History Literature / TheRoosevelt

* TheSpeechless: Darren Kennedy, an autistic guy Jeremey knows from his time in the group home Icarus House,is almost entirely nonverbal. At most, he can whisper along to videos a little. He programmed his own communication app because the ones already available were too expensive for his family, and he speaks DSL - Darren Sign Language - a form of ASL heavily modified to be easier for him, which only a few other people understand.

* TheSpeechless: Darren is almost entirely nonverbal. At most, he can whisper along to videos a little. He programmed his own communication app because the ones already available were too expensive for his family, and he speaks DSL - Darren Sign Language - a form of ASL heavily modified to be easier for him, which only a few other people understand.

* {{Asexuality}}: Darren Kennedy, an autistic guy who lives at the group home Icarus House, is, as he explains, a panromantic asexual. He doesn't enjoy most touch at all, especially sexual touch, but he's curious about kissing. His attempts at flirting over the internet have so far come to nothing, but he's still hopeful.

** In the second book, Jeremey compares The Roosevelt Project to carrying everyone else's oceans. Emmet says, "We aren't carrying the oceans. We're trying to find places to be to carry them themselves more easily." Jeremey says, "We're trying to shelter the sea, then."

* SavingTheOrphanage: In ''Shelter the Sea'', changes to state laws have put The Roosevelt in financial trouble. Emmet persuades Workiva to start a program to give The Roosevelt's residents part-time jobs to help pay for their room and board. Emmet, Jeremey, David, and Darren also go to the Ames City Council for backing, where Emmet discovers and corrects the misleading math used by a manipulative councilman who wants to cut funding. The four also go on a speaking tour, along with Jeremey's new service dog Mai, to fight a new bill that would award more contracts to private companies and make it harder for places like The Roosevelt to exist. [[spoiler:The bill passes, but the tour, and especially the dance routine the protagonists do to "[[Music/{{Shakira}} Try Everything]]" while dressed as the Blues Brothers, results in so much publicity, including a celebrity endorsement from Creator/DanAykroyd, that they raise all the money they need and more, enough to fund a Roosevelt Foundation and open similar facilities.]]

* SavingTheOrphanage: In ''Shelter the Sea'', changes to state laws have put The Roosevelt in financial trouble. Emmet persuades Workiva to start a program to give The Roosevelt's residents part-time jobs to help pay for their room and board. Emmet, Jeremey, David, and Darren also go to the Ames City Council for backing, where Emmet discovers and corrects the misleading math used by a manipulative councilman who wants to cut funding. The four also go on a speaking tour, along with Jeremey's new service dog Mai, to fight a new bill that would award more contracts to private companies and make it harder for places like The Roosevelt to exist.

* SavingTheOrphanage: In ''Shelter the Sea'', changes to state laws have put The Roosevelt in financial trouble. Emmet persuades Workiva to start a program to give The Roosevelt's residents part-time jobs to help pay for their room and board. Emmet, Jeremey, David, and Darren also go to the Ames City Council for backing, where Emmet discovers and corrects the misleading math used by a manipulative councilman who wants to cut funding. Bob Loris, David's father and the founder of The Roosevelt, wants to not only keep the facility open but also open more places like it in Iowa, so the four go on a speaking tour to raise money, along with Jeremey's new service dog Mai.

* FlashMob: Emmet, Jeremey, and David agree to start dancing to "[[Music/PharrellWilliams Happy]]" in Target, wearing Blues Brothers costumes, while the social worker Sally and Emmet's dad Douglass film them. About ten strangers join them in a dance line through the store.

* FlashMob: Emmet, Jeremey, and David agree to start dancing to "[[Music/PharrellWilliams Happy]]" in Target while the social worker Sally and Emmet's dad Douglass film them. About ten strangers join them in a dance line through the store.

* TitleDrop: In the first book, Jeremey texts Emmet, "sometimes I feel like is carrying a bucket of water but I'm trying to carry an ocean. its very hard. sometimes i would rather not carry my ocean, even if it meant I couldn't be alive."

* ContemplationLocation: Emmet's closet at The Roosevelt is his safe space, with pillows and blankets and a Lycra sensory sack. He goes there whenever he needs to focus and think.

* TheirFirstTime: Emmet and Jeremey move into The Roosevelt, an assisted living facility, and have sex as soon as their parents are gone.

* {{Asexuality}}: Darren, an autistic guy who lives at the group home Icarus House, is, as he explains, a panromantic asexual. He doesn't enjoy most touch at all, especially sexual touch, but he's curious about kissing.

* DoesNotDrive: Emmet has been told that he will never be able to drive. He isn't sure why, because his aunt Althea, who is also autistic, can drive.

* HidingBehindTheLanguageBarrier: Emmet and his family know ASL for when speech is too hard for him. He taught it to Jeremey, and the two use it in ''Shelter the Sea'' to have private conversations about The Roosevelt's money problems.

* {{Dedication}}: "for all who navigate the waters of life's superpowers, may you ever stay afloat"

* RailEnthusiast: Emmet is delighted that his family's new home is near a train track, which runs between his and Jeremey's backyards. Every time a train goes by, he counts the cars and engines and tries to find patterns in the way they're arranged.

* {{Gayngst}}: Jeremey's mom, Gabrielle, walks in on Jeremey and Emmet having their FirstKiss. She screams in horror, accuses Emmet of taking advantage of Jeremey, then accuses Jeremey of taking advantage of a retarded boy, and bans the two of them from seeing each other. She becomes somewhat more accepting after his suicide attempt, but she still wants him to get a "normal" boyfriend, rather than Emmet.

** Emmet usually stands with his hands bent in front of him. He also rocks and flaps, especially during emotional moments.