Review: From Wallflowers to Bulletproof Families: The Power of Disability in Young Adult Narratives

Abstract

In Wallflowers to Bulletproof Families: The Power of Disability in Young Adult Narratives, Abbye E. Meyer laments the dearth of critical literary studies on disability narratives in young adult (YA) literature. She argues that this lack of research hinders the recognition of the political and literary value of YA literature in fostering a more nuanced understanding of disability through better representations of disabled people. Meyer’s monograph goes some way towards filling this gap by presenting five comprehensive chapters that critically analyze a variety of YA disability narratives, including novels, songs, television series, movies, and digital media. Meyer seeks to explore “the power that disability-centered readings offer young adult literature, as well as the power that young adult narratives hold to reimagine both disability and adolescence” (4). The monograph’s introductory chapter establishes Meyer’s goal for these “radical” (3) readings. She hopes to demonstrate how disability narratives written for and about young people have three overlapping forms of power: the potential of YA to “disrupt traditional literary tropes”; the ability of transgressive narratives to give “strength […] to disabled identities and communities”; and a “social, political, and literary might” which comes from the inseparability of YA narratives and disability (13). In laying out her intentions, Meyer carefully guides the reader to recognize the intersection of literary and disability studies.

Keywords

• ya
• ya studies
• disability in ya
• disability-centred readings
• disability narratives