Say What You Will

by Cammie McGovern

Overview

“A unique and unforgettable love.” —Teen Vogue

John Green's The Fault in Our Stars meets Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park in this beautifully written, incredibly honest, and emotionally poignant novel.

Cammie McGovern's insightful young adult debut is a heartfelt and heartbreaking story about how we can all feel lost until we find someone who loves us because of our faults, not in spite of them.

Born with cerebral palsy, Amy can't walk without a walker, talk without a voice box, or even fully control her facial expressions. Plagued by obsessive-compulsive disorder, Matthew is consumed with repeated thoughts, neurotic rituals, and crippling fear.

Both in desperate need of someone to help them reach out to the world, Amy and Matthew are more alike than either ever realized.

When Amy decides to hire student aides to help her in her senior year at Coral Hills High School, these two teens are thrust into each other's lives. As they begin to spend time with each other, what started as a blossoming friendship eventually grows into something neither expected.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062271112
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	05/05/2015
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	407,821
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.83(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Cammie McGovern is the author of Say What You Will as well as the adult novels Neighborhood Watch, Eye Contact, and The Art of Seeing. Cammie is also one of the founders of Whole Children, a resource center that runs after-school classes and programs for children with special needs. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, with her husband and three children.

Editorial Reviews

In Cammie McGovern’s debut novel Say What You Will, Amy and Matthew will break your heart and then with their resiliency and wit and ardor put it back together. This is a book to read, savor, and pass on and on until it has gone around the world twice.” — Ron Koertge, author of Stoner & Spaz

“A unique an unforgettable love.” — Teen Vogue

“Exhilarating and heartrending. With a smart, proud, and capable protagonist eager to take her life by the reins, this novel is stunning.” — ALA Booklist (starred review)

“McGovern avoids gooeyness or condescension by making Amy and Matthew individuals, not diagnoses, and their relationship not just plausible, but suspenseful. Watching Amy and Matthew grapple with big questions, readers will be surprised, moved, amused, worried, hopeful, and grateful to have spent time with them.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“McGovern’s triumph is how well she normalizes and highlights the variety of disability experiences among teens and their often circuitous journeys toward claiming their voices and right to self-determination. Ultimately, a deeply engaging and rewarding story.” — Kirkus Reviews

“What this book does best is move beyond the typical concerns and stigmas people with disabilities inevitably encounter to present an honest portrayal of the difficulties of growing up faced by these particular characters.” — Horn Book

“Cammie McGovern channels her knowledge and passion for special needs kids in Say What You Will. Like the deservedly best-selling Wonder by R.J. Palacio—required reading for every family—this doesn’t just get you talking, it gets you thinking, feeling and rejoicing” — Family Circle

“A beautifully written story about two teens who find each other in spite of what might seem like insurmountable problems.” — Examiner.com (Five star review)

“It’s a little bit ‘Perks of Being a Wallflower,’ a little bit ‘Eleanor & Park’ and a lot of something else entirely. A young adult book with grown-up lessons.” — Metro US

“Cammie McGovern crafts a story that takes a realistic look at people who have disabilities but who are not their disability. This story isn’t about rescuing anyone. It is about setting aside fears, limitations, and appearances, and taking a chance at opening up. Everyone should meet Amy and Matt.” — Hypable.com

From the Publisher

Cammie McGovern channels her knowledge and passion for special needs kids in Say What You Will. Like the deservedly best-selling Wonder by R.J. Palacio—required reading for every family—this doesn’t just get you talking, it gets you thinking, feeling and rejoicing

Family Circle

A unique an unforgettable love.

Teen Vogue

Exhilarating and heartrending. With a smart, proud, and capable protagonist eager to take her life by the reins, this novel is stunning.

ALA Booklist (starred review)

In Cammie McGovern’s debut novel Say What You Will, Amy and Matthew will break your heart and then with their resiliency and wit and ardor put it back together. This is a book to read, savor, and pass on and on until it has gone around the world twice.

Ron Koertge

Cammie McGovern crafts a story that takes a realistic look at people who have disabilities but who are not their disability. This story isn’t about rescuing anyone. It is about setting aside fears, limitations, and appearances, and taking a chance at opening up. Everyone should meet Amy and Matt.

Hypable.com

A beautifully written story about two teens who find each other in spite of what might seem like insurmountable problems.

Examiner.com (Five star review)

It’s a little bit ‘Perks of Being a Wallflower,’ a little bit ‘Eleanor & Park’ and a lot of something else entirely. A young adult book with grown-up lessons.

Metro US

What this book does best is move beyond the typical concerns and stigmas people with disabilities inevitably encounter to present an honest portrayal of the difficulties of growing up faced by these particular characters.

Horn Book

Cammie McGovern crafts a story that takes a realistic look at people who have disabilities but who are not their disability. This story isn’t about rescuing anyone. It is about setting aside fears, limitations, and appearances, and taking a chance at opening up. Everyone should meet Amy and Matt.

Hypable

05/01/2014
Gr 9 Up—Amy has cerebral palsy, and has spent the past 17 years with walkers, voice boxes, and adults. She's gone through school at the same pace as her peers but without friends or socializing. When one of her classmates, Matthew, challenges her cheerful facade, Amy realizes she's missed out on developing true peer relationships. So for their senior year, Amy asks her parents to pay classmates to be her companions instead of her usual adult aids. She begs Matthew to apply, and the two embark on a friendship that addresses Amy's limitations, Matthew's own disorder, and all their secrets—all except the one they really need to share. Both teens struggle with their realities and limitations, and a love soon develops between them. The harsh reality of high school social dynamics are authentically portrayed. The main characters are well developed, though secondary characters are little more than background noise. Recommend to fans of John Green's The Fault In Our Stars (Dutton, 2012) and realistic fiction with a love story angle.—Natalie Struecker, Rock Island Public Library, IL

School Library Journal

2014-04-09
Crushes, missteps and genuine loyalty on the road to deep friendship.As she enters her senior year of high school, Amy—hemiplegic due to an aneurism following her premature birth and near the top of her class—uses her augmentative and assistive communication device to argue successfully that she needs peer helpers in school rather than adult aides. Her mother, Nicole, is dubious, but Amy knows which buttons to push: "If I'm going to go to college, I need to practice relating to people my own age." Amy particularly wants to work with Matthew, whose unvarnished honesty fascinates her. Unlike her awkward relationships with her other peer helpers, Amy develops a real friendship with Matthew immediately. Due to their frank conversation and Amy's quick discovery of Matthew's OCD, their relationship is balanced and reciprocal, though their growing mutual affection goes largely unaddressed. Unlike its most obvious read-alike, The Fault in Our Stars, this is not a tragic romance: Amy and Matthew's relationship is messy, fraught and tantalizing, but it's not threatened with imminent death. McGovern's triumph is how well she normalizes and highlights the variety of disability experiences among teens and their often circuitous journeys toward claiming their voices and right to self-determination. It's slightly overplotted and occasionally heavy-handed, but it's easy to forgive these flaws.Ultimately, a deeply engaging and rewarding story. (Romance. 14-17)

Kirkus Reviews