Kuyatt, Meg Eden. Good Different. Scholastic Press, 2023. 978-1-338-81610-5. 346 p. $18.99. Grades 4-7.

Selah, a seventh grader at Pebblecreek Academy, is on sensory overload. All her life, Selah’s mother has encouraged her to hold in her feelings—to be ‘Normal’—in public settings, but everything begins to crumble after Selah begins to feel her inner ‘dragon’ trying to escape. In a moment of desperation, Selah hits a classmate who keeps touching Selah’s hair. This impulsive action puts her status as a Pebblecreek student into question. With the help of a teacher, a friend, and her Pop, Selah works to learn more about herself and express feelings through poetry. Unfortunately, not everyone is empathetic or kind along the way. Selah is neurodivergent; throughout the verse novel, she begins to discover her triggers and how to navigate (rather than hide) her feelings and emotions in this moving coming-of-age story.

THOUGHTS: Written in verse format, this story has powerful emotional depth and offers readers a realistic window into growing up on the autism spectrum. Fans of stories like Forget Me Not, Real, Can You See Me?, and Counting by 7s will love Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt, a neurodivergent author. Because Selah goes undiagnosed for a large part of the story, the book sheds light particularly well on struggles that girls on the autism spectrum often face as they feel they must mask their sensory feelings, passions, and emotions. This title is highly recommended for all middle grade literature collections.

Realistic Fiction