Autism, The Invisible Cord: A Sibling's Diary

by Barbara S. Cain M.S.W.

Silver Medal Winner, 2013 Mom's Choice Awards Ezra looks like any other sixth grader with faded jeans, turned around cap and a mess of chestnut curls. You see, my brother is like any other eleven-year-old except when he isn't. Autism, The Invisible Cord follows 14-year-old Jenny as she describes her day-to-day life with her younger autistic brother, Ezra. Ezra can be both her best friend as well as her biggest obstacle to living a normal life, and Jenny often finds herself stuck worrying about her younger brother. Through taking care of Ezra and a very special school project, Jenny ends up learning about her own character and strengths, and a way to shine despite everything else.

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Nonfiction, Middle Grade

96 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2012

Reviews

[Cynthia]

When reading about autism, I prefer first-person accounts of parents or persons dealing with autism. I was disappointed to find that I had ordered a fictitious "sibling's diary" of a junior high school girl who had always felt "an invisible cord" binding herself to her autistic younger brother. I read it anyway and can recommend it. Alternately proud and ashamed of him, Jennifer worries constantly that her brother will look weird to her friends, have a meltdown in public or be victimized by bullies. The book contains a half-dozen detailed "take-care-of-yourself" suggestions for siblings like Jennifer. In the end, she learns that babying her brother helps neither him nor herself. It's all right for her to loosen the cord and look after her own interests.The most valuable part of the book for me was the author's clear definition of bullying and the pointers she offers to parents, teachers and kids on handling bullies. If I have a minor quibble with this book, it's that Jennifer often talks as if she was born in the 50's: she wants to "put all her cards on the table." She calls her boyfriend a "gorgeous hunk of a man." On the other hand, what adult author can really catch the tone of kids of another generation?

[Colleen]

I read this book, because I have an Autistic sibling and I wanted to see how this author portray this sibling relationship. The main thing this book described was that Jenny felt she was invisibly connected to her brother. This made her felt she could not do anything without being near him, but then this feeling was influence by an event that happened when she and her brother were younger. Some of Jenny's experiences were the same experiences that I shared, but others were not. For example, I have felt a degree of responsibility for my brother, but this did not prevent me from doing things that I wanted to do. I think that this is a good starting point for someone, who has a younger, Autistic sibling, but Autism is such broad social/neurological disorder that one book cannot portray all of the unique characteristics and situations. In the back of the book, the author includes more information and resources for people with Autistic siblings. The story itself is fictional, but the information is real.

[Annabel Lee]

Story follows Jennifer, a talented 14 y/o writer who describes the invisible cord/chain and attachment she has to Ezra, her brother with autism.

She wrestled with a host of contradictory feelings that surface without warning, from wishing that things were different for both her and Ezra, throwing tantrums for not being paid enough attention and wishing that he would mature and grow up to being his sister, protector, defender and his best and only friend, and having an unimaginable and unconditional outpouring love for his courage and resilience as he persists and continues with his matter-of-fact outlook despite being bullied relentlessly.

It shows that sometimes, she often has to become mature beyond her years because she is too is responsible for her brother’s wellbeing even though it may be difficult. She has to give up on relationships and people who may not fully understand what it means to be on the autism spectrum while revealing true friendships and relationships which stay despite knowing her story and truth.

This shows her story of how she sees her brother become more independent, and allows herself to chase her own dreams and passion of become a writer and joining a writer’s programme, so that she may continue to give voice to the voiceless - to loosen her cord, and continue defending and making change inspired by Ezra!

[Danielle]

What I liked: That it gave a teen perspective of a “glass child” yet the focus did drift to typical teenage challenges as well. What I did not like: Autism Speaks explicitly mentioned in the book. This wasn’t in the resources which I could be more forgiving over but in the entries. Thankfully it was not long

[Becky]

Wasn’t sure what to expect of this book. My niece has autism she is 3 in a few months. She has an older sister. It’s definitely worth a read and one that my niece may need to read one day dependent on how life pans out.

[MaryAnne]

I liked that the book is written in the form of a diary. The story was engaging and seemed truthful to a teenager's experience, particularly with a younger brother with autism.

[Tankut Yıldız]

Kitap olabildiğince sade ve sevimli ancak çeviride göze batan bariz hatalar yorucu olmuş, “günümü yaptın!” veya köpek cinsi olarak “boksör” gibi hatalar çok amatörce.

[Barış Kaplan]

Sadece otizmli kardeşi olan kişiler değil, bu kitabı otizm ile ilgili bir farkındalık geliştirmek isteyen herkes okumalı...

[Jenni Frencham]

Jenny's little brother has autism, and he is being bullied by an 8th grader at Jenny's school. Jenny decides to use her writing talent to craft an article about bullying for the school paper. Throughout the year, Jenny begins to see that the cord that ties her to her brother isn't as thick as she thought. Her brother begins to develop some independence and to survive even without Jenny's constant assistance. She starts to dream of attending a special summer program for journalism, but will Ezra survive without Jenny there?

I really enjoyed this story. It's a quick read, and it addresses bullying, autism, and the life of a middle school student. It has a happy ending and is free from any red flags. There aren't enough good books featuring characters with disabilities. This one definitely belongs in the library's collection.

[Arasani]

the invisible cord is about a girl named Jen ,a boy named Ezra who has autism and their friends and family who have to react and help out with Ezra the boy with autism.The boy Ezra gets bullied a lot when he first goes to school just because he is different and because he is weak, the bully is pitbull (at least that is what Jen cause her) .what I think is interesting in this book is the way Jen steps up to her brother Ezra and makes a newspaper just about bullies and part of the paper is that Ezra is autistic.Another amazing moment is when Jen announces that Ezra is autistic in the end of the book when Jen is graduating then at the end of her graduation Ezra runs up the aisles and shouts “viva viagra viva viagra” oh and I forgot to mention that Ezra memorizes most of the commercials on the television.

[Aisha]

This book was amazingly written. Too few times I feel do we hear about Autism from the perspective of a sibling. It isn't a struggle for only the parents or the child with autism. What their brother or sister. That young child that may be forced to grow up. It shows the struggle of one trying to be a kid but at the same time being another parent to that child with autism. Jennifer handles the situation with grace that I wish I had at the time when I was a child.

This book made me reflect a lot on my childhood, also growing up with a brother with autism. Trying to find balance between being a teen and caring for my brother. This is a very important book to let others know that they are not alone and some of the thing that they can do to cope and loosen the invisible cord.

[Alison]

I did not realize when I checked this book out that it was considered part of the reference section. I do not have an Autistic sibling or child, but I work with some ASD children at the school and like to read books that help to understand what life is like living with them. I think this would be a wonderful book for a child who has a sibling with just about any disorder. It would be good to find that there are others out there that can relate and that any negative feelings you may have about your sibling are not only understandable, but are also balanced with a world of good. I would recommend this book be passed along to anyone who has a sibling with differences.

[Amy]

I would have given this a higher rating if it had actually been true.

I had a hard time connecting with the kid. She seemed too mature. Conveniently mature for the story. Not saying that it can't happen, but I just couldn't connect with her at all. By having the story told in journal form, there were no scenes to help get to know anyone.

I wanted to know the boy better, but was just given vague descriptions of how he behaved and acted.

It has been 3 days since I finished reading it and I really don't recall much of it aside from the drama with the play and the annoyances I mentioned above.

[Bethany]

Although it's in the non-fiction section, this is a fiction account of a girl with a brother with autism. It hit close to home-I highly recommend.

I think it would be a great account for Storey to read when she's a little older. I don't think there are many non-fiction or fiction pieces for these siblings to relate to.

[Janelle Jansson]

This is a children's book. HOWEVER, it was very good. Gives an insight to the struggle of having a son or brother with autism. I have been thinking about being a special education teacher for a while now, and that's why is I'd like to learn more about the possibilities of disabilities I'd be dealing with.

[Leanne]

This is a good book for any young person (maybe grades 4-8) who has any special needs sibling, not just autism. I do not understand why the book is classified in the 600's with diseases when it is clearly a fiction book, and would certainly draw more readers in the fiction section.

[Holli Keel]

It's fiction, but it seems written with a purpose- to help siblings of kids with special needs realize that the emotions and things they deal with are important and real. It should be helpful to the target audience, but it's otherwise a very average book.

[Fatimat Shotande]

I enjoyed reading this book and I could relate to a lot of the situations in the book. I think it gave an honest account of the struggles that families go through if one of their families members have Autism

[Vivian Hartwig]

I loved this book because it explains how I feel since I also have an autistic brother. It is very well written, in a diary style which is cool. Jennifer is a teenager just trying to fir in at school when she is constantly checking on her brother and writing a SCOOP story about bullying.

[Amy]

I'm not sure why this is nonfiction since it's a fictionalized account of a girl whose brother has autism. Its tone and story arc sounded a bit like an afterschool special.

[Julia]

I guess this book just isn't for me