Grows That Way

by Susan Ketchen

Sylvia wishes that hormones weren't such finicky things. She has Turner Syndrome and will need estrogen supplements to develop normally-whatever that means, since almost everyone around her seems to be hormonally imbalanced. Her doctor suspects her ambivalence about growing up has caused Sylvia to imagine seeing a large hairy creature in the woods. Interesting theory . . . but her pony has seen it too.

Genres: Young Adult

212 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2012

About the author

Susan Ketchen is the author of the Born That Way Series. The books follow 14-year old Sylvia who has the genetic condition Turner Sydrome and, as if that is not enough, she is also a horse nut.

Susan lives on a small hobby farm with her husband, two cats, two horses and a flock of geriatric chickens. She has pursued a broad range of careers and interests, and enjoys her current focus on writing and riding and threatening the chickens with replacements if they don't increase the egg production.

Reviews

[Cynthia Heinrichs · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so many books out there today about kids with problems and how they deal with them. What is striking about this book is that Sylvia, who has a genetic disorder called Turner Syndrome which causes her to look eight instead of fourteen, doesn't sound like a kid with a problem. You would think that going to highschool and looking like you're in Grade 3 would give a person serious issues, but what Sylvia lacks in size she makes up for in strength. She does struggle. She has a lot of questions and she is confused about many things. What she doesn't have is a drop of self-pity. It's so refreshing. The kid is tough. She's her own young woman. She's also funny. Her wry, dry humour keeps the reading smiling through her dealings with difficult parents and some rather hairy characters. At some point in life every feels like they don't fit in. Sylvia may be an unusual individual, but in many ways she is also a normal teen. Teen and adult readers will enjoy spending a bit of time living alongside Sylvia.

[Christine Meunier · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third book in the tales of Sylvia and her grey pony Brooklyn is just as enjoyable as the others in the series. Although I read these a little out of order, I have to say that I enjoyed them all immensely! Ketchen writes with great sense of humour, causing Syliva’s character to be endearing, amusing and downright honest all at the same time. In Grows that Way, fourteen year old Sylvia is still adjusting to having been diagnosed with Turner Syndrome. The short teen who is missing a chromosome finds life is still an interesting journey.

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