Unbroken
13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens
This anthology explores disability in fictional tales told from the viewpoint of disabled characters, written by disabled creators. With stories in various genres about first loves, friendship, war, travel, and more, Unbroken will offer today's teen readers a glimpse into the lives of disabled people in the past, present, and future.
The contributing authors are award winners, bestsellers, and newcomers including Kody Keplinger, Kristine Wyllys, Francisco X. Stork, William Alexander, Corinne Duyvis, Marieke Nijkamp, Dhonielle Clayton, Heidi Heilig, Katherine Locke, Karuna Riazi, Kayla Whaley, Keah Brown, and Fox Benwell. Each author identifies as disabled along a physical, mental, or neurodiverse axis—and their characters reflect this diversity.
Source: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374306502/unbroken/
Key Words/Themes
Disability, Diversity and Inclusion, Identity, Empowerment, Belonging, Friendship, Stereotypes, Teenage Life, Resilience and Strength, Coming of Age.
Book Review & Recommended Use in Classroom
I would choose individual stories both for teaching short stories in general and in the context of the theme 'Growing Up'. Each story covers several pages which makes them rather long for class work. However, some of the topics are taken up in quite an interesting way, e.g. the story of a young woman who is a great cyclist and loses her eyesight due to an illness but keeps on cycling.
(Ulrike, April 2025)
Sensitive Content
The texts are written for teenagers and told by teenage narrators; however, some descriptions, e.g. when looking through the eyes and mind of a person with schizophrenia, might seem a bit challenging, especially for non-native speakers.
When choosing any of the stories for a specific class, it seems also advisable to consider in how far individual pupils might identify with the situation described. In case the story represents a life situation of one of the students, it might be meaningful to talk with the pupils beforehand.
About the Editor
Marieke Nijkamp was born in 1986 in the Netherlands and grew up with a deep love of stories, nurtured by a childhood spent reading and writing in both Dutch and English. Identifying as nonbinary and queer, Nijkamp has spoken openly about the importance of representation and inclusion in literature, and their personal experiences have shaped their writing. They hold degrees in philosophy, medieval studies, and religious studies, and their academic background informs their thoughtful approach to complex themes such as trauma, identity, and belonging. Nijkamp rose to prominence with their debut novel This Is Where It Ends (2016), a YA bestseller exploring the aftermath of a school shooting. Since then, they have continued to write novels, comics, and short stories centering diverse characters and emotional truths, establishing themselves as a leading voice in inclusive young adult fiction.
