Up High in the Trees by Kiara Brinkman

The last book I finished was Up High in the Trees by Kiara Brinkman. I think I already want to read it again.

Written from the point of view of an 8-year-old boy with autism, this book is about a family dealing with the unexpected death of a wife/mother. Through Sebby's eyes, we see his father, brother, and sister and their varying states of collapse, all with Sebby's descriptions that lack interpretation--they are simply raw. Sebby's thoughts about his mother, often revealed in his letters to his teacher Ms. Lambert, show he sometimes has more insight into grieving than those around him do. He writes, "'I woke up in the night. I was trying very hard to think about Mother. I wanted to see her in my head, but I was only seeing myself. [...] Mother is farther and farther away from me. I miss her'" (275).

Although the subject matter in this book is sad--and I did cry at times--the story is redemptive. Ultimately, it's about a family surviving a very difficult trial together.

I always particularly enjoy novels written with some aspect of autism in mind, especially when it is treated with dignity. Up High did not disappoint.