Wild Orchid
Beverley Brenna
• Shortlisted for Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book
of the Year Award
• 2007 Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award nominee
• 2007 Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Willow Awards
nominee
• Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice Starred Selection
• White Pine nominee, 2007
• On New York Public Library's list of Books for the Teen Age 2007
Teen Fiction / Social Issues / Special Needs
Ages 13 and up 176 pages
5 1/2 x 8 1/2"
ISBN 0-88995-330-9 paper CDN 12.95 USA 7.95
Taylor Jane Simon is 18 years old and spending the summer with her mother in Prince
Albert National Park. The holiday has been planned so Taylor's mother can spend time
with her latest boyfriend, Danny, and work in the pizza restaurant near the park that
Danny runs. Taylor would just as soon stay at home in Saskatoon, but because she
suffers from an autistic condition called Asperger's Syndrome, she can't stay on her
own. Taylor's mother encourages her daughter to explore the park's possibilities on her
own. For Taylor, whose life experience has been seriously limited, this means facing
the test of meeting new people who work in the park's nature center–and facing it
alone. Summer also holds out the possibility of finding her own boyfriend, though
Taylor isn't quite sure what that may involve. What she discovers will change her life
forever.
Written as an epistolary novel, Wild Orchid is frank but optimistic, literal yet
innocent. A courageous wit attends Taylor's gradual emergence as her own person,
and the reader will find the exploration of Taylor's mind a revealing and heartwarming
encounter.
Reviews
“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
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