Neurodivergence
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Fish in a Tree
Author: Lynda Mullaly Hunt Fish in a Tree is about a young 6th grader, Ally, who has struggled with reading her entire life. Every time she tries, the words swirl around the page, so she has spent most of her school years pretending she can read and getting upset when having to do reading/writing projects. But Ally’s struggles are getting harder to hide; and when Ally’s new teacher, Mr. Daniels, suggests she might be dyslexic, Ally starts to finally understand herself better and embrace who she is. This book is a very good portrayal of learning disabilities! While I’m not dyslexic, I have dyscalculia, which effects how I view numbers…
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Like a Charm
Author: Elle Mcnicoll Like a Charm is about a dyspraxic Scottish girl, Ramya, who was close to her grandfather as a little kid but they ended up becoming estranged after her parents disapproved of things he was saying to her. Years later, after his death, Ramya learns that Edinburgh is full of magical creatures like kelpie and vampires and she is the only one who can see them; but not all of the creatures are wonderful—and soon Ramya will come face to face with the evil sirens her grandfather warned her of long ago. This book, the first ever book I’ve read with dyspraxia rep, was very interesting. I really…
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Fangirl
TW/CW: parental abandonment and theme of mental illness (specifically social anxiety, bipolar disorder and alcoholism) Fangirl is about an 18-year old, Cath, who is going off to college and is quite nervous since it’s the first time she’s going to be all on her own without her twin sister Wren at her side. Cath is also worried about her dad, who struggles with bipolar and is not very good at being alone. Cath finds comfort in writing fan fiction for her favorite book series of all time, the Simon Snow series, and she’s one of the most well-known fan-fiction writers online. When she meets her tough-love new roommate and her…
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Night in the Woods
Designers: Alec Holowka, Scott Benson and Bethany Hockenberry TW/CW: theme of mental illness, violence, cults, d*aths of characters Night in the Woods, set in a world of anthropomorphic animals, is about a cat named Mae Borowski who, after dropping out of college due to a mental health crisis, moves back in with her parents in her dying hometown of Possum Springs. When a creepy incident happens after Mae reunites with her high school friends (Bea, Gregg and Angus), Mae realizes something disturbing is going on in town and works to figure out what it is while battling her own mental health crisis. This video game is so good! The graphics…
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The Mysterious Benedict Society
Author: Trenton Lee Stewart The Mysterious Benedict Society is about four gifted children—Reynie, Sticky, Kate and Constance—who, after seeing an ad in the newspaper and taking multiple weird tests, are recruited by Mr. Benedict to go undercover at the Institution for the Very Enlightened to observe an odd man, Mr. Curtain, who may be hypnotizing people all over the world into believing very strange things. This book is the first in a series of four books (and there’s a prequel about Mr. Benedict’s childhood which is separated from these four books for some reason). This book was very interesting, I thought the characters were amusing and I was curious to…
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Coraline
Author: Neil Gaiman TW/CW: kidnapping; implied d*aths of children Coraline is about a girl, Coraline, who moves into a mysterious house with her clueless parents. While exploring the house, Coraline finds a mysterious door that leads to another world, a world where she has a new set of parents who actually seem to care about her. But the more Coraline goes to this other place, the harder it is leave. When Coraline discovers some disturbing things in this alternate reality called the Other World, it’s up to her and a moody cat to find their way out. While I’m not usually one to go for the horror genre, this book…
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Radio Silence
TW/CW: abusive parent; theme of mental illness Radio Silence is about a teen girl, Frances, who is very studious and acts like school is all she cares about when in reality she’s hiding her true personality. Then, Frances meets Aled, who’s a lot like her, and who is also secretly the host of her favorite podcast Radio Silence; for the first time ever, Frances finally has someone she feels like she can be herself around. When their friendship hits a rough spot, both Frances and Aled are forced to confront parts of their life they wish to forget. This book is literally one of the best YA books I’ve ever…
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Show Us Who You Are
Author: Elle McNicoll Show Us Who You are is about an autistic teen, Cora, who is dealing with a newer autism diagnosis and grieving the loss of her mother, along with her father and brother, at the same time. After being forced to go to a party by her family, Cora meets a boy, Adrian, who is also neurodivergent, and two end up becoming best friends. Adrian’s dad is the CEO of a company called Pomegranate Technologies, which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to re-create people who have passed away. However, Cora starts to notice a dark side to the company and it’s up to her to stop its plans before…
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Keeper of the Lost Cities
Author: Shannon Messenger Keeper of the Lost Cities is about a 12-year-old girl, Sophie Foster, who is a high school senior and child prodigy and who has never felt like she’s belonged anywhere (most especially since she can hear other peoples’ thoughts). When a boy named Fitz meets Sophie and reveals to her that she is an elf and a telepath, Sophie is stunned. But, even after Fitz takes Sophie to the Lost Cities (where elves and other fantasy creatures live), Sophie still feels like an outcast. When Sophie learns of a threat that threatens both the human and the elf worlds, she needs to find some way to save…
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Fruits Basket (2019 version)
Fruits Basket is about Tohru Honda, a girl who ends up staying with three members of the Sohma clan (most of the clan aren’t related) after they find her homeless and living in a tent. Tohru finds out that thirteen of the Sohmas are part of the Zodiac curse, meaning that every time they hug someone that’s not their gender (like a boy hugging a girl) they transform into the Zodiac animals; but the Zodiac curse is not as cute as it looks. The Sohmas have suffered for who they are, some of them even being rejected by their own parents. The two Sohmas the anime mostly focuses on are…