Five Books With… Disability Representation

Hello hello and welcome or welcome back to my little bookish corner of the internet. Today I’m sharing my latest post in my Five Books With… series, and I’ve picked disability representation.

Now, obviously this has a special place in my heart, being severely disabled, and I always wanted to eventually do a post based on this theme. However, after the recent release of One For All, which I’ll talk about shortly, I felt prompted to speak out. I always want to be a voice about disabled rep, needing so much to see myself in books, and having needed it so much when I first got sick. It’s a wonder how much we’re seeing in books these days compared to when I first became ill. Admittedly that was half my lifetime ago, but it still shows that progress is happening. However, it needs to continue to happen, and these are just five of the books helping it stay in the minds of the reader.

One For All – Lillie Lainoff
Lillie Lainoff‘s debut novel One For All is the absolute star attraction of this post, and currently of my life. Based on Lainoff’s own experiences with POTS, this Three Musketeers retelling is all about finding yourself, defying barriers, and the brilliance of sisterhood. All while holding a sword! It’s one of the most powerful, beautiful and authentic books I’ve read, and the way it just made me feel seen is incredible. If you have a chronic illness, read it. If you love someone with a chronic illness, read it. If you don’t tick either of those boxes – read it anyway.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely – Brigid Kemmerer
Harper, the female protagonist in A Curse So Dark and Lonely, has cerebral palsy. She’s also a complete badass. She doesn’t take any nonsense from Rhen, or anyone else for that matter, and absolutely refuses to be held back by her disability. When attention is drawn to her limp, she has a smart reply every time, but also adapts to what she’s faced with without hesitation, and is a fabulous character.

The Girls Are Never Gone – Sarah Glenn Marsh
I was lucky to be able to interview author Sarah Glenn Marsh (you can read that here) as part of a blog tour for The Girls Are Never Gone. This YA paranormal mystery has a lead character who has diabetes and an assistance dog. As someone with another chronic endocrine condition, I really enjoyed the representation here, seeing Dare in full action and ready to go about her investigation despite the barriers her condition puts in place. I loved this book for multiple reasons, and can’t recommend it more highly!

The Tea Dragon Society – Kay O’Neill
This was one of the first graphic novels I read this year in my mission to expand out what I was reading a bit more. You can find my review here of this absolutely enchanting story, with beautiful illustrations. There’s a character in a wheelchair who helps raise baby tea dragons, and he’s someone I thought was a really great example of someone who has been injured and so had his life drastically changed, which we don’t often see in books.

The Grimrose Girls – Laura Pohl
The Grimrose Girls (which I’m reviewing here tomorrow) takes modern twists on classic fairy tales, and how they link in with the suspected murder of a girl. It’s told from multiple perspectives – the friendship group of the dead girl – and one of them involved, Rory, has Fibromyalgia. She rebels against the pain that her condition causes her, and it is a really great representation of what this health condition can do.

Thanks for stopping by today for this post. These are obviously just five books with disability representation, and there are so many out there. I’ve tried to make sure there’s a real variety so that there’s something for everyone. If you’ve got a favourite that I haven’t included, let me know in the comments.