Young Adult Novels
Wild Orchid Series

Wild Orchid
Recently included on CBC’s list of 100 Young Adult Books That Make You Proud To Be Canadian and shortlisted for a Young Adult Book Award by the Canadian Library Association, a Manitoba Our Choice Award, an Ontario Library Association White Pine Award, and Saskatchewan’s Silver Birch Award as well as a Saskatchewan Book Award and listed as a starred selection by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre as well as included on the New York Public Library’s list of Best Books for the Teen Age.
“Brenna has done a magnificent job. Until I read this novel I knew autism as an outsider looking in. Wild Orchid has allowed me to see it from the inside out. This is an honest, insightful, and compelling read. Highly recommended. 4/4 stars.”
— Kristin Butcher, CM Magazine
“Although Taylor’s literal interpretations of the figurative use of English and her “awkward” reactions in social situations, especially those involving boys, are often humourous, readers never laugh “at” her as Brenna skilfully portrays the internal “logic” of Taylor’s responses. Highly recommended.”
— Dave Jenkinson, University of Manitoba
“Through Taylor’s delightfully straightforward journal entries, we get a candid look into the mind and heart of a very bright, self-aware young woman who is also autistic. Experiencing the world from her point of view is at once revelatory and thought-provoking, touching and amusing. Taylor’s story is a pleasure to read, filled as it is with honesty, humour and insight.”
— Lisa Doucet, Canadian Children’s Book News
“Unique and captivating, opening readers to a new perspective on life.”
— Kate Larking, Calgary Herald
“Vital for those seeking to understand and identify with their differently abled peers and even more important for people with Asperger’s who rarely ever see themselves in a book.”
— Bulletin of the Centre for Children’s Books, University of Illinois

Waiting for No One
Winner of the 2012 Dolly Gray Award for Children’s Literature; this award is offered to a book of high quality that authentically portrays individuals with special needs and is sponsored by the American Council for Exceptional Children: Division of Autism and Developmental Disabilities.
Shortlisted for the 2011 Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book of the Year Award and a 2012 "Woozles" Battle of the Books Teen List Contender.
“Highly recommended; 4/4 stars.”
— Kristin Butcher, CM Magazine
“Beverley Brenna’s seventh title for young people, WAITING FOR NO ONE is a gem of a book. From the moment readers meet Taylor as she makes a glorious hash of her first job interview, they are her friends for life. Taylor is a funny, honest, smart, endearing girl with Asperger’s syndrome. Little things others take for granted often confuse her. She longs to escape from those who, for her own good, keep her dependent. She tells the sometimes comic, always moving story of her fight for freedom in a voice all her own.
“From start to finish, Taylor’s gerbil, Harold Pinter, is a central character. Like Christopher Boone’s pet rat Toby in THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME, Harold Pinter never notices his person’s syndrome; he simply gives his heart to his girl. So will you when you read this book.”
— Jean Little, Canadian Author
“Brenna writes insightfully, giving the reader an understanding of the perspective and thought processing of an individual on the autism spectrum. Using journal style writing, Brenna explicates the many language and social challenges that individuals with Asperger Syndrome face every day.”
— Judith M. S Gross, PhD, Beach Center on Disability

The White Bicycle
- Summary
- Photo Gallery
- Teachers’ Guide
Nominated for a 2013 Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature (Text).
A 2013 Printz Honor Book (Young Adult Library Services Association/American Library Association).
“Brenna’s ability to let readers see the world through Taylor’s eyes is extraordinary.”
— Martha V. Parravano, The Horn Book Blog
“…nothing short of a tour de force.”
— Marsha Skrypuch, The Winnipeg Review
“Highly Recommended”
— Kristin Butcher, CM Magazine