Review: Orientation

Orientation by Allis Wade

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



It is a bit sadly that I rate this book only at 4 stars. The book touched me deeply enough that I cried in several places and at the end of the book. The tears were not for sadness at the events in the story, but rather for the recognition of the feelings, thoughts, and experiences. I am also convinced that it is an important book for gifted students, most especially highly gifted students. Why then 4 stars rather than 5? Although I can't imagine how it could have been done otherwise and still cover the same material, the book is most definitely didactic - it just isn't either completely a story or completely a treatise on Dabrowski. It is a melding of the two that works, mostly, but at the expense of making the story somewhat awkward. There are also, as another reviewer remarked, a number of typos and word usage errors (commiserate, rather than commensurate is the most glaring). Still, it is a important book for upper elementary and middle school aged gifted kids - a welcome support for their needs in a number of dimensions.



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