Maya Plays the Part

Autistic 11-year-old musical theater enthusiast Maya Robertson is psyched to attend a musical theater summer camp at the Grand Theater. There, she and the rest of the campers will rehearse to perform Maya’s favorite musical, The Drowsy Chaperone. Maya knows she’s the perfect person to play the lead. Still, ever since her best friend Jules suddenly moved away, Maya has had to use her “Maya in Public” persona, something she dreads having to do for the rest of the summer. Everything is fine at first; though no one else seems to care about the play as much as Maya does, she befriends fellow camper Aislinn and excitedly talks to Jules every night. When Aislinn lands the lead and Maya is asked to be assistant director, it feels like everything is ruined. But Maya is determined to show her peers that she’s meant to be onstage. Utilizing an empathetic narrator who’s easy to root for, debut author Erb, who is also autistic, crafts a personal and vulnerable story about one neurodivergent child’s experience in discovering how to be herself as she learns to set boundaries and communicate with others. Maya cues as white; supporting characters are racially diverse. Ages 8–12. (Mar.)