British mother inspired to write so her disabled daughter would have role models in fiction is finalist for Waterstone's children's book prize

From The Guardian in the UK:

The debut novel by a mother who turned to fiction after struggling to find literature that spoke to her disabled daughter has been shortlisted for the Waterstone's children's book prize.

Laura Summers decided to write Desperate Measures when she realised that very few children's books featured protagonists with learning disabilities. "I've got a daughter with a learning disability [and] I felt there weren't any role models for children with disabilities and their siblings," said Summers, a Bafta-nominated scriptwriter for children's television. "But I didn't want to write a story which was just about disability – I wanted an adventure story too, which was exciting, so it would appeal to as many children as possible."

Desperate Measures stars a pair of twins – one of whom was brain-damaged at birth – and follows their lives after they are told their foster parents can't cope and the family will have to be split up. Waterstone's called it "affecting, honest, and totally gripping".

Summers wrote the book in the first person, alternating between the voices of the two girls, so readers "would be able to put their feet in the characters' shoes and realise what it felt like". "My daughter without a disability read it and said 'it's not bad, mum'. My daughter with a disability said 'she's like me'. Although it isn't her – and I don't want anyone to think it is my daughter – there are things there she can understand and empathise with," said Summers, who called the shortlisting "fantastic". "It was a surprise – being a first novel, you never know how good it is, if the writing is any good, so I'm really excited," she said.

The £5,000 Waterstone's prize is voted for by the chain's booksellers, with nine titles shortlisted for this year's award. Intended to celebrate new and emerging children's authors, the shortlist ranges from Lucy Christopher's story about a girl who cannot face the fact that her father is dying, Flyaway, to a young girl's attempt to look after herself when she is left alone in Suzanne LaFleur's Love, Aubrey.

"Horror and the supernatural often dominate children's fiction but this year we're seeing that balanced with serious, believable stories, proving that sometimes real-life drama hits closest to home," said Waterstone's children's buying manager Sarah Clarke, calling the line-up a "really strong shortlist".

One of the shortlisted titles, Victoria Forester's The Girl Who Could Fly, has been endorsed by Twilight author Stephenie Meyer who called it "the oddest/sweetest mix of Little House on the Prairie and X-Men"." I was smiling the whole time (except for the part where I cried). Prepare to have your heart warmed," Meyer said.

Waterstone's booksellers are currently voting for the winner, who will be revealed on 10 February. Previous winners of the prize include Sally Nicholls's story of a terminally ill 11-year-old, Ways to Live Forever, and The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding.