Selah knows that she is different from the other kids at Pebblecreek Academy. She can’t let people know that loud noises bother her or that some smells are just too much, and she can never, ever, let people see her get upset. Although her Mom and Grandfather support her and she has created rituals to calm herself down, she still feels like she is a wearing a “normal-person mask” to get through each day. But one day her mask slips and she hits a fellow student who touches Selah’s hair without asking. Suddenly, her world changes and all the comforts she has built into her life fall away.
But as Selah starts to figure out more about who she is, she comes to understand that different doesn't mean damaged. With help from a new friend and a new form of self- expression through poetry, she learns to stand up for herself and anyone else who needs her help.
Meg Eden Kuyatt is a neurodivergent author and college-level creative writing instructor. She is a 2020 Pitch Wars mentee, and the author of young adult, middle grade, and poetry books. When she isn’t writing, she’s probably playing Fire Emblem. If she could be a Pokémon, she’s be Chizard. Find her online at megedenbooks.com or on Instagram at @meden_author.
Laura Shovan is the author of the award-winning middle grade novels The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, and Takedown. A Place at the Table, co-written with Saadia Faruqi, is 2021 Sydney Taylor Notable. Laura is a longtime poet-in-the-schools and is on the faculty of Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Ages 8-12
