Inside Out

by Ann M. Martin

Teased about his autistic brother, Jonno yearns to lead a normal life and be accepted by the other kids

Genres: Fiction, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Childrens, Historical Fiction

152 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1985

About the author

Ann Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.

Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.

Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.

Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.

After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...

Reviews

[Gab · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will admit that I may not gush aloud or share it or own an abused copy of this novel, but it's my favourite book. It probably saved me when I was dealing with Jono's kind of stress to realise that there are some ugly emotions that are worth feeling and okay to feel. The fact that the ending wasn't jjust some happy ending about perseverance and family strength and acceptance was wonderful. It was unsure and sketchy but whole nevertheless because there never really is an ending for families dealing with autism, I guess.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read, pretty typical Ann M Martin with some of her regular tropes. The story at the heart of the book was pretty good, I liked Jonno and his family. But yeah, this book doesn't really hold up all that well. All the casual "retard"s (I'm cackling that I just wrote that ahaha) and the talk about sending James to an institution - heck, even Jon getting a paper route, it all seemed so dated. Granted, this book came out over thirty years ago, but it definitely did not age too well.

Not that this was a terrible book; the heart of the story was something anyone can relate to, it was great how Jon stood up to the in-kids, and everyone had ideas for trying to earn money when they were young. There were also some pretty funny parts, it was an amusing read. But because all the stuff about autism was so dated, I'd probably recommend Rain Reign by the author instead.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading this one several times as a kid and always loving it. It's about a family dealing with their young 4-year-old son, James, who has autism. It's told from the perspective of the older brother, Jonno, who is 11 or 12. There's also a sister, Lizzie, who is 8. It shows how autism affects the entire family and the frustrations (and joy) they encounter.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time back in the 80s when it came out. It was the first time I ever heard of autism. Autism was a virtually unknown condition at the time- most people later heard of it the first time from the movie Rainman.
This book is one of Martin's best. Well written, realistic and heart breaking. James is typical of autistic kids in that he was normal up until age two and then changed. His family has to learn to deal with his condition and try to help him function. Meanwhile, the kids have to go to school, deal with bullies and otherwise live a normal life. I miss the 80s. This is a great piece of nostalgia.
Also, my friends and I put on a carnival like the one in this book, except we made all the prizes and only charged a penny per game. It was a great time. Apple paperbacks gave me a lot of good ideas back then. ;)

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book’s perspective, of a boy who has a little brother with autism. Reading it more than a couple decades after publication, though, many parts were a bit hard to deal with. It does give great insight of being a sibling to a kid with autism, though, and how some therapy approaches require so much investment from the whole family.

However, I do wish books like these would be updated to reflect changes in what we know about a diagnosis, especially one like autism. I feel this book, if it were updated, could be good for the older brother of a child I am a disability support worker for! The use of the “r-word” and lack of inclusive educational supports (or poorly done ones as is the case of Edward) make it a book I could never recommend to a family navigating autism in this decade.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

the book that started my obsession with autism.

[Elizabeth Gibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Jonno and his family battle life with an autistic four-year-old, Jonno finds ways to make money and winds up helping his brother.

[Wisty · Rating 4 out of 5]

It game back to me suddenly that I read this! That was back when I tried to read every Ann M. Martin book I could get my hands on!

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good in showing some of the stresses that a family can have with an autistic child, but also with how it is to not feel cool.

[Tabitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book. A good book about how to be a good sibling, how to show understanding to others, and put your feet into someone else's shoes. In this book, Jonno, James' brother, learns to understand James in a way that his parents fail to recognize at first. Jonno becomes James' cheerleader and knows that even though the progress is slow, James is learning. Jonno sees how much James is improving, and he knows that James will continue to learn and grow, and things will be alright. HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend!!!

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite a good book for kids! It features Jonathan, eleven years old, and his brother, James, who has autism. You get to find out how it feels to have someone with severe autism in the family. If you like this book, I'd recommend both Rain Reign and A Dog's Life (both by this author) to you!

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book did not age very well, and some of the attitudes in the book towards autism are a bit dated, but all up, I think it's a really sensitive depiction of how the family deals with James's severe autism. I think Ann M. Martin did a really good job of showing Johnno's very complicated feelings of loving James and wanting to protect him, but also feeling frustrated with James's behaviour and the fact that neither of them (or any of them in the family) can have a normal life. I also really loved that Pete and Termite just...didn't mind about James, and just accepted that Johnno would have to work around James's idiosyncracies.
In all, I think it's a pretty good book

CW: the most pertinent one would be the frequent use of the r-slur by the boys who bully Johnno, there is also some other verbal and physical bullying, including fat-shaming

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this glimpse of an autistic kid more than I like how it was done in secret of Susan, though I think both were done pretty well

[Cws]

JAR4 Mar