The Ostrich and Other Lost Things

by Beth Hautala
Lexile:  640
Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Olivia loves to find lost things and she is good at it!  Except for the one thing that seems to be most important of all:  her brother's ostrich.  Olivia's brother, Jacob, is autistic, and the family is struggling with how best to communicate with him.  Olivia thinks his autism got worse after the ostrich was lost so she is determined to do whatever it takes to find that ostrich and make things better for her family. But when Olivia learns that the ostrich really isn't lost and that Jacob's autistic behaviors are getting worse, she worries about what this will mean for her family.  Will Olivia ever get to do the things that she wants to do or will she always have to put Jacob and his needs first?

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