Ally Nickerson has reached the sixth grade by using distractions and bad behavior to hide her inability to read. She views her struggles as a personal deficiency, believing she is unintelligent rather than seeing the mechanical reality of her dyslexia. Her world changes when a long-term substitute teacher, Mr. Daniels, recognizes her patterns of avoidance and letter-reversal. He introduces Ally to logic puzzles and sensory learning techniques while helping her navigate social friction with classmates like the bullying Shay and her loyal new friends, Keisha and Albert.
Elementary and middle school students find this story useful for understanding neurodiversity and the mechanics of learning disabilities. It serves readers who feel they do not fit traditional academic molds or those who want to understand how a peer might experience social isolation in a classroom setting. Someone finishing this book understands that intelligence exists in multiple forms, specifically regarding spatial thinking and problem-solving, and learns that hiding a struggle is often more exhausting than the work required to address it.
- Published
- 2015
- Language
- EN
