Non-Fiction

Abeel, Samantha. My Thirteen Winter: A Memoir. New York: Scholastic, 2003. Print.

Annotation:
Samantha Abeel looks back on her struggles in attending school with an undiagnosed learning disability.  As she reflects back, she offers adult insight into her frustrating and confusing school years.

Statement for Nomination:
Samantha Abeel opens up in this memoir about the hardships and frustrations with her learning disability she dealt with for the majority of her school life. This book focuses on her difficulties in school.  It was difficult for her parents and teachers to recognize and understand what she was going through because she did well in most subjects but struggled very much with math.  She writes about techniques she used to 'just get by' in her math classes early on in her schooling years.  Later on in her education, particularly by the time she began algebra, it became almost impossible to hide her disability.  While this book is a memoir, it is also an information book on learning disabilities and the effects they can have on an individual, both mentally and emotionally.  Abeel writes about having anxiety attacks and feeling embarrassed in class.
I feel that this book is important for teens to read.  I think that it is important for both teens that have been diagnosed with learning disabilities and teens that have not been diagnosed.  It offers insight into the feelings of frustration and confusion that most teens experience.  Through opening up in this book and being honest and real about her feelings, Abeel shows teens, and all readers for that matter, that it is possible to overcome hardships.  As an individual who experienced a similar situation, I found myself connecting with the author.  I was not diagnosed with my learning disability until my freshman year in college, and as an individual and student who felt similar feelings as Abeel did, I found it comforting to know that other people went through similar struggles.  This book shows people that a person can be both smart and have a learning disability.  I think that it is also a good book for parents of teens with a learning disability.  I think it is also a good book for parents of teens with a learning disability to read.  It can offer parents some insight into how their teen is feeling, how to help them understand what they are feeling and information on learning disabilities.
I nominate My Thirteenth Winter: A Memoir because it offers teen readers an open and honest view of one's struggles with a learning disability, it also shows the readers that it is possible to overcome hardships and achieve goals.

Genre Category
Memoir/Nonfiction/Informational