The First Thing About You by Chaz Hayden
The First Thing About You by Chaz Hayden is hands down one of the funniest books!
Harris, a high school student with spinal muscular atrophy moves with his family from California to New Jersey. His favorite getting-to-know-you question is “What’s your favorite color?”. He is looking for outgoing yellows, adventurous oranges, and thrilling red.
To avoid going to school with his mum, Harris finds a new nurse Miranda. Together, Harris befriends a yellow Zander and Nory (who won’t reveal her favorite color). But what is Miranda hiding? So what is your favorite color?
The First Thing About You is the second most funny book that I have read (only behind A Man Called Ove) and was one of my most anticipated reads for September!
The writing itself is extremely smooth and highly readable. For example, there are short sentences and paragraph. Therefore, there is no slogging through page long mega paragraphs or shifting through overly flowery prose.
For those of you who don’t know me, during the summer of 2020, I wanted to run a 5K competitively. However, I was in for the fight of my life. I started to faint up to 10 days per day, losing control over my left leg, stumbling, and walking into walls. I never thought that I would be able to walk again.
My family and I went to the ends of the Earth to search for answers. At the Mayo Clinic, they discovered that I was dying and needed heart surgery. A couple of months later, I had another heart surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. My heart literally stopped twice.
After an experimental treatment which involved an anti-malaria medication (although I don’t have malaria), I can now control my left leg and can walk again! But I learned something through this experience. Actually quite a few things.
One of them is how the disabled community needs to be seen. I can’t tell you how many times people would not make eye contact with me while I was in a wheelchair. Or worse yet people would stare at me and then look away like they were some master stealthy super spy. Yeah. They were really subtle.
The First Thing About You is a great reminder that people in wheelchairs should be treated with respect. Make eye contact. Talk to the person in the wheelchair and not just their pusher. Please don’t put plants on the wheelchair ramp. Don’t assume that someone who looks “normal” doesn’t have a disability.
The First Thing About You does that but isn’t preachy or pushy at all. I really enjoyed this lighthearted, quick read.
Thanks, Edelweiss, for a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and unbiased opinion!