Waiting For No One
By Beverley Brenna
(Red Deer Press, Paperback, 9780889954373, 176pp.)
Publication Date: January 2011
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Taylor Jane Simon is an eighteen-year-old girl with Asperger’s Syndrome who has a refreshingly different view of the people she encounters and the life she wants to have. Young adult readers will identify with Taylor’s struggle for independence and self-control, and empathize as she outlines the ways—both positive and negative-- that her Asperger’s Syndrome affects her daily life. Connecting with a play by Samuel Beckett, Taylor explores a fear of solitary existence while reaching out to a world at times perplexing. Most important, Taylor wants to be seen as an individual, not as a stereotypical “person with special needs,” or a rare wild flower—images that haunt her from the past. A cameo performance by Taylor’s new gerbil -- Harold Pinter-- adds further emphasis to themes of existentialism and humour.
Bev Brenna is an assistant professor of education at the University of Saskatchewan and a former special education consultant, as well as the author of six books for young people, including Wild Orchid and The Moon Children, both from Red Deer Press.
Praise for Wild Orchid:
"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
“Taylor is a refreshing and inspirational delight. She is beguiling in her earnestness, her honesty, her quest for independence, and her unyielding determination to wait for no one.”--School Library Journal “A charming yet riveting read with a lot to think about, very highly recommended.”--Midwest Book Review
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