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ela_lee_'s review
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because I support the messaging! I didn’t find this diary a particularly intriguing read, but I didn’t want to return it because I’ll happily support the author. It was nice to relate to someone who cares as much (and feels as enraged) about nature as I do.
Reading about the natural world from the perspective of someone with autism was enlightening and makes me more motivated to notice the little things about wildlife. I love Dara’s relationship with his family; how beautiful and fortunate he is to hike, camp, read, travel and explore with them.
Reading about the natural world from the perspective of someone with autism was enlightening and makes me more motivated to notice the little things about wildlife. I love Dara’s relationship with his family; how beautiful and fortunate he is to hike, camp, read, travel and explore with them.
thirza's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying
sadiereadsagain's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book for the Booktube Prize 2022, non-fiction category, quarterfinals. I ranked it 5th in its group of 6. My fellow judges agreed, and this book has not moved forward to the semifinals.
This is a diary written by 14 year old Dara, who is passionate about the natural world around him and who is living with autism. Whilst very much a nature diary, we also get an insight into his family, their move from one part of Ireland to another, and the bullying he has experienced at school.
I listened to this as an audiobook as read by Dara himself, which I always think adds a lot to the experience. Dara is no hobbyist when it comes to his naturalism - he is a campaigner and activist, and this has opened up opportunities which he also writes about.
Dara's writing is really beautiful and shows an astounding awareness that I wish I'd had at that age. I think hearing him read it highlighted how young he was when he wrote this, as reading it on the page I think it would come across as from a much older voice.
I'm not hugely into wildlife, and although I love beautiful nature writing (which this book has), I think I found myself zoning out because my interest level doesn't really match the intended audience for this book.
This is a diary written by 14 year old Dara, who is passionate about the natural world around him and who is living with autism. Whilst very much a nature diary, we also get an insight into his family, their move from one part of Ireland to another, and the bullying he has experienced at school.
I listened to this as an audiobook as read by Dara himself, which I always think adds a lot to the experience. Dara is no hobbyist when it comes to his naturalism - he is a campaigner and activist, and this has opened up opportunities which he also writes about.
Dara's writing is really beautiful and shows an astounding awareness that I wish I'd had at that age. I think hearing him read it highlighted how young he was when he wrote this, as reading it on the page I think it would come across as from a much older voice.
I'm not hugely into wildlife, and although I love beautiful nature writing (which this book has), I think I found myself zoning out because my interest level doesn't really match the intended audience for this book.
shreya_l's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
4.0
threeraccoonsinatrenchcoat's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I was going to give this an average review, but one of the last pages made me see it differently. The author talks about just being on the cusp of her 15th birthday. This book is unbelievably eloquent, sometimes to the point of going over my head. For that reason, I found it slow at sometimes. I thought it was at sometimes difficult to find overarching themes, as a result of it being a literal diary and thus presented in that format. And then, I was reminded, this girl is not even 15. She has such passion for the environment. There is an unmistakable childlike wonder of the world in these pages. A perfect camping read. Immerse yourself as much as you can. Try to see the world through half the lens she does, and you will find gratitude in every bit of nature.
weaverl13's review
4.0
This book is beautiful. The writing style is lyrical and so descriptive. I'll give you a few quotes to illustrate that:
"I keep visualising time as a length of string, with a flame burning at one end that represents the present where we can act and be most alive. The ashes are the past, the intact string is the future."
"Each moment is a picture that will never be identically repeated."
"Spring does something to the inside of you. All things levitate. There's no choice but to move up and forwards."
The diary is auto-bibliographical and follows the young, autistic teen Dara through a year of his life. The descriptions of nature and the natural world are inspiring, and make you want to go and just sit and watch nature.
"Wildlife is my refuge. When I'm sitting and watching, grown-ups usually ask if I'm okay. Like it's not okay just to sit and process the world, to figure things out and watch other species go about their day. Wildlife never disappoints like people can."
Being non-fiction, there isn't a plot as such, so I think for me I read a bit here and there as I wasn't drawn in by action, hence why not the full 5 stars. The writing captivated me, I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in nature or psychology (you really are completely in Dara's head)
"I keep visualising time as a length of string, with a flame burning at one end that represents the present where we can act and be most alive. The ashes are the past, the intact string is the future."
"Each moment is a picture that will never be identically repeated."
"Spring does something to the inside of you. All things levitate. There's no choice but to move up and forwards."
The diary is auto-bibliographical and follows the young, autistic teen Dara through a year of his life. The descriptions of nature and the natural world are inspiring, and make you want to go and just sit and watch nature.
"Wildlife is my refuge. When I'm sitting and watching, grown-ups usually ask if I'm okay. Like it's not okay just to sit and process the world, to figure things out and watch other species go about their day. Wildlife never disappoints like people can."
Being non-fiction, there isn't a plot as such, so I think for me I read a bit here and there as I wasn't drawn in by action, hence why not the full 5 stars. The writing captivated me, I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in nature or psychology (you really are completely in Dara's head)
nancyinoregon's review against another edition
4.0
A wonderful writer. His entry into climate catastrophe activism in the second half of the book, while he's still in high school, reminds me of a quote from an old favorite book: "At nineteen, life is a drama threatening to become a tragedy every fifteen minutes." Perhaps the author will use the knowledge he's gained as a gifted naturalist to develop his own balanced plan for change and learn how to advocate for it. Just so I don't just sound preachy, I'll give an example of a great nonprofit organization in the U.S. that advocates for cooperation with private landholders, not confrontation and regulation: https://www.perc.org/
aizataffendi's review
4.0
A refreshing read, going through a journal of a 14-year-old autistic and introverted young naturalist (gee.. what was I doing when I was 14?!), who finds refuge/grounding in nature from all the sensory overloads that he gets from his modern, everyday life. Took a bit more than a fortnight to read this, because there isn't much plot going on although Dara's detailed description of the flora and fauna that he encountered will take readers on a mental escapade as they are transported to the lush sceneries of Northern Ireland.