08 - A book with a protagonist who uses a mobility aid

[Nadine in NY]

Conny wrote: "If you like forensic thrillers, I highly recommend Jeffery Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series (starting with The Bone Collector; the latest installment just came out two weeks ago). The MC is a parapleg..."



I DO like forensic thrillers, and I haven't read one in a while!! thanks for this rec!

[Christina]

poshpenny wrote: "OK let's see what I've got so far!

Pentecost and Parker:
Pentecost has MS and sometimes uses a cane (so far), Parker is the narrator. These are also sapphic. Detectives"

I think I might check out Fortune Favors the Dead although I must say I'm not sure how I feel about a male author writing sapphic characters 😬

[poshpenny]

Christina wrote: "I think I might check out Fortune Favors the Dead although I must say I'm not sure how I feel about a male author writing sapphic characters"

The books are historical in setting and tone, and any flirty/interested/romantic bits didn't feel weird to me. Parker's bisexuality does just feel like part of her character, and not something for the author and his jollies. Although I am straight so YMMV of course.

[Saraf]

Meredith wrote: "I liked all the Cormoran Strike books. Of course if you're avoiding JK Rowling you'll want to skip these since she writes them under a psuedonym.
The Cuckoo's Calling
[book:The Silk..."

As I read the 1st one and liked it I think I will read the 2nd one now as it will work for this

[Kelsey]

Any chance one of the main characters in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo uses a cane or something?

[Gina ⏃]

Conny wrote: "If you like forensic thrillers, I highly recommend Jeffery Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series (starting with The Bone Collector; the latest installment just came out two weeks ago). The MC is a parapleg..."

OMG THIS rec!! Thank you!!

[Liza]

I’m not sure how strictly we want to define “protagonist” but the Odelia Grey mystery series might work. The main protagonist’s husband uses a wheelchair, and he’s part of her, for lack of a better term, Scooby Gang.

[Robin H-R]

My choice is:
The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules

One of the main characters, Martha, uses a "Zimmer frame" (a walker).

[Dana]

I will read Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman.

[Myra]

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

[Jackie]

Theresa wrote: "Nordic Noir lovers, I highly recommend 1222 by Anne Holt - detective in wheelchair. This is later in the series, and character's mobility loss is a recent development..."

I loved that book! Always up for a good snowed-in murder mystery

[Nikita]

For anyone who has already read ‘All The Light We Cannot See’ by Anthony Doerr, would it fit this category?

[ren]

Does anybody have fantasy recs that fulfill this prompt? I've already read Cinder and Six of Crows (both excellent, btw). I was thinking of rereading Cinder because it's a favorite, but was wondering beforehand if anyone had any strong fantasy recs before I commit to a Cinder reread!

[Jen K]

ren wrote: "Does anybody have fantasy recs that fulfill this prompt? I've already read Cinder and Six of Crows (both excellent, btw). I was thinking of rereading Cinder because it's a favorite, but was wonderi..."

I'm reading The Girl in Red which is a post-apocalyptic retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and Red has a prosthetic leg. I would say it is on par with Cinder in my enjoyment.

[Nadine in NY]

Nikita wrote: "For anyone who has already read ‘All The Light We Cannot See’ by Anthony Doerr, would it fit this category?"



I don't think so. She's blind, but she can move around on her own without assistance, I don't remember her using a cane or anything.

[ren]

Jen K wrote: "ren wrote: "Does anybody have fantasy recs that fulfill this prompt? I've already read Cinder and Six of Crows (both excellent, btw). I was thinking of rereading Cinder because it's a favorite, but..."

oh, I will definitely check into this one, thank you for the rec!!

[Ruth]

Does "Moby Dick" count for this? Captain Ahab uses a cane (and a whalebone prosthesis) but Ishmael (the narrator) does not.

[Melissa]

Nadine in NY wrote: "Nikita wrote: "For anyone who has already read ‘All The Light We Cannot See’ by Anthony Doerr, would it fit this category?"



I don't think so. She's blind, but she can move around on her own with..."

She does use a cane. I'm counting it. hahah

[Heather L]

Ruth wrote: "Does "Moby Dick" count for this? Captain Ahab uses a cane (and a whalebone prosthesis) but Ishmael (the narrator) does not."

A protagonist doesn’t have to be the lead character. It can be any number of main characters, so it could work for this one.

[Ulrike]

In Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones the protagonist Sophie uses a cane.

[Ashleigh]

I was going to use The Once and Future Witches for the witch prompt, but then someone suggested this prompt and I realised I'm probably going to read more books about witches than I am about mobility aids so I'll be using it for this one!

[Pamela]

I just finished the middle grade novel 'The Storm Runner" by J.C. Cervantes for this prompt. Zane, the main character, uses a cane because of one leg being shorter than the other.

[Kristin]

In Knocking on Heaven's Door by Katy Butler, the main protagonist and his wife (also protagonist) both use that seat that can move people up and down stairs.

[Jaime]

Any book recommendations that meet this prompt and is written by an author with a disability? I know Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist and Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body are both good options. I'm just wondering about potential fiction options rather than nonfiction.

[Jacqueline]

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers. One of the main characters, Speaker, uses a suit to get around as she can't walk due to a deformity in her legs and breathes methane so can't come out of her suit unless she's in her own ship.

[Drakeryn]

Jaime wrote: "Any book recommendations that meet this prompt and is written by an author with a disability?"

I know Six of Crows has been mentioned a few times in this topic, but I'll add that Leigh Bardugo has a degenerative condition (osteonecrosis) and walks with a cane and she says that's part of the reason she wrote Kaz like she did.

source: https://www.instagram.com/p/91yH8Xp3dO/

(because of that, I think it would also count as ownvoices SFF for disability)

[Jaime]

Drakeryn wrote: "Jaime wrote: "Any book recommendations that meet this prompt and is written by an author with a disability?"

I know Six of Crows has been mentioned a few times in this topic, but I..."

I didn't know that about Leigh Bardugo. That's very helpful. Thanks!

[Rachel]

Jaime wrote: "Any book recommendations that meet this prompt and is written by an author with a disability? I know Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist and S..."</i>

If anyone is looking for a light read/listen, or is doing the challenge with young people:

Last year I listened to the audiobook [book:Cyborg Cat and the Night Spider. It's written by Ade Adepitan, a British Paralympic athlete, and based on some of his own life experiences: it's an #ownvoices story which features a person of colour with a disability as the main character.

[poshpenny]

Jaime wrote: "Any book recommendations that meet this prompt and is written by an author with a disability?"

Both the protagonist and author use wheelchairs and perform in musical theatre
The Chance to Fly

[Ida]

I have a question. I read Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Steven Hawking. It's sort of a collection of essays and some of them are rather personal. Could he be classified as the protagonist even though the book is nonfiction?

[Janette]

Float Plan One of the protagonist has a prosthetic.

[ren]

Ida wrote: "I have a question. I read Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Steven Hawking. It's sort of a collection of essays and some of them are rather personal. Could he be classified as the protagonist e..."

technically, a protagonist belongs to a fictional work. but i feel like if you're willing to bend it, it shouldn't be an issue. lots of people bend prompts to suit their needs!

[Ida]

Thanks! It's still January so I'll refrain from bending prompts for now

[Krissy]

Read The Music of Bees by Eileen Garmin which fulfilled this category

[Kara]

What If You & Me by Roni Loren fits this prompt!

[Lisa Marie]

I read Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire Started 2/3/2022 Finished 2/6/2022

[Ron]

Maybe I'm reaching here a bit but would Darth Vader be considered to have a mobility aid?

Depending on your point of view, he is either a protagonist or an antagonist so I think he works either way.

As for his mobility aids, I think we are all familiar with how he needed his suit to function given losing his limbs and burns and everything.

Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy
Star Wars: Original Trilogy

[LeahS]

In Frida Kahlo and My Left Leg by Emily Rapp Black, the author has a prosthetic leg. I read it last year, and it's an interesting memoir about how Kahlo and her work help the author to come to terms with this.

[Rachel]

I've already read it; but Accidents of Nature would work.

[inkyun]

The Black Butler, Vol. 1 series' main character, Ciel, uses a cane. I haven't read it in so long, I'm excited!

[Jennifer W]

Please tell me I'm not the only bookworm who totally geeks out when I'm browsing and, by chance, a book fits a prompt perfectly??

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II

In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: "She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her."

This spy was Virginia Hall, a young American woman--rejected from the foreign service because of her gender and her prosthetic leg.....

[John]

Jennifer W wrote: "Please tell me I'm not the only bookworm who totally geeks out when I'm browsing and, by chance, a book fits a prompt perfectly??

[book:A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American ..."

This is the one that I immediately thought of; however, I only read it last year and don't particularly want to read it again. I enjoyed it but I don't want to read it again so soon.

[Norrie]

In Lair of Dreams, Before the Devil Breaks You and The King of Crows one of the main characters, Ling has crutches & leg braces.
I don't recall her being in the first book - or maybe was just mentioned.

[Jacqie]

I read The Unbroken by C.L. Clark for this- one of the main characters was injured as a child and uses a cane. This would also work for the BIPOC SF/F category- it takes place in an alternate fantasy North Africa.

[Sarah]

Rachel wrote: "What do you think about non-fiction, specifically memoirs? I have Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body in my Audible library, waiting to be listened to."

Shane Burcaw's books Laughing at My Nightmare and Strangers Assume My Girlfriend Is My Nurse would fit under the non-fiction side of the prompt as well!

[Erica]

I'm using An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed for this prompt. This is a sequel of An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good. They are short story collections about a Swedish senior citizen who keeps murdering people that bother her. She plays hard of hearing, and uses a cane to appear incapable of murder.

[Saraf]

Can anyone tell me if The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider fits this prompt?

[Dea]

Conny wrote: "If you like forensic thrillers, I highly recommend Jeffery Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series (starting with The Bone Collector; the latest installment just came out two weeks ago). The MC is a parapleg..."

I've been stumbling across The Bone Collector off and on for years in my recommendations. Looks like it's time to tackle it—I love a good thriller!

Thanks.

[Kelly]

The Call by Peadar O’Guilin is amazing. Fantasy set in Ireland, the main character has to use crutches to get around. Considered “body horror”, it may not be for everyone.

[Patricia]

K.L. wrote: "Patricia wrote: "I have Me Before You by Jojo Moyes and Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper"

Of the two, I highly recommend Out of My..."

Yeah! I'm excited to read it too:)