On the Spectrum

Sixteen-year-old Clara Singerman’s mother is a famous New York City ballerina, and Clara has long suffered from feelings of inadequacy trying to emulate her, resulting in an obsession with healthy eating and exercise. Following a meeting with a social worker concerned about Clara’s well being and a Twitter war with a guy she met at a party, Clara accepts an invitation to join her remarried father in Paris for the summer. But Paris presents new challenges: Clara is in charge of caring for Alastair, her six-year-old autistic half-brother, while living in a small apartment with a father she barely knows and a stepmother who has questionable ideas about how to raise a child with a developmental disorder. Then Clara meets 20-year-old Michel, an apprentice in his father’s bakery below the apartment. Michel’s passion for good food and Alastair’s blunt honesty force Clara to take a hard look at her orthorexia. A brisk pace and pervasive sense of hope and optimism propel Gold’s dreamy novel. The contrast between Clara’s sharp wit and Alastair’s matter-of-factness adds levity to a well-told and timely tale about love, patience, and acceptance. Ages 12–up. [em](Sept.) [/em]