Fragile Bones

Description

Anna, a bright senior and aspiring med student, has been paired with Harrison, a boy with autism/Aspergers Syndrome and an obsession with anatomy, in their high school’s Best Buddies club. Told in their two voices, the novel explores the relationship between the teens as each learns to see the world in surprisingly different ways. The first in a series of novels for teens, each telling the stories of a different pair of young people in the Best Buddies club.

Awards

Nominated for Red Maple Award (Runner Up in NDSB Red Maple Voting)
Nominated for Snow Willow Award
Nominated for MYRCA Award
Nominated for Writer’s Guild of Alberta R. Ross Anneett Literary Award
CCBC Best Book for Kids and Teens Award

Details

Page Count: 254 pp
Format: Paper and e-book
Publisher: Clockwise Press
ISBN: 978-0-99393-510-
Categories: Children and YA Fiction
Age Range: 13+

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Reviews

Quill and Quire – Issue Date: May 2015

“Author Lorna Schultz Nicholson’s representation of Harrison’s voice and self-awareness is admirable. His slightly formal, flat-footed prose perfectly suits his cautious, tenuous grip on his own feelings and behaviour. Sometimes funny, always earnest and careful, his brave efforts to move forward are persuasive and endearing. Harrison’s parents also stand out for their wisdom, kindness, and practical strategies for helping him.”

Can Lit for Little Canadians – Issue Date: April 2015

“Fragile Bones is a lot about learning to deal, with others, with one’s family, with one’s own needs and wants. Anna is a considerate young woman who is astute about interacting with Harrison…Harrison, who needs many reminders about appropriate responses and actions, is doing his fair share of learning, though he doesn’t always interpret new information correctly, occasionally too literally. (Harrison’s thoughts about kissing and a Halloween dance are especially ardent and very funny.) Anna and Harrison may be very different…but Lorna Schultz Nicholson ensures that they are all normal, just unique, and acceptance of these differences is the norm.”

CM Magazine – Issue Date: Sept 2015

“Chapters alternate, narrated in the first person from each character’s viewpoint. This approach works well, allowing readers to note the difference in the way Harrison and Anna experience the same situations.”

School Library Journal – Issue Date: May 2015

“Gr 7 Up – Fifteen-year-old Harrison knows every single bone in the human body but melts down over using public bathrooms. High school senior Anna is paired with Harrison in their school’s Best Buddies program. The story is told in alternating viewpoints, and Anna learns that being responsible for Harrison is puzzling and unnerving, while Harrison’s precise autistic logic is tense and convincing.”

Emma, Goodreads Reviews

“A perfect read for younger fans of Haddon’s Curious Incident of The Dog in The Nighttime or Simsion’s The Rosie Project. Fragile Bones offers an enlightening look into the mind of autistic teen, Harrison, and his assigned Best Buddy, Anna.”

Victoria, Goodreads Reviews

“I fell in love with this story. It definitely touched my heart.”

Janet, Goodreads Reviews

“I loved this a lot. Harrison is so well done!”

Amanda, Goodreads Reviews

“I expected to enjoy it but I did not expect to fly through it in a couple of hours! It definitely gripped me and kept me reading until I’d finished it in a single sitting.”