Today is my spot on the blog tour for Where You See Yourself by Claire Forrest hosted by Hear Our Voices! Please take a moment to view the schedule for the whole tour which starts today and continues until April 18th.

As a part of my spot on the tour I had the honour of interviewing Claire Forrest about Where You See Yourself! You can read the interview below followed by my review.

1. Hi Claire, thank you for joining me today at Just Geeking By. Could you start us off by introducing yourself?

Thanks for having me! My name is Claire Forrest (she/her) and I am the author of Where You See Yourself, my debut novel. I live in Minneapolis, MN, and when I’m not writing, I love spending time with my family and friends, traveling, swimming, attending concerts, and befriending every dog that I meet.

2. Your debut novel, Where You See Yourself, is out next month. Would you tell us about it?

Where You See Yourself is the story of Effie Galanos, a high school senior living in Minneapolis. She has a dream she hasn’t told anyone yet: to attend Prospect University’s prestigious Mass Media & Society program so she can set herself up on a path to make sure disabled people like her can see themselves in the media. However, she’s afraid taking on New York City might be too much for a girl in a wheelchair. But when her crush Wilder tells her that Prospect is his dream school, too, she starts to learn how to advocate for herself, and along the way, starts imagining a whole new world of possibilities…

3. Where you See Yourself is based on your own lived experiences. What made you decide to write a fiction book rather than a biography, for example?

To me, Where You See Yourself being loosely based on events from my own high school experience has less to do with the specific events of the plot, and more to do with the experience of being a teen in a wheelchair with cerebral palsy navigating an ableist world. While I took certain experiences and emotions I remembered from my high school days, it is important to me that Effie’s story is wholly and uniquely her own.

4. Who or what were your inspirations while writing, Where You See Yourself?

To be candid, writing Where You See Yourself was very healing for me as it allowed me to work through my own thoughts about representation, feeling seen, and ableism—especially internalized ableism—on my own terms and in my own time. The first spark happened because I’d been saving the name Wilder for an eventual YA love interest. I started to play with the name Effie, and Googled the name. The first result was an expectant parent message board where a couple loved the name Effie but hated the full name Euphemia. I instantly imagined Effie and Wilder having this inside joke about how teachers can’t pronounce her full name, and knew I had to go on a journey with these characters.

5. What was your favourite scene to write in Where You See Yourself?

I really got on a roll when writing the final four or so chapters to complete the first draft. I wrote them all in single weekend, which is very fast for me. I won’t give it away, but there is a scene towards the end that involves some rhymes and a scavenger hunt around school. Once I wrote that, I messaged a friend, “This scene would have meant so much to me when I was in high school.” It’s a very joyful scene for Effie, and I felt that joy while writing it.

6. Many of the issues that Effie faces as a disabled teenager were familiar to me, but books like Where you See Yourself didn’t exist when I was a teen. Was this something you thought about while you were writing?

Yes, absolutely. I read voraciously as a teen, but never saw myself represented in any of the books I read. To me, that lack of representation sent the message that things like going on adventures, falling in love, or figuring out what I wanted for my future weren’t possible for me as a disabled person. I like to say that the first draft of the book was for me, as I focused on writing the exact book I wish I’d had as a teenager. Every draft after that was for today’s disabled teens and any disabled reader needing to see themselves represented, and I focused on writing something that felt as true as I could make it while also making it a very safe and enjoyable reading experience for disabled readers.

7. How much research did you do for Effie’s college campus spreadsheet and visits?

Prospect University is fictional, but I have spent a lot of time in New York City over the past decade, and relied on my experiences navigating the city and its transportation system. I also relied on my own college search experience a lot, but since that was over ten years ago, I wanted to make sure Effie’s search felt current. I researched a lot of college and university Disability Services websites, and watched some day in the life vlogs from current college students with and without disabilities to make sure it all felt fresh.

8. Is there any chance of a follow-up book about Effie and her adventures at college?

As it stands now, I wrote the book intending for it to be a standalone novel. Though, selfishly, I love these characters and would welcome the opportunity to spend more time with them. Never say never, but if I were to write a sequel, for me, it would need to feel like continuing Effie’s story was completely necessary, and so far, I haven’t had the idea for how to continue.

9. I always like to ask each author I’m interviewing what books they are you looking forward, and incidentally that’s how I first heard about Where You See Yourself! So what’s on your TBR, Claire?

I’m very excited for so many 2023 releases! At the top of my TBR is Always the Almost by Edward Underhill, Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino, and At the Speed of Lies by Cindy Otis.

10. Is it too early to ask what’s next for you?

I am about to start work on a second contemporary young adult novel. It is a new story that features disability representation and may also feature a social media famous golden retriever. Stay tuned to my social media for more!

Thank you, Claire, for taking the time to talk to us!

What does it take to follow your dreams? Where You See Yourself is a relatable, romantic, and necessary story about a girl who has to figure out what--and who--will bring her the happiness she deserves.

By the time Effie Galanos starts her senior year, it feels like she’s already been thinking about college applications for an eternity—after all, finding a college that will be the perfect fit and be accessible enough for Effie to navigate in her wheelchair presents a ton of considerations that her friends don’t have to worry about.

What Effie hasn’t told anyone is that she already knows exactly what school she has her heart set on: a college in NYC with a major in Mass Media & Society that will set her up perfectly for her dream job in digital media. She’s never been to New York, but paging through the brochure, she can picture the person she’ll be there, far from the Minneapolis neighborhood where she's lived her entire life. When she finds out that Wilder (her longtime crush) is applying there too, it seems like one more sign from the universe that it’s the right place for her.

But it turns out that the universe is full of surprises. As Effie navigates her way through a year of admissions visits, senior class traditions, internal and external ableism, and a lot of firsts--and lasts--she starts to learn that sometimes growing up means being open to a world of possibilities you never even dreamed of. And maybe being more than just friends with Wilder is one of those dreams...

This book was provided for free by Hear Our Voices and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

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Where You See Yourself by Claire Forrest has been on my TBR since the moment I heard about it. While there’s been an increase in books with disabled characters, especially in young adult books, there are still very few that are completely focused on disability. In Where You See Yourself the main focus is disability, ableism and self-advocacy, and it was a brilliant read that touched upon so many aspects of growing up as a disabled teenager with a chronic illness.

Forrest has written a beautiful book that covers so many things that I felt and experienced as a teenager, while also capturing the essence of what it’s like to be a teenager. I say that because being a disabled teenager is an experience that is both the same and different to that of a non-disabled teenager, and that’s something that Effie Galanos knows all too well. As she starts her senior year, the divide between her and her non-disabled classmates feels like it’s becoming larger by the minute. From romance, to prom invites and of course, college applications, Effie is extremely aware of how different her life as a disabled student and wheelchair user is.

It starts on the first day of her senior year when her second locker, an accessibility accommodation that has been in place for years so that Effie doesn’t have to carry all her things around school, is suddenly removed by the school administration. When she inquires about it, she’s informed that it wasn’t on her record, and Effie finds out that her student accommodations coordinator failed to add it to her file for the new year. Instead of fixing the mistake, the coordinator makes excuses and continues to be an obstacle for Effie for the rest of the year.

This isn’t anything new; Effie’s mom has been dealing with Ms Wilson for years. With Effie about to head off to college, alone, her mom is eager for Effie to step up and start handling issues like the locker herself. But as Effie soon finds out, self-advocacy isn’t as easy as it sounds. Things become even more complicated when seniors are allowed to leave campus for lunch, and the school administration declares that they must use the main entrance on the second floor to check in and out. An entrance that is completely inaccessible to Effie, the only disabled student in the school. Despite complaining to the school and Ms Wilson, Effie is left behind as the entire senior year heads off campus for lunch.

Just when Effie feels like she’s making headway with the whole college thing (she’s even got her parents to agree to something huge!), she finds herself facing even more obstacles. The level of ableism she’s facing feels unstoppable, and she’s just one person. Can she overcome her own fears and rally herself to advocate for her accessibility needs to prove to everyone and herself that she’s ready for college?

Forrest has done a fantastic job of interweaving all the moving parts of a teenager’s life with Effie’s struggle for independence and self-advocacy in the face of ableism. She shows the obvious differences in Effie’s life as someone with cerebral palsy and a wheelchair user, but as someone who has lived these experiences, she is able to include so many personal touches that many non-disabled readers will probably not be aware of. For example, Effie’s thoughts about her sister being able to wear whatever boots struck a particular chord for me. While I’m not a wheelchair user, one of my health conditions means that I can’t wear high heels. Experiences like this are something that Forrest highlights so well through Effie’s inner voice.

Effie’s a strong protagonist who is likeable and also very recognisable to me. She’s complicated, and Forrest doesn’t shy away from showing her as someone who makes mistakes, especially in her relationships. Relationships are at the very heart of this book, both in the positive and negative, from those who care for Effie, those who are ignorant of what she’s going through and those who treat her badly. Effie’s relationships with her family and her friends are healthy, yet rife with guilt and shame on her part, and she often feels like a burden when plans have to change to accommodate her due to her disability. There’s a level of jealousy as well when her friends and sister can do things more easily without thinking and without planning everything. These may make Effie seem like a horrible person; however, these are all thoughts that many disabled people have had, and it’s appreciated that Forrest doesn’t avoid including them.

I’ve read quite a few books now with a protagonist who has cerebral palsy, and this is the only one that has gone into detail about symptoms. Forrest has not hesitated in explaining exactly what is happening in her body when someone touches her shoulder or when the clonus (involuntary muscular contractions) happen. Clonus, in fact, is a term that I hadn’t ever heard before and had to look up. It was great to see Effie’s disability front and centre, not hidden away because it might offend someone.

One theme that continues throughout Where You See Yourself is ignorance of ableism, particularly casual ignorance. Effie’s classmates have no idea that she’s been prevented from going to lunch, and they’re shocked when they find out what she’s been going through. They’re not aware that their hugely elaborate prom invites every year actually cause Effie a whole world of problems while she’s trying to get around school. While Effie’s best friends are aware of what she has to deal with, they’re not aware of everything she has to deal with, including how much more difficult it is for her to find a college where she can actually move around the campus.

A lot of their ignorance is to do with teenagers just being wrapped up in their own lives, and this is something that Forrest covers in Where You See Yourself. After all, a lot is happening in teenagers’ lives and with the added pressure of college applications in senior year, everyone’s stressed out. Tempers flare as Effie and her friends try to navigate everything life is flaring at throwing at them, and Effie struggles to keep up with her friends’ lives when her own is in such turmoil.

My experiences as a university student are different to Effie’s; however, I’ve dealt with my fair share of ableism at university. One campus has a huge set of stairs which were inaccessible to me, and the only alternative route is to walk through multiple buildings instead. Therefore, I felt every single part of Effie’s despair at being told that a campus had a path that was inaccessible to her, and that requests for an accessible path to be added had been ignored for years.

Amongst all of Effie’s struggles, she still feels plenty of joy, love and laughter in Where You See Yourself, and that is a very important point to make. So many people think that being disabled is a fate worse than death, and Forrest has written a novel that shows that while being disabled is tough, it can still be a life full of love. It is made easier when we have people who love and support us, with education organisations and staff who actually support us in the way they should.

I can’t recommend Where You See Yourself by Claire Forrest enough. If you have a teenager in your life, then they should read this.

Thank you for joining me today for my spot on the blog tour for Where You See Yourself by Claire Forrest, hosted by Hear Our Voices! I hope you enjoyed my interview with Claire Forrest and my review 🙂

Please don’t forget to check out the schedule for the whole your, which starts today and continues until April 18th.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of my reviews if you’re looking for some more book recommendations 🙂 You can also now sign up for my newsletter to get an email each month with a list of my new reviews!

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