Just the Way You Are by Allison M Boot
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of the books where one celebrates the author more than the book itself. The book is about a princess on wheel chair, Misty miles who is locked in her room and has limited exposure to the world. Her parents love her but fear about her safety because of her disability.
But Misty is determined to follow her heart and win the love of her prince charming, Derrick, heir in line of the neighboring kingdom. Things are not rosy between both the kingdoms because of a past rivalry. Despite all these challenges, she runs away from her castle one day to meet a troll who has magical powers. The troll grants her a wish to make her walk for three full days, but demands something very dangerous in return, which could put both the kingdoms in peril. The troll connives and tricks her to put her tiara at stake. The tiara has magical powers with which the troll can control the kingdom.
Unknowingly, Misty trades the tiara for her new power and heads off to the neighboring kingdom in full gusto. She manages to meet the prince and also charm him. She also meets a young orphan with a disability and wishes to adopt her. As things were almost going as planned, the troll intervenes and sticks her evil head out. The two kings come face to face and the age-old rivalry surfaces back.
Now it is up to both Misty and the orphan girl Kara, both disabled people, to face the troll and also bring an end to the rivalry between both the kingdoms.
The book is a very breezy and enjoyable read. There are certain places where I did wish few more characters would have added more flavor to the book. It also follows a stereotypical Disney romance story. But as I said earlier, this is one of the books where we have to celebrate the author more than the story itself. The author, Allison M. Boot is a person with disability herself and has resolved to write books where the protagonists are disabled yet strong willed. The main message that is conveyed through her books is that their disability shouldn’t be a blocking factor for the lives they choose to lead and the dreams they dare to pursue.
And that objective is definitely achieved through this book. Misty Miles, the heroine of the book, comes across as a very strong resolved heroine who is not afraid to take on challenges. Her dreams are not inhibited by the fact that she is disabled. She sometimes takes rash decisions but when is not afraid to face the consequences of her own actions. She takes full accountability of her flaws and tries to correct them. I am sure Misty Miles is a symbolic personification of the traits of the author herself. These are all qualities which have to be lauded and learnt by all of us.
Keep it coming Allison M. Boot. Take a bow for what you are and what you aim to achieve!

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