Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Helping kids share stories
It started as “the world’s most expensive father-son project,” Anthony Zuiker recalls.
Then it became something more: a line of graphic novel designed to help kids deal with problems, from divorce to cyberbullying.
Zuiker is no stranger to storytelling, onscreen or on the page. His books include the “Level 26” thriller series and his memoir.
But his latest works, debuting Nov. 6 from the eponymous Zuiker Press, owe their existence to his 15-year-old son, Evan.
The second of Zuiker’s three sons, Evan has Asperger’s syndrome, an autism-related developmental disorder that impacts his ability to socialize and communicate.
A son’s inspiration
One morning, while Zuiker was driving Evan to summer school, Evan told his father, “‘Dad, I want to write a book, to tell kids what’s wrong with me.’ ”
Zuiker’s reply: “‘Why don’t we write a book about what’s right with you?’ ” And so they did.
They called their graphic novel collaboration “A for Autism.” But, ultimately, Zuiker’s son “wasn’t ready to publish it. So we shelved it.”
But Zuiker didn’t shelve the idea of kids telling their own stories in books designed to help them deal with their problems.
Instead, he and his wife, Michelle (Evan’s stepmother), a former teacher at Vanderburg Elementary School in Henderson, went looking for other kids’ stories to share.
Among others, they found Sophia Recca of Las Vegas, whose experiences during her parents’ divorce inspired “Mend: A Story of Divorce.” The second November title, “Click: A Story About Cyberbullying,” focuses on Lexi Phillips, a California teen who was bullied online to the point of suicide, Zuiker says.
Future books will explore issues from multiculturalism (“Colorblind”) to body dysmorphia (“Imperfect”). Next year’s titles include “Survivor: A True Story of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Shooting,” by Parkland, Florida, teen Lauren Hogg.