"Harmony" by Carolyn Parkhurst is About Living in Harmony With Special Needs Kids

Harmony by Carolyn Parkhurst is about the Hammond family, Josh, Alexandria and their two daughters, Iris and Tilly. Tilly is a 13-yr-old somewhere on the autism spectrum whose “special interest” is statues and who has a quick temper, no filter and is fairly smart with a good imagination. When the mother is near wits end from daily episodes with Tilly, she attends a workshop by Scott Bean for help. She starts listening to his tapes and even arranges a personal consultation. When Tilly gets kicked out of the school for special needs children, the mother suggests to Josh that they consider helping Scott Bean run Camp Harmony – a new endeavor for families with a special needs child. Scott is an educator who gives parents advice and through the summer, different families can attend the camp for a week. Three families agreed to help Scott run it and help with all the chores that need to be done.

This is an interesting and sometimes funny read. I liked it overall and was able to overlook the foul language which was part of Tilly’s problem. Most of the book is told from Iris’s perspective with some chapters interspersed showing Tilly’s thoughts and some that give the background on their family, particularly the mother’s dealings with Tilly, before leaving DC for the camp in New Hampshire. This gives insight into some struggles families with special needs kids may have, but also shows the tender moments too. The ending was sad and quite a shock—not what I expected. My favorite part was the interaction among the kids at the camp and between Tilly and Iris.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

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