

This morning I put out a call on Twitter asking for some suggestions for YA books to read and received this response:

 Funny thing was, Karen had already put one of the books on our list of books to read, so that was the first one I picked up.   I've found a new favourite Canadian author! 

Bent Not Broken is part of the One-2-One Series that features students in the Best Buddies club at a Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School.  The Best Buddies club is an organization at this fictional high school that pairs students with special needs with other students at the school to be friends, participate in social events and basically just to have a buddy at school. 

In this story, we meet Maddie, a 14 year old who has had a traumatic brain injury after a bike accident and Justin who is in his final year of high school.  Both Maddie and Justin have challenges at home.  Maddie's identical twin sister is growing up and growing away from the family, and Justin lost his sister the year before and it seems that his family is falling apart as well.  I love how Justin is with Maddie- I think we don't often think of teenage boys as being empathetic and understanding, but Justin is just that.  As a mom of two teen-age boys, they often experience more emotions than they let on.  It was nice to see that side of Justin.  I also liked reading about Maddie and her struggles to get her brain to work the way she wants it to.  It was a good reminder that what we see on the surface of someone isn't everything that is going on inside them.  I need to keep this in mind when I meet the new students in the fall. 

Even though this morning I picked up 6 new books at Chapters, I am heading back shortly to get the other books in this series.  It's a winner for sure. 

I wouldn't hesitate to put this book in my Intermediate classroom- even though it is set at a high school. There isn't anything that would give me pause. 

Check out Lorna Schultz Nicholson's website here:  https://lornaschultznicholson.com/