Spring 2019, Wild Readers 5 discussion

The book I decided to read for the Newbery Honor category was “A Corner of the Universe” by Ann M. Martin. I vividly remember once trying to read this book in sixth grade, but I was discouraged by how long the length of the book was and stopped reading it. This book is about an eleven year old girl named Hattie Owen who meets her 16 year old uncle Adam who has autism for the first time. The two end up bonding a lot more than any of her family members envisioned they would. Hattie sees Adam for who he truly is, his quirks and personality intrigues her. Adams true honesty and bluntness helps Hattie get out of her comfort zone and allows her to meet Leila. Leila is the daughter of a carnival owner, which is where the two and Adam spend most of their days hanging out. Shortly after Leila and Hattie meaning Adam goes into a self doubt phase which leads him down a dark path. The book ends tragically with the death of Adam. Adam left a huge impact on Hatties life, so much that she refers to moments of her life to “before Adam or after Adam”.
This book was such a cute read, and I love how it shows the bond between two people in such a short time. I have an autistic cousin and he is so intelligent, I love how this story reveals this. I totally recommend this book to readers who are looking for a light hearted genre, and I so believe this deserved the award it received.