Rowan and Gemma

In this new middle grade novel by Schneider Award-winning author Sally J. Pla, two neurodivergent tweens, one of whom is nonverbal, forge a friendship against the backdrop of their feuding families. Rowan Monahan has lived in the town of Friendship Prairie forever and feels permanently stuck in his cousin’s shadow. With some learning disabilities and ADHD, his Uncle Lucky labels him as “not the sharpest tool in the shed.” Gemma Caplan just moved to Friendship Prairie with her family. She’s on the autism spectrum and uses a device to speak, and she’s going to be attending school in person for the first time. Gemma thinks her lawyer mom is too overprotective, but no one ever asks for her opinion. After Rowan and Gemma meet on the first day of school, they bond over feeling like they don’t fit in. But just as the two are becoming friends, their mothers decide to run against each other for the town’s school board—and the campaign turns nasty. Loosely based on Romeo and Juliet, Rowan and Gemma are characters readers will be rooting for to overcome the bad blood between their families, and maybe even win their acceptance.