Scan barcode
A review by alisazhup
A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
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
4.0
"Autistic."
He stops. "What's that?"
"I'm autistic. I don't have autism; I am autistic."
It's better to be open about who you really are, what you're really like, and be disliked by a few than it is to hide who you are and be tolerated by many.
It was refreshing to read a book with an autistic protagonist written by an autistic author! I hope that it will be a new trend for explicitly neurodivergent characters to be included in literature. It is going to be so important for this book to be on shelves available for elementary and middle school children to read.
This book depicts:
-Ableism (comments like "You don't look autistic" and "You must be high functioning," the r slur, bullying)
-Autistic burnout
-Sensory issues (bright lights, loud noises, touch)
-Autistic meltdowns
-Special interests
-Difficulties with socializing (friendships, reading faces, understanding emotions, eye contact, hyper-empathy)
-Systemic issues with the school system and autistic people being taken away to psychiatric hospitals
-Common autistic misconceptions (that autistic people don't have empathy or can't think for themselves, that autism is a disease or a mental illness, that autistic people want to be cured, person first vs identity first language)
-Families with autistic children
He stops. "What's that?"
"I'm autistic. I don't have autism; I am autistic."
It's better to be open about who you really are, what you're really like, and be disliked by a few than it is to hide who you are and be tolerated by many.
It was refreshing to read a book with an autistic protagonist written by an autistic author! I hope that it will be a new trend for explicitly neurodivergent characters to be included in literature. It is going to be so important for this book to be on shelves available for elementary and middle school children to read.
This book depicts:
-Ableism (comments like "You don't look autistic" and "You must be high functioning," the r slur, bullying)
-Autistic burnout
-Sensory issues (bright lights, loud noises, touch)
-Autistic meltdowns
-Special interests
-Difficulties with socializing (friendships, reading faces, understanding emotions, eye contact, hyper-empathy)
-Systemic issues with the school system and autistic people being taken away to psychiatric hospitals
-Common autistic misconceptions (that autistic people don't have empathy or can't think for themselves, that autism is a disease or a mental illness, that autistic people want to be cured, person first vs identity first language)
-Families with autistic children
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Bullying
Moderate: Forced institutionalization