Book Title: Living with ADI
Author: Zarin Virji
Publisher: Duckbill (an imprint of Penguin Random House India)
Type: Paperback
Length: 224 pages
Recommended age: 10 years+
I’m sharing this review on behalf of my 11 year old son, Divit.
Living with Adi is a very different book from the ones I usually read. It revolves around the hardships faced by the innocent teen, Adi Krishnan. He was called “Adi Manav” by his classmates. Well, we have nicknames for our friends in school, but they are meant for fun not to make fun of others. For Adi it was different. He was not an ordinary ninth grader. He was different in more ways than one. He excelled in studies and had a passion for reading. He was kind, caring and wanted to make friends but no one wanted to be his friend. They thought he was weird because he was simple, innocent, gullible and could be tricked easily. After all, he was in 9th grade but mentally, he was like a 4th grader due to his Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Also, Adi’s parents were divorced which led to him having a weak emotional base. But he was lucky to have a supportive older sister – Jasmine.
The trouble started when Adi was tricked into committing a grave deed. He was bullied into whipping off his principal’s hair (which was actually a wig) in order to see if it was real or fake. This resulted in him receiving one-week suspension. It got worse when his insensitive classmates, Mohit and Shakeel, started incessantly picking on him and giving him a tough time. Well, bullying is a harsh action which shows the true side of people.
Things were not going his way, until a new girl joined his class. Her name was Suzila. She was thoughtful and empathetic. On her first day, Adi shared his lunch with her to make her feel welcome. Slowly, they grew closer and Adi finally made his first true friend. The amazing thing about Suzila was that she didn’t care that Adi was different and befriended him for his personality. From here on, Adi felt the importance of having a friend in life.
Does the bullying stop? Do things change for the better during the course of the year? Read this book (which is not always serious as it seems to be) to find out more.
This book shows how kids with disabilities are often treated differently. While they may be differently abled, they are still precious and have some unique talent. They need to feel safe and loved to let them prosper just like any normal child. I strongly feel bullying and singling out such kids is absolutely wrong. We should be more inclusive towards them and try to befriend them. Zarin Virji’s simple writing style makes the story (especially the school parts) very relatable.
Parent’s Note – This is a lovely book for all middle graders because this is the age when kids start picking out on people if they are different. It helps them to understand the perspective of a child like Adi and surely equips them to handle such delicate situations with more compassion.
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