This was enlightening. I liked that there were a variety of disabilities represented and there were some essays that I really did take something away from. There were some that didn't hold my attention or "speak to me," but that doesn't take away from the overall necessity of this book. I'm sure those same essays that didn't resonate with me would undoubtedly speak to someone else.These kinds of books and points of view are important. They remind us able-bodied people that there's so much more t...

This book, like the adult version, is essential reading. It is the most educational and eye-opening collection of writing about disability that I have ever read. What I appreciate is that there are so many stories that I didn't know, and that I should have known. Why haven't I thought more about disability and indigenous people? I would never have known what it's like for a blind person to have a guide dog. I also appreciate that this is a collection of writing by disabled people. Too often we s...

My middle school students and I enjoyed an excerpt from this book about a woman with MS who is responding to Selma Blair's triumphant walk at the Oscars

This is a quick, but important, read, one introduction and then 17 first person stories by different individuals.I remember a short PD by our ASD program teacher who said something like "if you know one autistic kid then you know one autistic kid". That was the sense I had reading these stories also, each person facing different challenges depending on their own situation as well as a range of desires and emotions but united in their decision to write who they are without apology. I think that I...

While representation has improved in many areas, there is still not enough and especially when it comes to hearing from authors with disabilities. Some of the facts shared I did not know (there was an ugly law?!) and many experiences shared can help youth readers develop their level of understanding and empathy. An important work with a range of authors. I look forward to reading the adult version and to purchasing and recommending this version to students and secondary librarians. What a gift t...

Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. Here is that review: 5 stars In this abbreviated version of last year's _Disability Visibility_, Wong refines the essay selection and targets the pieces to a teen audience. The writings and experiences are compelling and reflect the diversity that Wong mentions in the introduction. Any reader of this work will come away learning something new, feeling connected to at least one experience that is to...

4.5 stars

While some of these essays are quite brief, all of them offer food for thought when it comes to how disabilities are defined and how individuals with disabilities are treated. Several of the 17 pieces challenge the assumptions often held by outsiders and may prompt readers to reflect on their own attitudes toward those with disabilities. For instance, Ricardo T. Thornton Sr. , one of the first developmentally disabled individuals to be allowed to marry, writes about how far the disability rights...

Absolutely eye opening book of essays. I enjoyed Alice Wong's opening section and added her new book coming in Fall 2022 to my tbr. Everyone needs to read this to see the harm that ableism causes. I have been guilty of it as well, I'm always learning and I'm so glad I picked this book up!!! It was wonderful to also read about the accomplishments and joy these authors have!!

Really engaging and compelling! I haven't read the ~adult~ version so I'm not sure what's changed for the young readers edition but this would be great for abled and disabled teens and adults alike to just get different perspectives.

It's so important to broaden our perspectives, to see the world from other viewpoints. While it helps to watch movies or read fiction that have characters with disabilities, this book gives them the mic and says, "We're listening to your voice." It's different. It's as if that person is in the same room talking to you, and that's powerful. Bringing their reality near brings our responsibility into full focus.Each narrative presents a different disability and if any of its content is questionable...

*In the interest of transparency I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. These are my own honest opinions*This took me a while to read because it was very emotional as a disabled person myself. To read about other people experiencing the same things and feeling the same way was validating in a way I didn’t know I needed. Personally I have a love hate relationship with nonfiction. I love it because it can be so informative and I love learning, but I hate it because so often...

An insight into the disabled community through 17 short essaysIn Disability Visibility, disability activist, Alice Wong, complied a set of 17 first-person stories from those within the disabled community. Unlike many of the authors in this book, I was not born disabled, but this last year, I was chronically fainting, falling down, walking into walls, brushing against furniture. I went from training for a 5K to being unable to walk, unable to drive, and landed rather quickly in a wheelchair. Over...

all I can say is “wow,” because I kept finding myself at a loss for words while reading this book. As an able-bodied person this book brought me so much insight to what individuals with disabilities can face throughout their lives and in their everyday lives. I’m going to be honest, prior to reading this book I thought I had an idea as to what individuals with disabilities may face day-to-day, what I thought I knew was actually a very shallow understanding of the psychological and emotional comp...

An excellent collection of essays on disability and chronic illness, drawn from the full/"adult" version of this book. I don't know why there needs to be a separate YA edition, but I suppose that the length and some of the essays are more suited to reading in classes or as families or with friends. I'm an advocate for disability issues, and would happily put this book into the hands of everyone I know, although the title is bizarre to me: visibility is working here in an ableist context.

Thank you to Delacorte Press, Alice Wong, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!"These stories… are not focused on being ‘special’ or ‘inspirational.’ Rather, they show disabled people simply BEING in our own words, by our own accounts.” - Introduction from Alice Wong.Disability Visibility (Adapted for Young Adults) is an abbreviated version of Disability Visibility (First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century), released in 2020. Containing 17 of the stories included...

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for sending me a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.Disability Visibility (Adapted for Young Adults) is a collection of 17 first-person essays from disabled authors with a vast range of lived experiences. Representation matters so, so much and it’s important to have accessible narratives for every age. Whether or not you can relate to the specific experiences the authors share, you will find something that resonates with you within these pag...

In my search to find more short pieces for my classroom that depict varied perspectives, I was excited to see a YA version of this anthology. Within this short text, there are 17 different personal narratives from a wide variety of diverse authors. Each piece is prefaced with a content warning for teens to know what to expect. And each essay is short, bite-sized, which would work well for a group of reluctant readers.While this is marketed for a YA audience, I think this book may take TOO much a...

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this anthology. 3/5 stars. Honestly, I love anthologies. I love when they're adapted into YA versions. This one just didn't pull me in, and I think it was almost TOO easy to read and digest. This isn't a bad thing, but I definitely didn't expect it to only be about 150 pages and finished within 2 hours of starting it. The stories themselves are beautiful, but I'm curious to see how it compares to the adult version. I like the range of disabilitie...

It's not often that I veer off from fiction when I'm reading, but my latest read was an advanced reader copy of the young adult adaptation of Alice Wong's 2020 book Disability Visibility: First-person Stories From the Twenty-first Century. I primarily read through the ARC to decide if my library should purchase a copy (spoiler alert: I ordered it), but ended up fully drawn into the essays and interviews that make up the text. book will make for a quick read for most teens, especially due to the