The Unexpected Consequence of Bleeding on a Tuesday

 

Rating: 4 out of 5 | The diversity of this book is that it redefines disability.

My Thoughts:

Through the trials and tribulations of Delia, the protagonist, Toney tells a semi autobiographical story around how menstruation is a disability for some females that is not recognized by doctors, schools, employers, other females. 

Not only does Delia's life implode very quickly because of her period, but we get to see that this is not the first very public implosion caused by her period. The whole story seems to focus on her during her menstrual cycle, and her period seems to be a constant "flow." 

Although it takes over 8 doctors and a car crash to finally diagnose her endometriosis, along the way, she does have a lot of positives in her life, including a new love and a renewed childhood friendship, so it is not just about the bleeding on Tuesday and all the other days. It is also about hope, determination, love, and awareness. Ms. Toney does a good job of including the many gifts that Delia has in her life and within her, but the bleeding issue does take center stage, as it should.

At first, I felt like this was sooo dramatic, however, I have had debilitating periods in my time, and just luckily had a young OB/GYN who had a diagnosis and cure that was not as drastic as a full hysterectomy. If I had this problem when I was in middle and high school, and not after I had my children, I would be very dramatic too. I just forgot what this felt like, and this book helped me to remember and empathize with Delia. Delia really does have a disability. After all, how can someone with an over 4.0 GPA not be able to graduate on time because she has too many absences? How can a medical issue not be excused because the doctor did not diagnose anything? Or, even when her friend has a known condition, IBS - irritable bowel syndrome, the school still does not let her graduate on time and makes her finish in the summer because she needed to stay home and went over her allowed absences?  

On the website We Need Diverse Books, a non profit organization with a mission to get diverse books into the hands of young readers, they use a broad definition of disabilities in their statement around what they mean by diverse books.

"We subscribe to a broad definition of disability, which includes but is not limited to physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, chronic conditions, and mental illnesses (this may also include addiction). Furthermore, we subscribe to a social model of disability, which presents disability as created by barriers in the social environment, due to lack of equal access, stereotyping, and other forms of marginalization."

This book hits multiple points of this definition of disability. In addition, it challenges the social barriers that we put up in schools and work places when we force females to ignore this disability or "tough it out," in order to gain equitable opportunities for advancement or learning.  This book is a good POV reminder for us as educators to have some empathy for individual students and be cognizant about what it means to be gifts-centered rather than focus on deficits. 

Side note: I also listened to the audiobook read by Mara Wilson and it is well done. 

From the Publisher:

High school senior Delia Bridges has the most amazing mom and sister, a killer GPA--and periods that are so painful they make her scream, pass out, and throw up. Though she doesn't know it yet, Delia has endometriosis, an affliction plaguing millions of people that is notoriously difficult to diagnose.

Pain makes everything harder, but Delia is just one semester away from graduating from Stockwood Prep and pursuing her dream of becoming the kind of doctor she's never had: one who takes her symptoms seriously. But when she breaks a rule for the first time ever and is caught using marijuana at school to manage her pain, Delia is expelled.

Her expulsion jeopardizes her college acceptance, her planned mentorship, and everything she had carefully planned for years. Without her academic success and no closer to a diagnosis, is Delia anything more than her period?

Publication Information:

• Author: Kelsey B. Toney
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: June 17, 2025
• Print Length: 304 pages
• Grade level: 7- 9
• Audiobook Narrator: Mara Wilson
• Audiobook Publisher: Listening Library
• Listening Length: 7 hours 27 minutes

Whale Eyes: A memoir about seeing and being seen

 

Rating: 4 for creating a sliding glass door into the author's life

My Thoughts:

At the beginning of this second Trump presidency, as the power barriers and balance scales were torn down, I vowed that for the next four years, I would not read any book authored by white authors. When I look at the publishing list, when I see what is coming up on my Net Galley feed, when I look at the books on the Goodreads challenges, they are predominantly white authors. As a professor of teacher education, specializing in middle and secondary language arts, I have always touted the idea that the western canonical literature should be a supplement equal to literature by indigenous authors, authors of color, and queer authors. 

So why did I read this book?

I read this book because I saw the New York Times opinion video that Robinson created about his eye condition first. This video is part of a series on "overcoming your discomfort with disability." I realize, and I should have known this already, that disability is also part of the underrepresented narrative in our schools. This memoir is about the author's struggles with strabismus and other eye ailments that he simply calls whale eyes. There are many educators that did not have a clue on how to differentiate for him, and that is tragic. There are the taunts and how strangers do not look him in the eyes, but this is not a memoir full of pity and despair.

This memoir does not shy away from the fact that his world was not ready to teach a kid like him, however, it is also a way for non disabled kids to really read this as a sliding glass door into his condition. With line drawings by Brian Rea, the author and illustrator help readers to feel a little bit of what Robinson deals with. This is the beginning of the empathy journey for readers, but the author also offers up some advice and hope for disabled students. Even if the multiple surgeries, 3-D glasses, etc. did not work for him, Johnson shows them how their disability does not make a person abnormal. 

At the most crucial teaching point of students' lives (middle school), this memoir will help all readers, abled and disabled to understand how to be better humans. 

From the Publisher:

Told through an experimental mix of intimate anecdotes and interactive visuals, this book immerses readers in James’s experiences growing up with strabismus, allowing them to see the world through one eye at a time.

Readers will get lost as they chase words. They’ll stare into this book while taking a vision test. They’ll hold it upside down as they practice “pretend-reading”…and they’ll follow an unlikely trail toward discovering the power of words.

With poignant illustrations by Eisner Award–nominated artist Brian Rea, James’s story equips readers of all ages with the tools to confront their discomfort with disability and turn confused, blank stares into powerful connections.

Publication Information:

Author: James Robinson

Illustrator: Brian Rea

Publisher: Penguin Workshop (March 18, 2025)

Reading age: 10 and up

Azar on Fire: Audiobook

 

My Thoughts:

NetGalley, where I receive my advanced digital copies, declined my request for this book, but the cover continued to catch my eye. Instead, my state public library had an audiobook of this, so if you have 9 hours to spare, I will say that the narrator, Alex McKenna, is easy to listen to. Saying that, though, the narrator herself, Azar, is irritatingly immature. What I find in my own students post covid is that there are more students, even young college students who seem to have very little resilience skills. Azar always thinks everyone hates her or treats her poorly when the actual case is that she self sabotages and victimizes herself. 

The love story as well as the willingness of the other characters to stick around and help her is only surprising because she is so unpleasant. The character does eventually redeem herself, but again, you need to have 9 hours to spare, otherwise you will stop listening before it gets to its turning point in the story. 

If you grab this book because the cover shows a musician and you want to read a story around music, read Stay with My Heart by Tashie Bhuiyan. In this case, the main character is a head strong East Indian American female and a non East Indian pretty boy. See the similarity? Liana's playlists as part of the relationship building will entice musicians more than Azar. 

From the Publisher:

Finding her voice takes on a whole new meaning when 14-year-old Azar Rossi sets out to win her local Battle of the Bands contest in this heartfelt and hilarious contemporary YA.

Fourteen-year-old Azar Rossi’s first year of high school has mostly been silent, and intentionally so. After a bad case of colic as a baby, Azar’s vocal folds are shredded—full of nodules that give her a rasp the envy of a chain-smoking bullfrog. Her classmates might just think she’s quiet, but Azar is saving her voice for when it really counts and talking to her classmates is not medically advisable or even high on her list.

When she hears about a local Battle of the Bands contest, it’s something she can’t resist. Azar loves music, loves songwriting, but with her vocal folds the way they are, there's no way she can sing her songs on stage.

Then she hears lacrosse hottie, Ebenezer Lloyd Hollins the Fifth, aka Eben, singing from the locker room. She’s transfixed. He's just the person she needs. His voice + her lyrics = Battle of the Bands magic. But getting a band together means Azar has a lot of talking to do and new friends to make. For the chance to stand on stage with Eben it might all just be worth it.

Publication Information:

Author: Olivia Abtahi

Narrator: Alex McKenna

Publisher: Listening Library (Aug 23, 2022)