A review by kleonard
Music for Tigers by Michelle Kadarusman

1.0

In this novel, a young violinist gets sent to Australia for the summer, where she learns that her family protects animals thought to be extinct. I had a lot of problems with this book. The plot is a mostly fine, but the narrator is pretty unlikeable and doesn't get any better; there's an autistic character about whom everyone talks, but is rarely allowed to speak for himself; the music terminology is off; and none of the characters are more than cardboard cut-outs. I'm used to writers screwing up musical things (no musician ever says "I'm going to go practice my musical scales."), but I'm very unhappy about the way the autistic character is created and treated. Adults speak about him right in front of him; his mom asks the narrator to befriend him; even the narrator ends up speaking for him instead of letting him speak in situations. It's infuriating and hurts autistics (like me). In the endnotes, the author acknowledges a special ed teacher: is that the only person she spoke with in writing an autistic character? Did she talk to autistic kids? Having an autistic character is great; using one as nothing more than a plot device or teaching tool is bad.