The White Bicycle (187 Pages + Author Notes)

This is the third book in Beverly Brenna's series.  The first title, Wild Orchid, and the second title Waiting for No One, are also about a girl named Taylor. I found this book interesting because it deals with a young girl coping with Asperger's Syndrome, a condition predominated by boys. This title won the Printz Award Honor Book and in it, Taylor believes she has gotten a job in Southern France caring for Martin Phoenix, a young boy with Cerebral Palsy. She believes she will make money, andwill also be able to use this job on her resume as proof of her independence. In fact, the job has been arranged by Taylor's mother and her new boyfriend, Alan Phoenix. Martin's older brother, Luke, is in on the scam and believes both Alan and her mother should have told Taylor the truth. They concocted the story because her mother felt Taylor, who at this point is 19 years old, would never agree to go to France with her. Taylor's mother is very protective of her daughter to the point of being over-bearing. So this becomes a story about  the importance of "letting go" in addition to the idea of a girl with Asberger's Syndrome. I was quite impressed with Brenna's ability to develop Taylor's voice, which is clearly her own not only in tone, but also in the Asberger's way of expression.