Wow wow wow. As soon as I picked this book up (on the day it was released because I have to be like that for some reason), I became engrossed in PaigeWow wow wow. As soon as I picked this book up (on the day it was released because I have to be like that for some reason), I became engrossed in Paige's writing and finished it less than 24 hours later. She describes her experience growing up while unknowingly autistic, getting diagnosed at age 15, learning to unmask, and becoming a popular autistic educator on TikTok that had my attention the whole way through. It was great to learn more about her experiences, as a book can tell a much fuller story than a video online. There is much in this book that I found relatable, as both Paige and I are Canadian, female, Gen Z, high academic achievers, and found out we are autistic in our teenage years. Her description of what it is like to struggle so much with "ordinary" tasks and become convinced that you are a defective type of person as a result really resonated with me since I have had a similar experience. Unlike her, I have not been able to access an autism diagnosis. In fact, it was through watching her videos as a lonely, anxious, and possibly depressed grade-12 student that I first learned what autism is and began questioning if it applied to my life. I know some people are annoyed by the increasing information about autism online and are skeptical of self-diagnosis. The fact is, online autism advocacy made a big difference to me and Paige is a part of that. Please read this book if you want to understand autistic people better. Read it if you are autistic or are wondering if you might be. Read it if you care about supporting disabled people because the best way to do that is to hear from disabled people themselves. Read it, and maybe then, you will be able to see that autism is nothing bad, wrong, or scary....more
I cannot express in words how happy reading this book made me feel. It brought back memories of me reading The Lightning Thief for the first time in gI cannot express in words how happy reading this book made me feel. It brought back memories of me reading The Lightning Thief for the first time in grade six. Written entirely from Percy's POV, it is about a quest he goes on with Annabeth and Grover in order to get a college recommendation letter. Percy may be a bit older than he was in the original five books, but this one still contains all of the humour, fun moments, and peculiar chapter titles that made those first books so well-loved....more
**spoiler alert** I struggled to decide what rating to give this book, but I eventually decided on three stars. Before I started reading it, I thought**spoiler alert** I struggled to decide what rating to give this book, but I eventually decided on three stars. Before I started reading it, I thought for sure that it would be five stars and as an autistic Canadian myself, I was excited to read my first book with an autistic Canadian main character. Of course, I loved many things in the book, but sadly, it didn't meet my expectations.
I'll start by naming what I liked in the book and what I thought it did well. 1. Features an autistic female protagonist who is diagnosed as a teenager. 2. Griffin (one of the love interests) because he is such a nice guy. 3. Involves a musical at school where Jessie is given a major role and discovers that she loves acting. 4. Seeing Jessie's special interest in nineties pop culture even though I know absolutely nothing about it. 5. Set in Canada and mostly in a high school; something I can relate to. 6. The fact that Jessie gets her first phone in grade nine, which is the same grade I was in when I got my phone. Literally everyone else in my grade at school had one before I did, so I totally get Jessie's frustration with her over-controlling parents.
Now for the things I didn't like. 1. Levi because he is a lazy slacker. 2. Levi because he smokes pot at age 16. 3. Levi because he drinks alcohol at age 16. 4. Levi because he has no morals and no sense of commitment. 5. Levi because is a jerk who manipulates a disabled girl for his own gain. 6. Levi because he claims to love Jessie but doesn't know what real love is. 7. Levi because he repeatedly touches Jessie in ways that make her uncomfortable. 8. Levi because he tries to get Jessie to kiss him while he is dating the nastiest girl at school. 9. Levi because many of his despicable actions such as those listed above are never condemned by the book. And finally... 10. Jessie because she never punches Levi in the face.
Levi gets off way too easily at the end of the book. Sure, he and Jessie are no longer together, but after everything he did, there is no denying that he is a complete and utter jerk. The guy couldn't even manage a decent apology. All of this high school relationship drama is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of and it makes me so glad to be aro ace and not have to deal with this kind of trash....more
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