Now You Say Yes (Bill Harley)

 

I need to do a better job of writing down who recommended a book to me and/or why. I wish I knew why I ended up with this book. I'm glad I did though! It might have been because of the eclipse aspect of it. It might have been because of the autistic character. All I know is it was a really great read. Mari's ability to learn to work with her brother Connor to get him to cooperate with her plan was smart. Mari's perseverance and wisdom in figuring out what to do now that they're alone was also inspiring. Her thoughts about what people think of her and her brother were well written. It is a read well worth the time.

The title comes from something that Connor would often say when badgering someone about something he wanted or something he wanted to do, "Now you say yes!"

I thought it was a pretty realistic portrayal of an autistic person, although, the comments from people about him being weird or a freak made me wince. Then again, people do say those things. I appreciated the growing love Mari had for her brother and how she took care of him.

Goodreads says:

A middle grade novel about two orphaned siblings (my interjection: They're not really orphans....they do have a dad - but he left) on a cross-country journey in search of their place in the world.

When her adoptive mother dies, fifteen-year-old Mari and is desperate to avoid being caught up in the foster system. Again. And to complicate matters, she is now the only one who can take care of her super-smart and on-the-spectrum nine-year-old stepbrother, Conor.

Is there anyone Mari can trust to help them? Certainly not her mother’s current boyfriend, Dennis. Not the doctors or her teachers, who would be obliged to call in social services. So in a desperate move, Mari takes Conor and sets out to find their estranged grandmother, hoping to throw themselves at the mercy of the only person who might take them in.

On their way to New England, the duo experiences the snarls of LA traffic, the backroads of the Midwest, and a monumental stop in Missouri where they witness the solar eclipse, an event with which Conor is obsessed. Mari also learns about the inner workings of her stepbrother’s mind and about her connections to him and to the world…and maybe even a little about her own place in it.