No, seriously. Written by an Autistic Girl for Autistic
Girls, the author writes eloquently and with intelligence, but with enough
oversight to make it very easily readable, as well as easily able to be
digested (unlike that last sentence...ugh.). It doesn’t read as too childish,
which can happen when an adult writes for children. There is some
repetitiveness at the beginning of the chapters, but this is something that is
common in Non-Fiction, so is not an issue.
I love love love the different cartoons (which, reading via
the Kindle app on my phone, were small and hard to see), they were cute without
being babyish, and I was so happy to see a variety of races, abilities,
appearances etc. Being an eARC I can’t comment on how it will look in the final
publication, but it was laid out and simple to follow in my copy.
The author was wonderful about showing suggestions. When she
spoke of the varying sensory issues she herself faced, such as clothing tags or
uncomfortable clothing that she was required to wear, she also gave many
suggestions on how she does and how the reader could potentially mitigate
these. There was a definite understanding on the part of the reader that
although she had given you a half page of suggestions, there were more out
there and you should try until you find a way that works for you. She also made
it seem like a normal, run of the mill issue, so that was nice.
Some subjects I felt could have been expanded on somewhat,
such as sex and sexuality, but I do understand that this is seen as a private
topic for many and can understand why it was left open. I did like that every
single topic was left open and given suggestions on how to find out more
information. The links at the back of the book were numerous, and also the
referencing of books that the author used was well done, allowing parents or
girls to read more if they chose to.
I was glad to see m-to-f trans kids included as “Girls”,
after all, if that’s how they identify, then that's what they are. I do wish
there had been a little about f-to-m, but as it is a guide for girls I kind of
understand it.
Speaking of trans and lgbt+, I loved that the author
acknowledged that “coming out to yourself” is an important and often difficult
step, and how some people would never go further than that, and that that was
their decision and totally OK. Also all relationships someone may get into were
treated as the same, regardless of the gender/sexual orientation!
Bullying was a recurrent theme, and I liked that the author
gave ways to stand up to bullies, as well as genuine examples from her own
life, but also that she acknowledged that teachers can be complicit in the
bullying, or even be the bully themselves. I think the biggest thing I took
away from this was that despite the fact that many Autistic people struggle
with communication, it is important to have people you can communicate well
with, and to lean on them and keep them in the loop if things are not going
well.
The author gives so much information in this book I could
talk all day. Honestly, if you are Autistic, if you have social skills that
leave you struggling with communication with your peers, if you have an
Autistic child/niece/nephew/grandchild/godchild - read this book.
Content Warning: Discussions of bullying, self harm,
menstruation
Overall Rating: 4.5 stars.
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