Anna Whateley

Representation: Main character with autism, sensory processing disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Trigger warnings: Ableism

6.5/10, I don't know about what to think of this book, the writing style felt very formulaic and robotic, I did like all the disorder representations though Peta's thoughts detract away from the main story and I hated Peta's self-critical voice which is telling her to be "normal" (since she has 3 mental disorders), it was kind of a struggle to read that. There was a relationship with Peta and Sam, but Peta cheated on a man which I found it to be a very strange decision by her. As I read this book, Peta's character turned into a miserable person who sulks all the time and she was redeemed way too quickly however I'm glad her self-critical voice is gone now. The only interesting thing about this was the normal scale out of 10 made by Peta at the end of each chapter which was interesting. I recommend A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll, if you want a better book about autism which I really enjoyed. On the plus side it's authentic so there's that.… (mehr)

Interesting tale of a gay autistic girl's struggles to make it through each day and her first real love being a girl. Peta has been abandoned by her parents and lives with her aunt because her parents can't cope with her autistic behaviour. She is very high functioning and attends an alternative college where she is friends with a lovely guy called Jeb who has his own issues (His father beats him and wants Jeb to be a mechanic but Jeb wants something else.) Just before the school ski trip, a new girl called Sam comes into their friendship circle, and on the trip Peta realises that she has fallen in love with Sam. There are then all sorts of twists and turns as Sam first accepts Peta but then they have a misunderstanding as she is not sure how to handle Peta's autism.
The need for Peta to self talk herself into a "rating normal"I think will ring true for many other autistic girls reading this book, as the author has autism so is drawing on her own experiences. Some of the backstory is heartbreaking and the scene where Peta and Sam kiss on the bed at the ski camp means this is for mature readers, but generally this is a very believable and touching story of first love and its ups and downs.… (mehr)