The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao: A Heartfelt Review Through the Eyes of an Aunt to a Neurodivergent Nephew

 

Why Oscar Wao Feels Personal to Me

I met Oscar Wao in the middle of a quiet afternoon, expecting literary footnotes and angst. What I didn’t expect was how deeply I'd connect with this overweight, awkward, dreamy Dominican-American nerd. Oscar is tender, tragic, and deeply human. He reminded me of someone very close to my heart—my autistic nephew.

My nephew is on the high end of the spectrum and has global developmental delay. He doesn’t talk about Tolkien like Oscar, but he too lives in a world slightly apart. Where Oscar’s world spins with comics, Dungeons & Dragons, and unrequited love, my nephew's world is filled with messy cardboard boxes, picked plastic cup caps, tapes, staplers, paints – as he repeatedly constructs (also with Minecraft if this is digital) a building with a ceiling that should have fire alarms and walls with sprinklers. The rooms in this imagined house space are lighted with his favorite bulbs, and always, the bathroom is the only space filled with things – pail, dipper, shower, and the toilet bowl of course

What Makes Oscar Wao a Wondrous Read

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz is no simple read. It's a whirlwind of history, nerdy pop culture, Dominican curses, and footnoted political trauma. But beneath all the layers is a boy who doesn’t fit in—and refuses to shrink himself just to belong.

Oscar’s story resonated with me as an aunt. He’s different, yes, but so full of feeling, imagination, and longing. Like my nephew, Oscar doesn't filter himself to fit expectations. And that refusal to conform is, to me, wondrous.

Recommended Books Featuring Neurodivergent Characters

If you love characters like Oscar or know someone who sees the world differently, here are some books with neurodiverse protagonists that you may enjoy:

1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

A smart, funny, and moving mystery narrated by a boy on the autism spectrum.

2. Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
A quiet teen with cognitive differences navigates summer work, faith, and justice.

3. Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
Told from the POV of a girl with Asperger’s, this novel explores loss and empathy.

4. Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
An autistic boy’s journey to make sense of social cues and creative writing spaces.

5. El Deafo by Cece Bell (Graphic Memoir)
While centered on hearing loss, this graphic novel is a powerful look at difference, friendship, and self-worth.

Reading About An "Other"

Oscar Wao doesn’t get a fairy tale ending—but his story is filled with courage, love, and radical honesty. For anyone raising, loving, or being someone who walks a different path, this book is a reminder: different isn’t broken—it’s brilliantly human.

If you’ve read this book or have recommendations for stories featuring neurodivergent characters, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

Late to the Tesseract: Discovering A Wrinkle in Time (at My Age) and Other YA Books Worth Teaching

By a Lit Teacher Who Came for the Theology—and Stayed for the Time Travel

I have a confession: I just read A Wrinkle in Time for the first time.

Yes, that book. The one with tessering, Mrs. Who, and the planet where everyone bounces balls in sync. The one I somehow missed in childhood, skipped over in teacher trainings, and only recently picked up because I’d fallen in love with Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water, her beautiful book on faith and art.

I expected something whimsical, maybe a little quaint.

Instead, I got Meg Murry.

I got a girl who doubts herself deeply but still shows up. A child who fights conformity with nothing but a stubborn heart. A mother who loves without limits. A cosmos that bends—not for power, but for love.

And now, even though I’ve taught literature for years, I’m seeing young adult books in a new light—not as stories I’ve outgrown, but as stories that meet readers where they are, whether they’re fifteen or, well… not.

Why A Wrinkle in Time Is Still a Gift in the Classroom

Teaching this book isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about giving students a story that takes their moral imagination seriously.

Meg is a misfit, not a martyr. She feels her feelings (loudly), questions adults, and keeps showing up even when she doesn’t believe she can. She is, in other words, exactly like many of our students—and she gets to be the hero.

There’s also something profound in the way L’Engle weaves together physics, scripture, and emotional truth. For those of us who’ve read her nonfiction meditations, it’s familiar terrain. She trusts that the sacred and the scientific can co-exist. So can fear and love. So can doubt and faith.

(And yes—if they’ve only seen the film, they’ve missed the point. The visuals may dazzle, but the soul of the book lives in its language, its moral clarity, and its quiet theological courage.)

And that’s what makes the novel so teachable: it lets teenagers be complicated—and still believe they’re capable of saving the world.

A Few More YA Books I’d Gladly Teach (and Re-read)

Here are some books I’ve either taught or read recently that pair beautifully with A Wrinkle in Time—in tone, theme, or depth.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Stead builds a quiet mystery around a girl receiving strange notes that change how she sees her world. It’s essentially a love letter to A Wrinkle in Time.
Best classroom use: Compare how both novels handle time, trust, and the sacred ordinary.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

A classic for good reason. A world with no pain, no color, no choice—and one boy who starts to see through it.
Pair with: L’Engle’s Camazotz for a discussion on control vs. freedom.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

A story where books save lives—sometimes literally. Liesel is another fierce young girl navigating unimaginable darkness with light and language.
Use for: Voice, metaphor, and a gut-punch of a narrative.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

It’s darker than L’Engle, but just as philosophically rich. A society without death has to invent artificial mortality. What could possibly go wrong?
For older teens: Lots of moral and theological angles to explore here.

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt

Short, powerful, heartbreaking. A foster kid searching for his daughter.
Why I’d teach it: Schmidt, like L’Engle, writes with quiet compassion. He doesn’t protect readers from sorrow—but he doesn’t leave them there, either.

Teaching (and Reading) With Wrinkles

I used to think YA lit was for the young. Now I know it’s for the honest. These books don’t just entertain—they insist that even the smallest voice matters. They believe in the power of questions. They teach us that mystery isn’t something to solve, but something to enter.

Reading A Wrinkle in Time at this point in my life wasn’t a gap to be embarrassed about. It was a gift. And now, I’m passing it on.

If you’re a fellow teacher—seasoned, skeptical, or simply searching for your next great read—don’t sleep on these stories. They may be labeled “young,” but they are not shallow. They are liturgies in disguise.

Let’s talk.
Which YA books do your students respond to? Which ones surprised you? And have you ever come to a “kid’s book” late, only to find it changed you anyway?

Leave a note below—I’d love to swap book lists and maybe a few stories of our own.

 

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2025 Aspen Words Literary Prize Ceremony & Winner Announcement

Illustrado by Miguel Syjuco -

[Filipiniana Book Shelf series focuses on books on the PAWR library - that is, bought books that have been read and are being re-read just because... they are valued properties] 

From the PAWR Filipiniana Book Shelf, llustrado by Miguel Syjuco is special because it challenges the audience to rethink the role of the Filipino Illustrado in Philippine context and history. More than just a historical fiction this book provokes us to think deeply about the subject of the Illustrado identity.

I didn't always immediately understand post-modern tales but I feel that traditional novels - those chronological, plot oriented or character driven narratives sometimes become dull and boring to read. So to challenge myself I picked Illustrado again from the PAWR library. This novel has given me really deep thoughts about writing a novel.

For instance, I thought about how the narrator in Illustrado isn't reliable and yet, he's the only narrator that can tell me that very tale of why novelists matter. And further, how authors themselves are aware that what they've written probably won't matter at all in the greater scheme of things. 

But even with this knowledge, not writing isn’t an option. This is a calling that will not go away –for all the desiring-to-become-writers out there. There’s no way to curb the desire to write, it is simply frustrating and exhausting to do so. 

And it seems to me that this is the sadness of Syjuco's tale: how an author can be so engaged with history and the suffering of its nation, and will always be motivated and eager to pen a prophetic piece, but will have to always fight oneself in the process, since all writers who are eager to write anything at all will have to decide against any soul sell-out and scheme for a quick and easy road to prosperity.

In this novel, the term Illustrado is negatively pursued, because the narrator doubts the protege to be a real Illustrado. Like, what does this Illustrado really know about the grim realities on the city streets, the squalor in urban squatters, the catastrophe in the rural areas where disasters are endless? His more financially endowed background should have allowed him more opportunities to advocate for development where change needed to happen, but in his rich location, he often didn’t have an accurate feel of the sadness of the situation. If he would fully engage, he would have to become a traitor to his class.

If he could see his birthplace from exile as most Illustrados did before him, how deeply could he engage the questions of national suffering once he’d gone incognito in some remote place as an OFW? He would have to negotiate the terms of comfort – this freedom from the onslaught of suffering outside his country vis a vis his desire to go back and confront by actually seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling his country's ills. Perhaps then, he could burn his bridges and tell-all.

This seems to be the burden of the Illustrado. The prospective Illustrado who wants to write-all immediately wasn’t yet fully in the know, at least, as far as the narrator’s assessment is concerned. 

The student of history isn’t in the story yet, but only interpolating in the narratives that were penned before his time. Not yet a real witness of history, not yet a real Illustrado. 

Or a millennial who is trying not to get confused about the past. Or they have witnessed some facts of history but their own scant viewpoint keeps their language cautious, objective, and probing rather than purposeful.

In the narrator’s portfolio in this novel, he has done all the genre novels - sci fi tale, detective whodunit, even the historical romance. But he is not satisfied. And although he’s begun something that should burn bridges, it’s still questionable if he would be able to divulge in time all that is burning within him. Until he does so then, he hasn't written. 

And probably, this single fact redeems the Illustrado – that after all, he's still the ONE who could be writing something that must shake the political systems, provoke a revolution, and change cultural habits and attitudes for the better. Yet, how this novel ends doesn't make me optimistic that this narrator who is the seemingly authentic illustrado is up to the task himself. 

No. not at all.

Secret and Dangerous Lives in World War II Memoirs

I read memoirs because my life is so insulated

Memoirs can offer a window into different worlds and experiences, making them a powerful way to connect with lives and perspectives outside of my own. It's a great way to break out of an insulated environment and explore the complexities of other people's journeys.

Insulation makes me myopic and judgmental. Deeply immersed in my world, it’s easy to lose perspective and form narrow views. Reading memoirs, exploring diverse stories, and engaging with different experiences has greatly helped in challenging these tendencies and broadened my understanding.

Secret Fears Leads to the Current Staple Reading

My reading a memoir is further enriched by reading other books set in the same similar historical period. Lately, I read a biography entitled "Agent Josephine" while still finishing the memoir "When Time Stopped." Meanwhile, I am halfway through a newly acquired e-book, the historical novel by Claire Messaud, "This Strange Eventful History."

Reading a memoir, a novel, and a biography together has given me a multidimensional understanding of the time period that was World War II.  A blending of fictional narrative and factual history has enriched my appreciation of not just the 'big' heroes of WW2, but of the million other lives who suffered and sacrificed their lives in that unfortunate global disaster. These include spies, friends of holocaust survivors, mothers intent on the survival of their children, fathers on the battlefields missing their spouses, and underground rebels who refused to capitulate but exerted all creative faculties to source help for others to survive.

While the "big" heroes of World War II are often celebrated, countless individuals represented in these books truly represent the profound impact of the war. Everyday people who endured immense suffering, loss, and sacrifice are often overshadowed, yet their experiences are no less significant. As I read the memoir, the novel, and the biography, stories of often "less important" figures are brought to light, giving me a nuanced and broader understanding of the war's true human cost.

Some Figures from the Books I’ve been Reading

Hans Neuman and Josephine Baker were survivors who kept hoping for the correct world in the light of the global trauma that was World War II. Both adamantly clung to life, and persisted in survival to let the future know about this gruesome past. The world has to learn from the ravages of war after all, although future history has repeatedly missed the lessons.

Hans Neumann, as depicted in "When Time Stopped," managed to survive the horrors of the Holocaust and went on to rebuild his life, never losing hope for a world that could be more just and compassionate. It was as if time stopped during the war, when he had to assume another name and identity for the sake of survival. He triumphed in ‘tricking’ the fate of the ‘jews’ and got to live a new life in a new state. He refused to let that past haunt him by making that time of his life stop, both literally and metaphorically. The memoir takes on the theme of the unwinding of time pieces, which was Hans Neuman’s hobby.

Josephine Baker, often remembered for her glamorous life as an entertainer, was a courageous spy and resistance fighter. During World War II, her efforts in giving the Allies information about plans of the Axis expressed her desire for a better world. Despite her personal traumas, her actions and collaborations with other secret agents reflected a deep sense of hope and determination.

In the novel “This Strange, Eventful History”, Claire Messaud’s characters are as much a product of their time as of their family histories. Individual stories reminded me that even in their most clueless of times and seasons, people can find their ways to resistance, survival, and belief for better life, better coping, better indignance.

These characters in the novel, memoir, and biography will always remind me that nobody will ever be prepared for war, and yet, everybody has a nucleus of loved ones to always stand by and protect. Everybody will eventually find a worthy cause to not just survive, but also believe in survival. This is always for somebody other than themselves.

I’m hoping for no wars or rumors of war although this maybe an empty hope. Even the Bible says that wars are inevitable. But hopefully the younger generation will see inspiration and hope in the heroic tales of those who survived to tell their tales and lived to publish their stories for posterity. Stories of resilience, courage, and humanity—like those of Hans Neumann and Josephine Baker serve as powerful reminders of what individuals can achieve, even in the worst of times. 

Recommended novels, memoirs, biographies set in World War 2  

While watching the news about the China-Philippine wrangling in the contested territorial waters, I can’t help but think about World War II. Those decades weren’t too far from today. In these Asian shores, the same fires of conflict from ancient times simmer and are threatening to explode. 

My prayer is that the younger generation will know how to respond to any outbreak of war, but more than violence, I am hoping for an understanding that war is both mercy and judgment. In the light of the impending chaos, home, family, friends, and other loved ones will take priority over the more material concerns. And in all the commotion, one needs to have the basic and most necessary faith in the true God, either for life or for death.

Here’s a list of historical books, memoirs, novels, and biographies set in World War II that focus on less-known individuals. [This list does not yet include books about the war years in the Philippines, written by Filipinos. Here is that list.]

Memoirs:

1. "The Zookeeper's Wife" by Diane Ackerman - The true story of Antonina Żabińska, who, along with her husband, saved hundreds of Jews by hiding them in their Warsaw Zoo during the Holocaust.
2. "Hidden Figures: The Untold Story of the African American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race" by Margot Lee Shetterly - Though not strictly about WWII, this memoir highlights the lesser-known contributions of African American women during the war era.
3. "We Band of Angels" by Elizabeth Norman - The story of the U.S. Army and Navy nurses who were captured by the Japanese in the Philippines during World War II and survived three years of imprisonment.

Novels:

1. "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr - Follows the story of a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide during the war, highlighting the lesser-known struggles of civilians.
2. "The Night Watch" by Sarah Waters - Set in post-WWII London, it weaves together the lives of four people whose experiences during the war shaped their futures.
3. "The Women in the Castle" by Jessica Shattuck - Focuses on three German women and their survival after their husbands' failed plot to assassinate Hitler.
4. "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak - A novel narrated by Death, centered around a young girl in Nazi Germany who steals books and shares them with others during the war.

Biographies:

1. "Code Name: Lise" by Larry Loftis - The biography of Odette Sansom, a British spy who operated in Nazi-occupied France and survived imprisonment in Ravensbrück concentration camp.
2. "A Woman of No Importance" by Sonia Purnell - The incredible story of Virginia Hall, an American spy who became one of the most successful Allied operatives in Nazi-occupied France.
3. "Resistance: A French Woman’s Journal of the War" by Agnes Humbert - A gripping first-hand account of a French woman’s involvement in the resistance and her capture by the Nazis.

Historical Non-Fiction:

1. "The Girls Who Went Away" by Ann Fessler - While not entirely set during WWII, this non-fiction book looks at the stories of women who gave up their children for adoption in the post-war era, offering a different perspective on the social aftermath of the war.
2. "The Bielski Brothers" by Peter Duffy - The true story of three brothers who saved over 1,200 Jews by building a secret village in the forests of Belarus during the Holocaust.
3. "The Spy Who Loved" by Clare Mulley - The story of Krystyna Skarbek, a Polish-born British special agent who became one of Churchill’s most daring spies.

From the sentence descriptions, I can deduce that most memoirs in this list are stories of figures who prioritized desires that served the greater cause of winning against barbaric war acts and decimations. As with the rest of the historical novels, even the intentional entertainment value zeroes in on the valued relationships prominent in the narrative [women who gave up their children, three brothers saving 1,200 Jews].

Among the list above, I have read only “All the Light We Cannot See,” and “The Book Thief”. I am happy to report that I truly enjoyed both and was much enlightened especially with the details of existence in the midst of fires and bombings, how people still kept a semblance of normal life, as they tried to meet the basic and most crucial needs of their loved ones.  [I have also seen the film adaptations of both books. I recommend reading the books first before you watch the films if you haven't done both yet.]

As books pass on these stories in the paged legacy of memoirs, biographies, and novels, here’s to the chance that future generations will read and remember the sacrifices, and become motivated to work toward a more peaceful world.

Memoirs in my Library

My MFA thesis was a biography so I got into reading memoirs and biographies. I enjoyed reading those books and dreamt of writing more in this non-fiction genre. Research took a lot of time, but even after the final defense of this book, I read more books of personal essays to discover how authors encounter and craft lives in real or imagined times. I took my time reading and re-reading the biographies in my personal library, and now, I have gotten into a habit of lingering in the biography section of the Fully Booked store.

Later on, I got into reading e-books. Some of what I own in the list below are e-books. I've been learning a lot in writing about persons from these treasures. And until I've written another biography, [so yes, I dream on] they will sit on my shelf and hover on my personal cloud.  

I've listed here only the memoirs I've been re-reading and will list the newly acquired memoirs in future posts after I've actually read them. I still have to account for the biographies on my shelves [mostly of women authors and artists], so that list will follow as well. [Why I'm listing? Well, it's also a way of making a formal inventory - like, I need to be able to find the books immediately when I need them.] 

For a preview, below are pictures of the covers of books that are currently on my desk-pile of books to read:

MEMOIRS ON MY BOOKSHELF - NOT A FULL LIST. 

1. "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt (1996) - This Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir recounts McCourt's impoverished childhood in Limerick, Ireland. It became a bestseller and remains a significant work in the genre of misery memoirs​ (lithub)​. [I remember buying and reading this book because I learned that McCourt was a teacher.]

2. "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggers (2000) - This memoir is a blend of tragic and comic, detailing Eggers' experience of raising his younger brother after the sudden death of their parents​ (lithub)​. [Before owning a copy, I borrowed this book from the University Library. Having enjoyed it immensely, I had to have a personal copy. I found this one below by Dave Eggers, and am going to read it, too.]

3. "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion (2005) - A profound account of grief and loss, Didion's memoir delves into the year following the sudden death of her husband and the severe illness of her daughter​ (listchallenges)​. [This book details Didion's grief. The motivation for buying it was Didion's reputation as a classic essayist -- that is, Every essayist I know believes that everyone who wishes to write a memoir can learn much from this author.]

4. "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert (2006) - Gilbert's memoir about her journey across Italy, India, and Indonesia in search of self-discovery and healing became a worldwide sensation​ (lithub)​​ (listchallenges)​. [I enjoyed the movie adaptation, only because it was Julia Roberts in the title role. I bought the book because the title has "Pray" in the middle. However, Gilbert is not writing about Praying in the sense of being a Christian.]

5. "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi (2016) - Although written in the late 2000s, this memoir became iconic. It chronicles Kalanithi's battle with terminal cancer and his reflections on life and mortality​ (listchallenges) [An amazing book by a doctor. Recently, there were writing workshops held for writers who are doctors or medical practitioners. Authors from this discipline have rich stories to share about their encounters with patients. Dr. Kalathini writes about himself - as the one under examination. He scrutinizes the essence of his mortal body, and how immortality is achieved only by an acceptance of our limitations.]​

6. "H Is for Hawk" by Helen Macdonald (2014) - This memoir intertwines Macdonald's grief over her father's death with her experience of training a goshawk. The book received widespread acclaim for its lyrical prose and deep emotional resonance​ (lithub) [Beautiful book. My e-book copy however is not enough for me, so I will secure a hard copy as well. I've never imagined that one can write about oneself from a dissertation about birds. I just read Margaret Atwood's blog about bird watching and I continue to be curious.. Birds are lovely in whatever shape or color, but they are so rare in the skies of Metro Manila.]

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