MY THIRTEENTH WINTER
SAMANTHA ABEEL
My
Thirteenth Winter is the uplifting and inspirational story of
Sam Abeel, a girl struggling to grow up with a learning
disability. In her memoir, Sam recounts
the struggles, hardships, and fears she had growing up. I loved this book because it was so
motivating. Despite everything standing
in her way, Sam shares how she was able to move past her disability, Dyscalculia,
and succeed.
Sam is not able to do basic math, tell time,
or remember her locker combination.
However, she is an extremely gifted writer-a poet- and because of this,
everyone overlooked her problems. Her
parents told her to work harder, as did her teachers, and Sam was left to
struggle on her own. She often felt like
something was wrong with her, or that she wasn’t good enough. Sam vividly describes these feelings, which
allowed me to understand everything she was dealing with.
By age thirteen, Sam’s life was reaching the breaking
point. She had stopped eating, was
failing school, and withdrew from her friends.
This is the remarkable story of how she found the courage to confront
her problems and turn her life around.
Sam was finally given the attention she needed, and was diagnosed with
dyscalculia, a math related learning disability. And although most of us do not have the same
problems as Sam, we have all faced challenges in our life. Anyone who reads this book will be able to
relate to Sam’s struggles, and will be touched by her message of hope. I strongly recommend it.
.
Scholastic,
2003
Created by Kate Greene