Where You See Yourself
Where You See Yourself
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Annotation: Effie, a wheelchair-user with cerebral palsy, must navigate college visits, first love, and everyday obstacles. Contains mature material. Contains Mature Material
 
Reviews: 7
Catalog Number: #384064
Format: Perma-Bound from Publisher's Hardcover
Special Formats: Adult Language Adult Language
Copyright Date: 2023
Edition Date: 2023 Release Date: 05/15/24
Pages: 306 pages
ISBN: Publisher: 1-338-81383-8 Perma-Bound: 0-8000-6054-7
ISBN 13: Publisher: 978-1-338-81383-8 Perma-Bound: 978-0-8000-6054-1
Dewey: Fic
LCCN: 2022033818
Dimensions: 21 cm
Language: English
Reviews:
Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

A college-bound teen with cerebral palsy learns to advocate for herself.Even though her friends are buzzing about senior year and their college plans, Greek American Euphemia Galanos can't muster the same enthusiasm. For Effie, an aspiring journalist, choosing a college is fraught with additional variables: Are the dorms wheelchair accessible? How easily can she navigate campus? Such concerns threaten to derail her dream of attending New York's prestigious Prospect University, home to an excellent journalism program…and the choice of her crush, Wilder. As if Effie doesn't have enough on her plate, she faces discrimination from Mill City High's administration-and this time, her mother insists she manage things herself. But Effie isn't used to speaking up, and her efforts go awry. How can she show her mom she can handle moving from Minnesota to New York if she can't be assertive? And will she ever get the chance to tell Wilder how she feels? Forrest, also a wheelchair user with CP, explores the role of media representation in developing self-confidence and refreshingly highlights the importance of disabled peers. Readers will appreciate Effie's conflicted, insightful introspection and appraisals of her options; those who struggle to speak up will empathize as she finds her voice. Supportive friends and family and a sweet romance add warmth. Wilder reads White; there's some racial diversity among the supporting cast members.Affirming, uplifting, and thoughtful. (Fiction. 13-18)

School Library Journal Starred Review (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Gr 9 Up— High school senior Effie wishes the college application process could be as easy for her as it is for her friends and classmates without visible disabilities. Greek American Effie is cued white, has cerebral palsy, and is the only person at her school who uses a wheelchair. When apathetic school administrators create an arbitrary policy that keeps her from being physically able to join her friends for off-campus lunch, Effie realizes she must start advocating for herself if she's going to be ready for college in the fall. Effie and her friends stage a sit-in to protest the policy, which solidifies Effie's goals of pursuing journalism and advocacy. College applications loom, and while Effie's friends get to make life decisions based on academics, location, and feel, Effie and her mom have crafted a detailed spreadsheet of variables based on the accessibility of each school (or in many cases, lack thereof). A family visit to Effie's dream school in New York City provides some glaring examples of the challenges that await Effie once she leaves home: elevator outages in subway stations, a gravel path that runs through the heart of campus, and the school's lack of disability representation among the student body. Effie's dry humor, determination, and strong sense of self drive the plot forward. VERDICT A refreshing upstander story that buoys realistic disability advocacy with humor, grit, and a witty protagonist worth rooting for.— Allison Staley

ALA Booklist (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

This coming-of-age story for teens who have to grit their teeth as they pursue their dreams follows Effie, a determined protagonist who must decide which college is right for her. As Effie makes her way through her senior year of high school, she tests the waters of new romance, fights with friends, and deals with an apathetic school administration. Amidst all these changes, Effie must ask herself what she wants. Forrest's debut is a mirror for teens with disabilities, highlighting the joys and struggles of everyday life: Effie, who uses a wheelchair, has to adjust to new adaptive tech, vocalize IEP requirements, and just deal with disappointments that nondisabled student do not have, like a lack of accessibility at a dream school. Readers with disabilities will empathetically recall similar experiences and cheer Effie along on her journey. With its themes of friendship, identity, and community, this is an ideal novel for readers who are readying for college and for whatever comes next in life.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

A college-bound teen with cerebral palsy learns to advocate for herself.Even though her friends are buzzing about senior year and their college plans, Greek American Euphemia Galanos can't muster the same enthusiasm. For Effie, an aspiring journalist, choosing a college is fraught with additional variables: Are the dorms wheelchair accessible? How easily can she navigate campus? Such concerns threaten to derail her dream of attending New York's prestigious Prospect University, home to an excellent journalism program…and the choice of her crush, Wilder. As if Effie doesn't have enough on her plate, she faces discrimination from Mill City High's administration-and this time, her mother insists she manage things herself. But Effie isn't used to speaking up, and her efforts go awry. How can she show her mom she can handle moving from Minnesota to New York if she can't be assertive? And will she ever get the chance to tell Wilder how she feels? Forrest, also a wheelchair user with CP, explores the role of media representation in developing self-confidence and refreshingly highlights the importance of disabled peers. Readers will appreciate Effie's conflicted, insightful introspection and appraisals of her options; those who struggle to speak up will empathize as she finds her voice. Supportive friends and family and a sweet romance add warmth. Wilder reads White; there's some racial diversity among the supporting cast members.Affirming, uplifting, and thoughtful. (Fiction. 13-18)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

A teen with cerebral palsy combats ableist school administrators while searching for the perfect college in Forrest’s refreshing and empowering debut. Because of her high school’s poor accessibility compliance, wheelchair user and senior Effie Galanos is used to her mother stepping in to campaign for proper accommodations. Effie’s mom, knowing she won’t be there to help her daughter at college, compiles a list of wheelchair-friendly universities, but Effie dreams of studying multimedia at Prospect University in New York, “one of the least accessible cities in America.” Encouraged by Wilder, her crush and fellow Prospect applicant, Effie determines to prove to herself and to others that she can advocate for her own accommodations by speaking up against school administrators for the right to participate in senior off-campus lunch. But after discovering seemingly insurmountable accessibility barriers on Prospect’s campus, Effie and her family must reevaluate how to move forward. Via upbeat and honest prose that eschews didacticism and heavy-handed messaging, Forrest expertly communicates one wheelchair user’s challenges of navigating an ableist world. Pitch-perfect rom-com moments bursting with dry humor balance mature reflections on relationships, personal agency, and disability advocacy. Main characters cue as white. Ages 12–up. Agent: Patricia Nelson, Marsal Lyon Literary. (May)

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Starred Review for Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Schneider Family Book Award (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
School Library Journal Starred Review (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
ALA Booklist (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Word Count: 68,754
Reading Level: 5.3
Interest Level: 7-12
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 5.3 / points: 11.0 / quiz: 520720 / grade: Upper Grades

A Schneider Family Book Award Honor Book

What does it take to follow your dreams? Where You See Yourself is a relatable, romantic, and necessary story about a girl who has to figure out what--and who--will bring her the happiness she deserves.

By the time Effie Galanos starts her senior year, it feels like shes already been thinking about college applications for an eternityafter all, finding a college that will be the perfect fit and be accessible enough for Effie to navigate in her wheelchair presents a ton of considerations that her friends dont have to worry about.

What Effie hasnt told anyone is that she already knows exactly what school she has her heart set on: a college in NYC with a major in Mass Media & Society that will set her up perfectly for her dream job in digital media. Shes never been to New York, but paging through the brochure, she can picture the person shell be there, far from the Minneapolis neighborhood where she's lived her entire life. When she finds out that Wilder (her longtime crush) is applying there too, it seems like one more sign from the universe that its the right place for her.

But it turns out that the universe is full of surprises. As Effie navigates her way through a year of admissions visits, senior class traditions, internal and external ableism, and a lot of firsts--and lasts--she starts to learn that sometimes growing up means being open to a world of possibilities you never even dreamed of. And maybe being more than just friends with Wilder is one of those dreams...


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