fridaymouse's Reviews (29)

This book was such a treat! I devoured it in just a couple days and I think it would be a great read for all ages. I think everyone can find a piece of themselves in the main character, and I'm a man who's been out of high school for a while now.

I'll definitely be re-reading it later if Randall's next book is a sequel. Or if I need a pick me up in a hard time. The main character's anxieties and narration make me think of being 17 again, but her adolescence comes with so much cathartic growth, change and support that I wish I got growing up. I think this book would be empowering for anyone with anxiety.

There was really unnatural dialogue when some of the characters talk about race, gender, etc. At times, it felt like the characters mentioning their race or other attributes served as exposition rather than conversation.

This book was challenging for me emotionally, but I appreciated all the gears it got turning in my head. A book to pour over to help you think, more than a book to sit down with for leisure. I loved every second, even the parts that were awful to bear witness to. Spending so much intimate time with Celie's thoughts made her character arc all the more satisfying. The book made me feel empowered, and I think it would do that for anyone regardless of their history.

The intro left a sour taste in my mouth. It felt like a book from the 17th century that was going to explain and sell me a cure-all. It was trying to make me think my life would get better in every way if I followed Marie Kondo's method— and that every other method was wrong. Her testimonials had little to do with tidying, and everything to do with how much better people's lives were after working with Marie. Like an advertisement for a shake weight.

I am disabled, and the idea of a book that preaches I should not make adaptations to fit my lifestyle, and that made me feel guilty for that from just the introduction, is not a self help book that I need. The intro does not take into account the vastness of human experiences and needs, especially for people with mental and physical health challenges that will render it very difficult to follow Kondo's methods.

What an enchanting read! We need more fantasy for queer youth. Ostertag delivers on that.

CW for two scenes that depict near-death drowning experiences.

I fell in love with the work. It made me feel like I got a deeper understanding of things my partner talks about, being nonbinary and asexual, using words that I feel like she struggles to find at times. It helped me find some words for my own feelings and experiences too. I am so grateful to this work and it's author.

I was just bored. I think the only interesting part for some adult readers would be the codes, which I don't have a ton of interest in right now.

Maybe a good read for healing your inner child. Might scare kids (and some adults) if they're sensitive to the paranormal, since it's treated as real.

A lot of reviews for this memoir are super harsh, and I can't really see why. I thought it was well funny. Not laugh out loud, but "exhale out of your nose" funny. A lot of negative reviews seem to lean towards the political correctness of the author, and his presentation of his experience with autism. 

For example, someone seemed upset that Michael (correctly) asserts that someone can't be "a little autistic". The spectrum isn't a line from a little to a lot, but more of a circle where some symptoms are present and others aren't. Michael explains this and other information about autism and his experiences clearly. Other people are upset when he uses identity or person first language— even though he specifies at the beginning that he will do both. Michael also specifies that only a doctor can diagnose autism— I don't think he does this to gatekeep. I think it's to cover his ass so he doesn't get sued when he later talks about suspecting his friends of being autistic.

Reviews explaining their dislike of the author really feel like a "holier-than-thou" attitude. If you expect the author to be human, trying his best but not perfect (and not a voice for all autistic people), you'll enjoy this memoir. Leave any autism infighting or gatekeeping at the door. I really appreciated Michael's respect for those of us with autism who cannot be as independent as him. Even though his perspective is more common than others as an early diagnosed white man with support, I still found value in his story.

In Michael's words from the Resources section: "Do what I did: I had a look, applied some critical thinking to what I found, and decided to use what worked for me."

If you listen to the audiobook, download the supplemental material ahead of time. I wish that it was presented as a PDF /ATTACHED/ to the audiobook like other audiobooks I have read. (It may well be— my copy came from the library, though.) Having it hosted on the publisher's website is just asking for it to become lost media. That's the only reason it loses .25 stars.