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marissab's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
5.0
megs_omals's review
5.0
This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. If only our leaders could feel the magic of the natural world as deeply as Dara...
Everyone needs to read this book! It made laugh, cry and feel all of the feels. Just stunning.
Everyone needs to read this book! It made laugh, cry and feel all of the feels. Just stunning.
jmhh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
hollylou9's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I read this in the hopes of learning more about irish wildlife but ultimately it's not really the genre for me. It was well written and interesting to read it through an autistic perspective.
poemsandponds's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
This book had beautiful nature descriptions and lush, eloquent prose. Dara is an old soul keenly attuned to the natural world. He cares for it with a passion. It was also a meditation on coming of age and accepting the way one's brain processes the world. The entires give a view into Dara's mind and some of the struggles and strengths of being autistic. As someone with an autistic younger brother, I appreciated the opportunity to understand another autistic person's thoughts and experiences. I felt like it connected me to my brother just a little bit more. I loved Dara's family and their relationship. They are a sweet, quirky bunch who love each other fiercely and create their own little safety net in a harsh world. Their love for each other is the backbone of this story. Overall, a reflective and relaxing (most times, except for the parts on bullying and mental health struggles. I got a deeper knowledge and appreciation for the ecology of Northern Ireland.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
endemictoearth's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
endemictoearth's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
annecarts's review
5.0
A wonderful book - Dara has a way of describing and noticing things that is very moving. And even more amazing that he wrote this at age 14.
But Dara doesn't want us to give him high ratings and move on, he wants us to do something and we must. In fact the sooner the young people take over the better. There's so many stand out moments but a parent crushing their kids love of picking up a conker with a 'dirty' remark stands out.
What I especially liked as someone that lives in a built up area of the UK is that he describes things that many of us can easily appreciate in a park or outdoors in general. It's definitely a nature book many people could easily connect with.
But Dara doesn't want us to give him high ratings and move on, he wants us to do something and we must. In fact the sooner the young people take over the better. There's so many stand out moments but a parent crushing their kids love of picking up a conker with a 'dirty' remark stands out.
What I especially liked as someone that lives in a built up area of the UK is that he describes things that many of us can easily appreciate in a park or outdoors in general. It's definitely a nature book many people could easily connect with.