posted on 13 May 2016

Wild Orchid by Beverley Brenna

I sometimes worry about all the books I have never read and never will read because of limited time and opportunity. Within this category are all the books that I have never even heard of, mostly because they are written and published in countries outside the UK. Well thank goodness I didn't miss this Canadian one because it is a real treat. I first met the author Beverley Brenna at a wonderfully inspiring conference ‘Revolt, Rebellion, Protest: Change and Insurrection in Children’s Literature’ in Virginia five years ago. We shared an interest in books that included people with disabilities and so went along to each other's presentations, later sharing an evening meal together. We enjoyed our brief time together and ever since then we have corresponded regularly and a few weeks later her publishers kindly sent me three of her Young Adult books, including Wild Orchid. This one is the first in a series of three stories written in journal form about Taylor Jane Simon, an eighteen year old who happens to have Asperger’s Syndrome.

Brenna is a Saskatchewan special education teacher with plenty of experience working with young people who have AS and so writes with real authority. I don’t think that her specific purpose is to educate her readers about the condition because that wouldn’t make her a very good fiction writer. Instead, what she does achieve is to reveal a very likeable and fully rounded character who is learning to make her way in the world.  First and foremost, Taylor is a self- centred and often grumpy teenager who resents being dragged around by her mother when she would rather be making decisions about her own life.

The story opens with her fury at having to accompany her mother who has planned a working holiday at Prince Albert National Park to be with her latest boyfriend, Danny. Taylor has very strong views about who she likes and dislikes and lets the reader know that she has little time for Danny for many reasons. She doesn’t understand her mother’s taste in men at all and particularly cannot abide his oily hair, which she describes with horror as ‘juicy’ but is most infuriated by the way in which he always speaks in odd numbers usually using only using nine words. She can’t give credit or attention to what he is saying because of this. She is learning to become less obsessed with counting and time than she used to be when she was younger but still has a keen desire for order, pattern and some numbers are much more acceptable to her than others. And so we become aware early on that Taylor’s life with AS is fraught with super sensitivity and irritation about everyday details of life, a sensory overload that is a common feature of people living with autism. As well as particular numbers, she also finds the colour yellow almost physically painful which causes her some difficulties throughout the book.

So AS is there all the time but as a young adult, Taylor has been learning to take more control and make decisions for herself and we can understand her frustration at being restricted by what she sees as an over protective mother. She likes to swear a lot as a way to let off frustration but knows that this is socially unacceptable so tries very hard not to, with some comic effect. Another endearing quality is that when she is under pressure she calms herself down by talking obsessively about gerbils and their many interesting habits, a rather curious trait which she knows makes people rather puzzled (including her mother who often tells her to shut up about them).  She is determined to make the best of the summer break between finishing school and the rest of her life and has set herself targets that she shares with the reader, including getting a boyfriend, which doesn’t go terribly well but Taylor is philosophical about the experience.    

Although it is difficult for her to adjust to the different environment away from the familiarity of home she gives herself new routines to make herself feel safe, one of these being a daily visit to the Nature Centre. Here she meets some interesting people, including the charismatic Paul who reminds her of Indiana Jones and discovers with their help, a real passion for plants and wildlife, particularly wild orchids, hence the title of the book. This new interest gives her some confidence and she grows before our eyes. Like orchids, people like Taylor ‘have a reputation for being difficult to grow – they are unusually discerning plants that need a home devoted to their unique needs’. Brenna is clearly a nature lover herself and writes about orchids and the natural world with beautiful painterly detail.

Another important new development in her life is her accidental discovery one afternoon when she is at a loose end of a Harold Pinter Festival and so she goes to see a production of The Birthday Party. She immediately tunes into the stylised communication exchanges and eloquent pauses that define Pinter’s work and recognises herself in the character of Stanley. Through going to watch the play again several times, she understands herself and what she sometimes finds challenging about her life much better. At one point in the novel she explains that she has always found parties very frightening and if made to attend, she would want to escape from all the other people and find a quiet space to be alone and safe. She also has a strong memory of her own last birthday party as a child when her father lost patience with her anti- social behaviour, lost his temper and was thrown out for good by her mother. 

I strongly recommend this well written book mostly because of its overriding humour and the self -deprecation that is expressed so acutely by Taylor. Early in her story, she describes herself as being like Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye but she is not nearly as troubled. As she wisely reflects on her current problems and adventures, she gives us several painful glimpses of her earlier life before she grows in confidence, but she is full of energy, enthusiasm and hope for the future. The two sequels to this book are equally well written and entertaining as we learn more about this memorable young woman as she becomes even more independent.

Karen Argent

13th May 2016