Review: Upward Bound

Upward Bound by Woody Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a fictionalized autobiography, but with many viewpoints. The author and main narrator is autistic and has trouble communicating, only his mother understands him by using a letter board. Seeing a clip of Brown and his mother using the board and communicating, it appears that she interprets heavily, so maybe there are actually two authors for this book.

Despite that, the book on it’s own is heart-felt. It shows how people with disabilities can connect even when they have a hard time verbalizing words. One of the characters is so heart-breaking as he tries to communicate with blinking but no one seems to notice.

The book has the point-of-view with several of the people who go to Upward Bound, a day-care facility for adults with disabilities. The book also includes several of the people who work there, and one who does not. This one is a worker at Target, where the Upward Bound group visits every Friday morning.

There isn't a plot, but there is a trajectory of sorts, and through the different voices one can understand what this place is like. And the book while emotional, is not all heavy, there is some bits of humor as well.

I listened to an audiobook of this and it has a different narrator for each character. Most do not repeat, except for the fictionalized author, he appears for a few chapters.

Book rating: 3.75 stars.


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