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buttermellow's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and Ableism
emtees's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is a great middle-grade book for kids looking to learn more about autism from an autistic perspective. One of the authors is an autistic girl and the story draws heavily on her own experiences. It manages the balance between depicting one person’s specific experience of autism while still providing a lot of general information.
Tally is an eleven-year old girl going through a lot of typical childhood situations - a new school year, trouble with friends, arguments with her parents and sister - but with the added complication of the way her autism impacts her life. One of Tally’s greatest frustrations is that the people around her, including her own family, think they know what autism is and aren’t always interested in her experiences; instead, they are quick to judge her behavior from their own limited understanding. Tally keeps a diary that is half reflection on her daily life, half explanations of autism written at her own level, which she dreams of someday showing to the world so that they will understand autism as an experience, not just a clinical diagnosis. The diary is a great tool within the book, since it provides a way to explain different aspects of Tally’s autism which are then depicted in the narrative part of the story, keeping the whole thing from feeling too preachy.
Tally is a great character; she is complex, flawed and endearing in ways that are both related to her autism and also just specific to her as a person. Probably because of how much she is based on a real person, she feels very much like a real eleven-year old. The story itself is pretty straightforward but enlivened by the intense emotions brought out in Tally.
Tally is an eleven-year old girl going through a lot of typical childhood situations - a new school year, trouble with friends, arguments with her parents and sister - but with the added complication of the way her autism impacts her life. One of Tally’s greatest frustrations is that the people around her, including her own family, think they know what autism is and aren’t always interested in her experiences; instead, they are quick to judge her behavior from their own limited understanding. Tally keeps a diary that is half reflection on her daily life, half explanations of autism written at her own level, which she dreams of someday showing to the world so that they will understand autism as an experience, not just a clinical diagnosis. The diary is a great tool within the book, since it provides a way to explain different aspects of Tally’s autism which are then depicted in the narrative part of the story, keeping the whole thing from feeling too preachy.
Tally is a great character; she is complex, flawed and endearing in ways that are both related to her autism and also just specific to her as a person. Probably because of how much she is based on a real person, she feels very much like a real eleven-year old. The story itself is pretty straightforward but enlivened by the intense emotions brought out in Tally.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Ableism
The main character is autistic and experiences ableism and bullying. The narrative condemns these but not every situation is resolved in a way that feels fair.jesse_5's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is the second time I have read this book . The first was well before i had even considered I was autistic (myself many other people had mentioned it) and then nearly a year after being diagnosed. This book is truly incredible it made me learn about myself so much initially and has helped me learn to unmask.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Bullying
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Vomit
No one does vomit in the book but Tally briefly mentions she feels like she is going tomirte21's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Ableism
antimony's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
obviously it is really great to have more ownvoices books with autistic main characters, especially showing different experiences! but i think that this focused too much on tally's struggles and didn't give her a chance to get any joy until the end. like i feel like each chapter jumps from meltdown to meltdown big event to big event and tally never gets a chance to just be happy. like she likes taylor swift, give her a scene to infodump to someone about her music or something! i also wasn't the biggest fan of the writing but i can forgive that considering that it is for a much younger target audience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
lindseyisreading's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism and Bullying
vickie18's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Minor: Abandonment
13megreads's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Bullying
Be mindful if you have some unpleasant memories from when you started secondary school (or whatever the equivalent is), because it is very realistic to what that is like.flordemaga's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Ableism
ashylibrarian's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This was an eye-opening book as an own-voices narrative is told through the perspective of Tally, a sixth-grader who is dealing with so much. I had a difficult time listening to this book, mainly due to the bullying and lack of support from family and friends. Tally's character tries to fit in with the other kids at school, but it seems like everything that could go wrong went wrong. It was heartbreaking to hear about the way her peers treat her, and at certain points, I honestly felt nauseous because of what people were saying to her. Tally's character, however, still finds ways to dig deep and discover who she is really trying to be. She strives to help others understand what it is like to have ASD and the lists and tips she creates are helpful to both the other characters as well as the readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Emotional abuse
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