Amy can’t walk without a walker, talk without the help of a machine, or control her facial expressions and some of her body moments. Matthew has obsessive compulsive disorder that he can’t admit and controls his life. They are put together when Amy decides she wants to make real friends and convinces her mom to hire student aides to help her during her senior year of high school. Having these student aids allows her to try to make friends for the first time, but she soon realizes that she wants to be more than just friends with Matthew. Both have to put their physical and mental issues aside, learn to communicate, and look past the mistakes they both make when they are trying to figure out who they are and want they want to be.

For most of the story, the character’s relationships and dealing with their physical and mental problems was interesting to read. Reading about someone with cerebral palsy and what goes on in their head even when they can’t communicate allows readers to understand these kinds of physical difficulties better. Matthew’s OCD was also interesting, but Amy’s tests for how to “fix” Matthew minimizes how difficult OCD can be. Until the last part of the book, the message was that Amy can’t help her issues but Matthew just needed to figure things out. Amy tends to be self-obsessed through much of the book. When Matthew is the only person who tries to help Amy, she decides that she’s going to stop talking to him, insult him, and cheat on him. The book talks about complicated issues, like medication, going to college, having friends that aren’t good for you, controlling parents, drinking, and sex. It tries to tell too many messages at once, leaving readers confused about what the overall message is supposed to be. The ending in particular confuses some of the earlier messages when Amy decides to make choices that seem completely out of character and potentially destructive. In many ways, Say What You Will is a story about two people with huge challenges learning to love each other in spite of those problems, but it also misses the mark in many areas. ( )

This is the story of a girl with CP who is very high functioning. I work in special education, and I bought this book to read with a student who has CP. However, for my purposes, the main character is too high functioning - my student couldn't relate. Also, a lot of the book centers around the main character's desire to experience sexual intercourse, which is another aspect to which my student could not relate. ( )

I’m always a bit wary when a book blurb says that this book is a cross between John Green and Rainbow Rowell. I think- hmm, someone is going to die, but the book boyfriend will win my heart. Nobody died in Say What You Will, yay, and I did fall for Matthew. This is the second book I’ve read this year that had a main character with a disability. I like this one; it was well written and showed Amy as a real person, not a sympathy case, pathetic, or a perfect person, but someone who struggles like all of us. Amy needs a wheel chair and a computer to communicate with people, she’s always had adult helpers but for her senior year she wants to students. She needs friends, real friends, but she doesn’t get everything she thinks she will, just like in real life. I’ll need to sell this one, but I feel like once I put it in the right hands, my work will be done for me. ( )

I found this book as part of the Unshelved Book Club one week (link found here. It's the second book in the list. Say What You Will is the story about Amy, a girl with severe Ceberal Palsy, and Matthew, a boy with severe OCD. Amy is so upbeat, it comes off as fake. She also has no friends at school. At the end of junior year, Amy decides to get rid of the adult aides that help her with day to day activities, and hire peer assistants instead. She reaches out to Matthew, who gave her the idea to get rid of the adult aides, to apply for the job. A friendship slowly forms between these two, and Amy also befriends the four other student workers. The book is told in the third person, and shifts between Amy and Matthew's perspectives.

What I liked about the book-I really liked reading about Matthew and the other student workers. The first and third acts are also written well. Something traumatic happens in the second act that really shapes the tone of the third act and the book resolves nicely. Cerebral Palsy and OCD are both written about well, and are (as much as this phrase is cliche) treated with dignity.

What I didn't like-THE SECOND ACT IS AWFUL. Oh, my gosh, the traumatic event that happens is pretty ridiculous. It makes Amy a bit unbearable and feels out of character, and it felt like it went on FOREVER. It did lead to the third act and conclusion I mentioned above, but man, it was a slog to get there. I also was not a fan of most of the adult figures in this book. Amy's parents are, understandably, overbearing, but it didn't make them enjoyable to read. Matthew's mother is distant and boring. And the teachers at their school are barely mentioned.

The quality of the good does balance out the bad, but unless you are a fan of YA novels, I don't think there will be much for readers to get into. For fans of realistic YA, there is some content is this book worth checking out. I would just read the middle with caution. ( )

I am grateful for the perspective and insight this book has given me. Thank you. ( )