Sara Webb Disaster Area by Liz Wilks
Well for once the publishers put the right cover on a book. It is lovely and pink, and all those girls who just love reading short sweet books about families and school will love it. Chick lit in the extreme.
Sara is a young lady with a brother with autism and a sister with Down syndrome. As a young teen she is very conscious of their differences, and yet very determined to live a normal life. She moves through a progression of ‘disasters’ at school and at home on her way through life to a school social and eventually being a bridesmaid at her sister’s wedding.
This book as been promoted by the various disability foundations. Liz Wilks writes with authority because she is the mother of two children with disabilities and one daughter who is ’special in a normal sort of way.’ In that respect the book is worth holding in a collection and encouraging children to read because it does provide a realistic picture of disabled people.
But is it a good read? Is it really funny? I found the book very, very average. The supposed humour barely raised a smile and the family and school situations seemed very contrived and unreal. Sorry, I laughed more about My Big Birkett and I cared more about almost every other book I have read this year.
