Introduction: Holden Harris is a 18 year-old high schooler trapped in the world of autism. He breaks through that world with music and with the help of his re-united long lost childhood friend, Ella Reynolds. This book is intended for an audience of teens-middle aged people. This book is also intended for autistic parents. The position of this book is to show that autism can be overcome. It will take a lot of time, therapy, patience, prayers and support. I think this book was an excellent book. I would defiantly recommend this book to parents whose children are autistic. This book is a Christian book and it is written by a Christian author.



Description and summary of main points: The main characters in this book are Holden Harris and Ella Reynolds. The supporting characters are Holden and Ella’s mom, Tracy Harris and Suzanne Reynolds. Ella and Holden’s moms were best friends all through out high school. After high school and college, they were maids of honor at each other’s weddings. They had babies at the same time and Holden and Ella were constantly together even before they could walk or talk. After Holden’s diagnosis, Suzanne explained in an awkward way that they weren’t sure if it was good for Ella, playing with Holden. Her husband, Randy was a baseball player and about that time he was called up to the majors. He played for the Mets for ten years, and when the Reynolds family moved to New York, they lost touch. A few years ago Tracy read that Randy had been traded to the Braves, so most likely they were back in the Atlanta area. One day at school, Ella sees Holden getting bullied by the football players. She stands up for Holden and after the football players go away Holden looks into Ella’s eyes. Ella knows those eyes look familiar but she can’t think of where. One night, while Ella was home, she goes through her family’s picture albums. There she finds a huge professional picture of her and Holden.



Evaluation: Unlocked has a great plot that is easy to follow. It talks a lot about autism and shines a light on high school bullying. We all need to be like Ella and stand up for people who are getting bullied. Ella wasn’t worried about getting bullied. It made her sick to her stomach to think of someone getting bullied. By getting Holden mainstreamed into a drama class, his therapists think that maybe by listening to the music, he will open up more. Ella wants to get Holden into the spring production, Beauty and the Beast. She talks to Holden’s mother, Tracy. Tracy would love for Holden to be in the play but they can’t afford the drama fees. Ella vows to find a way to pay for the fees. Even the drama teacher would like to have Holden in the play but he doesn’t know if Holden can handle it. This book achieves it’s purpose because all of the problems that arise during this book are overcome. A Thousand Tomorrows is another book that talks about a disease. One of the main characters, Ali, has Cystic Fibrosis and her younger sister died because of it. Holden is able to do a lot of things but can’t because of autism. These girls were not able to do a lot of things because they had a very weak immune system an were not able to handle the air outside of their home. Both of the girls wanted to race horses but they weren’t allowed outside. When the younger sister died, Ali became inspired to race. That was her dream for a long time. Then her doctor told her that if she races it will take years off of her life. Ali didn’t care. Soon she began to race. Ali began to excel in barrel racing. She soon was the number one barrel racer in the United States. Ali knew that she was taking years off of her life but she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was race. Holden thinks that he is talking to people when really he isn’t. He prays for people constantly but when he does people make fun of him for the way he does it. Holden constantly hears music and when the music gets to loud he rattles off push ups. The music is just in Holden’s mind and no one else can hear it. Therapists and doctors are puzzled because of this. Holden is non-communicative except for his PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) cards. When he wants something or wants to say something he will use his cards


Conclusion: Autism can be over come with a lot of time, therapy, patience, prayers, and support. Holden and Ella’s moms were best friends since the first day of high school. They did everything together. Once Holden got diagnosed with autism things were awkward between the two families. Then Ella’s dad, Randy got called up into the majors in baseball. They soon moved to New York never to be heard from again. A few years back, Tracy read that Randy had been traded to the Braves. Most likely they were back into the Atlanta area. When Ella stands up for Holden at school, she knows that she has seen those eyes before but she can’t think of where. One night at home, she finds a huge professional picture of her and Holden. Unlocked is a great book to read. Unlocked talks about autism and shines a light on high school bullying. Ella stood up to kids who were getting bullied and I think that we all need to be more like Ella. Holden got mainstreamed into a drama class and his therapists think that by doing that he will open up more. Ella wants to get Holden into the spring production but Holden’s mom, Tracy, can’t afford the drama fees. Ell avows to find a way to pay for the fees. The drama teacher would love to have Holden in the spring production also but he doesn’t know if Holden can handle it. Holden is non-communicative except for his PECS cards. Therapists and doctors all thought that the cards would eventually lead to verbal communication. But with Holden it never did.