I’m disabled and really want to read a decent book with disabled characters where they are not:
a) inspiring
b) tragic
c) magical because of their disablity
d) dead by the end of the book
Any suggestions? I’m open to any genera but love historical fiction and sci-fi
by DawnBeaver
10 Comments
I haven’t finished it, but Nicola Griffith’s “So Lucky” is about MS and serial killers. So I can’t swear the protagonist is alive by the end. But it’s good so far.
“Into the Drowning Deep” by Mira Grant has several major Deaf characters, and is a horror novel about hunting/being hunted by mermaids (EDIT- since it is a horror novel, lives are inherently stake, so now that I think about it it might not be a great option). Also on mermaids, “The Deep” by Rivers Solomon is about an autistic mermaid.
“Manhunt” by Gretcen Felker-Martin has a well-written character with obesity-related mobility issues. It’s about a world where everyone with testosterone turns into a zombie.
Fourth Wing
Iron Widow
The Centaur’s Wife by Amanda Leduc. It’s been a few years since I read it but I’m pretty sure it meets your criteria
I think you might really like Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert!
The main character struggles with chronic pain and it’s a major part of her character depiction, but the overall tone of the book is lighthearted and warm. It’s a really cute romantic comedy featuring an enemies-to-lovers plotline – however, she’s never held up as an “inspiration” and her disability continues to affect her life significantly throughout the entire book. Instead of the main character “overcoming” her disability, it’s actually her love interest who learns to support her better. They make a happy ending together as they both accept her limitations and learn to be vulnerable with each other about their needs.
Deaf Utopia,
True Biz,
The Vorkosigan Saga,
Being Seen,
Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction, issue 24 of Uncanny Magazine,
All’s Well by Mona Awad (it’s about chronic pain)
Interestingly, some of the better disability rep I’ve read recently is Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.
The Housekeeper and the Professor is fun in a 50 first dates way, so not completely accurate but definitely about interdependence.
The Revised Fundamentals of Caring might fit, but I didn’t love the book and thought the movie was better.
My Stroke of Insight
Just By Looking at Him by Ryan O’Connell
How Lucky by Will Leitch (this book is legitimately so amazing, and it’s really funny)