Sensitivity Team

The Peace Strain series emphasizes that each characters’ individual traits do not completely define who they are. Some have mental health issues, others are part of the LGBTQ+ community. A few struggle with identity, belonging, and issues related to race and their neurodiversity. But these things are parts of the total person. For instance, Peace is a lesbian and Schwab a depressive, but those things are just one aspect of who they are. What I want to capture is that Peace’s sexual orientation or Schwab’s mental health are no different than a character being tall or having a southern accent – one piece of their whole being. The series advocates for people with marginalized identities and allows young readers to recognize themselves in the books.

These are character and voice-driven books that connect on an emotional level. Below are the twenty sensitivity readers who thoroughly reviewed and edited both books to ensure that reading these stories is a positive experience for a wide range of readers.

The fact that we had such a large team comb through the books is what’s important – labeling the individuals is not – so we purposely have the names, pictures, and their chosen labels moving in different directions. My point is it shouldn’t matter who is who and who is what. What should matter is that people that are sensitive to the issues reviewed the books.