Wild Orchid (Paperback)

~ Beverley Brenna (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–Written in a clear voice with three-dimensional characters, this novel is destined to be compared to Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Doubleday, 2003). Both are narrated by a young person who has Asperger's Syndrome and both deal with the unique ways in which people with this condition relate to the world. Taylor, 18, does not want to go with her mother to Prince Albert National Park for the summer. She is terrified at what an unstructured future holds and wants to find a boyfriend. This objective proves to be a bit difficult because Taylor cannot bring herself to look at people's faces and she discovers that she positively does not like kissing. As the teen negotiates her summer, finding a job, learning more about herself, and realizing that her mother also has flaws, she moves forward with her life, in spite of some minor setbacks. She discovers some things that she is good at and comes to understand that these qualities can be desirable, even coveted. In places, the story line simplifies Taylor's disabilities, possibly in a palpable attempt to add humor. Nonetheless, Brenna has done a credible job of capturing the voice of a young woman on the brink of maturity; in some ways Taylor is incredibly similar to most teenage girls and in other ways she is exceedingly different.–Wendy Smith-D'Arezzo, Loyola College, Baltimore, MD
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Review

"An honest, insightful, and compelling read."
Highly Recommended.
-- CM Magazine

"Brenna has done a credible job of capturing the voice of a young woman on the brink of maturity."
-- School Library Journal

"Taylor's voice draws the reader into an interesting, informative, and touching book that should be read by people of all ages, adults and teenagers."
-- Curled Up With a Good Kid's Book

"This novel, with its stunning cover, would make a good literature study at the middle school level."
-- Resource Links

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Red Deer Press; 1 edition (September 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0889953309
• ISBN-13: 978-0889953307
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #525,873 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stranger in Paradise, July 20, 2006

By	BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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Taylor Jane Simon, 18 is facing a sea of changes. She has just graduated from secondary school; her mother's boyfriend has opened a pizza shop some 200 miles away in a small town in Canada and Taylor is expected to spend the summer in that unfamiliar town. This will be especially hard for Taylor because she has Asperger's Syndrome, which is the spectrum partner to autism.

Set in 2002, this book is written in diary format, with the dates making it easy to figure out the year in which these literary events took place.

Taylor's behavior sounds more autistic than Asperger's. She cannot stand the color yellow and sneezes when in a yellow room or confronted with yellow food and objects; she does not make eye contact; she has routines she has to live by such as everything has to be done 7 times. She insists on sitting in the 7th row in the movies; she insists on taking 7 sips of water, etc.

Some of Taylor's sensory issues were understandable. She hates loud noises; does not like the feel of certain materials and objects and eye contact is an issue. Her social ineptitude is glaring - she discloses the fact that she has Asperger's to people she does not know or know well; she misreads the responses she gets from peers; she has trouble processing information that is presented quickly. Taylor is incredibly naive; she thinks that if she does not hear from someone within a certain timeframe, that person is no longer a friend.

One thing that was easy to see from both sides was early in the book when Taylor's mother, when giving the girl gum told her to offer her some. Taylor complies and her mother turns down the offer. Taylor's bewilderment is understandable -- if told to make an offer, then why turn it down? The mother's response was also understandable -- you make the offer to someone regardless. That was a good example showing the confusion on both sides of a social issue.

Still, Taylor copes. A kind botanist hires her for the summer; he is very tolerant of her and in turn, she learns that just because someone has a bad habit, they are not a bad person. Since Paul smokes, she figures he must be bad to do something she finds abhorrent.

During the summer, Taylor develops a work ethic; learns to stand up for herself and adjust to changes made without any control or warning.

A decent book that shows how confusing social behaviors are for someone on the autism/Asperger's spectrum. Since it is a spectrum, there will be overlapping behaviors and Taylor appeared to fit right in the middle. Her meltdowns; social naivety and routines point her closer to autism. Her high verbal skills, special interests (she has a special interest in flora) and attention to minute detail are all Asperger's behaviors.

Mary Essinger's WOUNDED BIRD OF PARADISE is a good companion book to this one.