Today I’m talking with Chaz Hayden, the author of The First Thing About You (Candlewick, 2022). Chaz’s debut young adult novel is a deeply personal novel about a high school student, Harris, who just wants to fit in, find love, and be a “normal” teenager despite having spinal muscular atrophy and being confined to a wheelchair.
![](https://i0.wp.com/cynthialeitichsmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Chaz_hayden_books-scaled.jpg?resize=460%2C460&ssl=1)