Reviews with content warning for Deadnaming - The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester

This book made me emotional in a way i did not quite expect from a paranormal mystery. Sam is non-binary like me. Autistic like me. And asexual like me. And i can't believe there is a character that is like me in those ways all at the same time. They are probably one of my favourite characters. I really enjoyed this book so much. I have not read an autistic character that i have related so much to before with certain things. This book really pulled off the mystery aspect for me. This is a favourite for sure

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mxbluet18's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

"When you're haunted by past lives, how can you live your own?"
☆
I'm doing something I almost never do when I'm reading something, making notes as I'm reading it. But something that I'm really enjoying about this book is how I can predict the literal responses Sam gives to things sometimes. (Possibly because it mirrors my own often sarcastic literal responses).
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(As of writing I'm only 19 pages into this book, but already I'm loving it.) Having authentic autistic characters in books gives me some representation I didn't even know I was craving. Especially when it comes from an author who is a part of that community and implicitly understands some of experiences we have. While simultaneously also making it plain that every autistic person, and every non binary person, or person with a queer identity can have very different experiences and I'd different from other people with the same identity as them.
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"You know, like that show with the autistic kid who knows every single Pokémon. That’s not always what it looks like, obviously. We’re not all the same."
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This may easily just be me projecting, but between Sam and the people they meet, Shep, Sky and Aiden, they really feel like people in my own life. People who immediately grasped my name and pronouns and just made me feel comfortable as I am. None of them treated Sam any different for their gender identity, nor their autism and the traits they displayed. They simply tried to understand and help when they could.
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I like that it doesn't fall back on the stereotypical representation of autistic people, and actively avoids them. I also like the inclusion of Sam's father bring probably aroace, though feel the romance subplot between Sam and Shep unnecessary (but I feel many ya books having romance subplots unnecessary anyway)
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Ultimately, this is one of the best books I've read in a very long time. It's definitely a 5⭐ read and it deserves all the good reviews and praise it gets.

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greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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benediction's review

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dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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