No Brain the Same

Poets introduce 14 neurodivergent trailblazers.
Using poetic forms as diverse as their subjects, authors sharing aspects of these young people’s identities celebrate their bravery and creativity. Some figures will likely be familiar, such as singer Billie Eilish, “a girl with Tourette’s” who “turned tics into chords”; others may be new to readers, like Liam Garner, an autistic youth who biked from Alaska to Argentina. A brief biography and a motivational tip (“Use your unique perspective to solve problems”) follow each poem. Bradley’s photorealistic illustrations convey subjects’ joy and determination. Some lines feel cliched, as when Vanessa Brantley-Newton’s double couplet series “Her Name Means Light” proclaims Helena Donato-Sapp—an anti-bullying advocate with ADHD, visual processing and memory disorders, and dyscalculia—“young yet wise beyond her years.” Others are thought provoking; Sally J. Pla’s free-verse intro to Dara McAnulty, who is autistic and who wrote the award-winning A Young Naturalist’s Diary, concludes that “saving Nature / is the only way / we can save / ourselves.” Hannah Emerson’s “Dear Adam” echoes the cadence of nonspeaking autistic poet Adam Wolfond (who communicates with a text-to-speech app): “floating reality / becoming dear great treeing / named Adam yes yes.” A list of affirmations matched to each subject (“You are not broken. Helena refuses shame for her identities”) summarizes the encouraging collection. Backmatter includes author information and defines terms, poetic forms, and conditions portrayed here, which include Down syndrome, anxiety, and stuttering.
Eclectic and empowering.
—Kirkus Reviews