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Livvie Owen Lived Here

by Sarah Dooley
231p. 978-0-31261-253-5.
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Gr 6-9 Livvie, 14, is living with her family in yet another rental with neighbors who complain about too much noise, noise she makes when something frightens her or her routine changes, or when she wakes from a nightmare. Her parents and sisters show her abundant love, but others don't always know how to react to her behaviors. Dooley has written a sweet story about the value of love within a family and the importance of each person, even those with disabilities. Livvie's voice is strong and flowing, but not necessarily the voice of an adolescent with autism. Other authors have done this much more effectively; for example, Suzanne Crowley in "The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous"(HarperCollins, 2007) and Beverly Brenna in "Wild Orchid"(Red Deer, 2006) have successfully captured the voices of young people with autism spectrum disorders, portraying a person with somewhat aberrant thought patterns both realistically and sympathetically. While Livvie and her family are sympathetic characters, there are too many contradictions in character/voice to make this is a realistic portrayal of a person with autism.-"Wendy Smith-D'Arezzo, Loyola College, Baltimore, MD" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.
Due to her behavioral problems, Livvie, who's autistic, and her family are evicted yet again. Livvie, not a fan of change, is forced to rethink her requirement of always living in the same town. While the first-person narration isn't entirely believable, especially for a character who, in dialogue, struggles to use "I" rather than "Livvie," the story itself is engaging.

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