Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry

 Calliope loves astronomy, but hates starting at a new school.  She has done it a lot.  Since her father died in a car accident, her mother has had multiple boyfriends.  Each time her mother breaks up with a guy, they move to a new town.  What makes starting at a new school especially hard for Calliope is that she has Tourette syndrome, but her mother and her doctor has told her not to tell people she has it.  Instead, the kids in her new school just think she is a freak; all but one boy, Jinsong, who finds her fascinating.  The problem is that Jinsong is popular, and is embarrassed to be seen with Calli at school.  Outside of school they enjoy hanging out and he starts to really like her.  Eventually Jinsong has to decide between his loyalty to his friend, and his desire to be popular at school. 

This is a short book, written in free verse.  I have read a couple of books about Tourette syndrome and I think it might be one of the hardest disabilities to deal with socially.  This book is a good introduction to the challenges of Tourette for children, but I thought Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus, maybe did a better job showing just how hard dealing with Tourette is. I also thought it was interesting how Ms Terry made the story as much about Jinsong as it was about Calliope.  The thing is, I think Ms Terry wrote a middle grade boy character that she wished was real, but that probably isn't.  Would a middle school boy really be that tolerant, sweet, and romantic?  I think not.  Still, this is a cute little romance about a girl with a disability that will probably charm the target audience, i.e. 10-12 year old girls, plus it has a bonus by being set in Utah. (2017, 334p)