Marg recently enjoyed I Have No Secrets by Penny Joelson, a captivating YA mystery novel with an ability-diverse cast of characters. 

Fourteen year old Jemma lives with Cerebral Palsy and is confined to a wheelchair unable to communicate. She resides with loving foster parents and two other fostered children and has a home healthcare provider named Sarah who is like family.

People tend to confide their deepest, darkest secrets to her knowing that she cannot speak and is unable to reveal those secrets so when Sarah’s no good boyfriend Dan confides to Jemma that he might just be responsible for the murder of a young man who recently went missing in their neighborhood she is extremely frustrated that she is unable to tell anyone. Then Sarah goes missing and Jemma is convinced that Dan is responsible but unfortunately she is unable to voice her concerns.

When new technology becomes available which allows Jemma to communicate she and her twin sister, with whom she has recently become reunited with after being separated at birth, set out to convince her parents and prove to the police that Dan is responsible for the murder and for Sarah’s disappearance.

Penny Joelson is a Young Adult author whose recent book The Girl Who Wasn’t There also caught my attention. Joelson crafts captivating stories with good character development and the insight and sensitivity required to write about characters with living with disabilities.

Reserve it here. Check out Marg's other picks here.