I'm an autistic educator and I really wanted to like this book.
On the first read it seemed like a sweet story, but something didn't sit quite right with me.
I only figured it out when I read the page about the author and illustrator.

The story itself never uses the word autism - only that Leo has difficulties with 'living on the wrong planet' and feeling like an 'alien', that he doesn't know much about friendship, is shown to have sensory sensitivities, becomes heavily interested in information about his new octopus friends and then infodumps on the new child who joins the story later.

The word autism only appears in the author/illustrator page and the blurb, and never as Leo being autistic, but 'having autism' and a 'child with autism'.

Marinov's experience with autism comes from her son, and her reading of 'The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome' by Tony Attwood - a (as far as I know, neurotypical) controversial psychologist who still uses the term Asperger's/Aspie despite it's outdated terminology, and reviewed the story for Marinov.

The illustrations are beautiful, and the tiny details like the headphones, the colours, the framing... this could have been so good. Unfortunately it falls very far from the mark for a book released so recently.