Upward Bound: A Read with Jenna Pick

A Novel

De: Woody Brown

Narrado por: T.R. Knight, Pete Holmes, Midori Francis, Carlos Miranda, Brandon Flynn, Nikki M. James, Alex Edelman, Daphne Rubin-Vega

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • A wondrous, deeply affecting portrait of the interlocking lives at an adult day care center in Southern California, depicting an often overlooked community with extraordinary wit and grace—a “triumphant”* novel by a major new literary voice hailed as a “groundbreaking debut novelist”**

“[A] revelation that forces you to ask: How much do we overlook in people—how many gifts do we fail to nurture—by making overly hasty judgments?”—Frank Bruni, The New York Times
“Funny and moving and ringing with life.”—The Guardian*
“This captivating work illuminates a world too often ignored.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)**

LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION’S FIRST NOVEL PRIZE • ONE OF THE WEEK'S BEST DEBUT NOVELS OF THE YEAR

Upward Bound is not a place anyone dreams of spending their days. The dreary adult daycare center for Los Angeles’s disabled community is, for many of its clients and staff, a place of last resort. This includes Carlos, a young aide who lost his mother as a boy and now works there alongside his beloved sister, Mariana; Jorge, the gentle nonspeaking giant whom Carlos seeks to befriend (and prevent from escaping); Tom, a beautiful young man with cerebral palsy who pines for Ann, the summer lifeguard at the center’s pool who feels out of her depth. Then there’s Dave, Upward Bound’s director, who came to L.A. to pursue an acting career but now channels his passion into staging an overly ambitious holiday show starring the center’s irrepressible clients. Framing these intertwined narratives—and connecting them in surprising, shattering ways—is the riveting and sometimes ironic testimony of Walter, a recent community college graduate who, after a family tragedy, must return to the company of his disabled peers.

In Upward Bound, Woody Brown has created an indelible, authentic, and profoundly moving group portrait of autism and other disabilities, all illuminated by his empathy, sly sense of humor, and enormous gifts as a novelist. With remarkable sophistication, insight, and creativity, Brown depicts a community too-often invisible in literature and society. Filled with characters you won’t soon forget, Upward Bound will inspire and touch you, teaching you as much about yourself as the tender, miraculous world behind the center’s doors.

Must listen

I loved that this story was honest, vulnerable and raw. This story made me laugh and cry. The author through his quick wit and snarky humor truly captured the day of a disabled person and the constant struggles we face. He was able to do so with true comic genius while bringing to light the harmful biases and stereotypes of an uneducated society.

A pleasant read into a world I didnt know existed.

Thus makes me aware that there is someone inside the shell we label as autism.

Insight into a rarely seen world

This book came together in the end in a way I definitely did not expect. I enjoyed the writing, which was simple and fluid, and loved the humor and insights into this adult daycare world. It was a bit of a jarring reading experience at times due to the jumps between characters, a lack of straightforward timeline, and while we see Walter’s POV multiple times, there was no indication when we’re back in his viewpoint. Some characters also had such short chapters, I was left wanting more. I also wished to read more from the POV of the daycare clients rather than others in the periphery. However the ending did manage to bring everything full circle and I’m left in awe. This book isn’t perfect but is certainly a worthwhile read.

Well written

So well written- the voices of the various characters all come through so distinctively. Amazing how each and everyone involved is coming from such different perspectives and yet they intersect. They try to understand each other while some fail miserably and others make breakthroughs. Poignant! Not misses in my how groundbreaking this novel is to all autistic people, but especially non speakers!

Wow.

Beautifully written. You will laugh and you will cry. Everyone needs to read this book.