rickjones's Reviews (1.66k)

This book was so refreshing and affirming to read. Khai and Esme quickly endeared themselves to me, and it was almost painful to read times where they misunderstood each other's emotions, and their own. Their love for each other was so rich, but expressed in simple gestures. I think that made it even easier to feel immersed in their story. 

I felt empowered and understood reading a story where an autistic young man was learning to detangle his emotions and accept that the absence of love he thought he felt for others was really an abundance of it that he never knew how to process. Shamefully, there are some people who still think autistic individuals don't know how to experience love for other people, and this gross misunderstanding can sometimes seep into our own views of our emotions as well. It's such a relief to read a story that passionately pushes against that mistruth, and with writing that was so sharply relatable.

I also enjoyed that Esme was such a strong character. She was determined, witty, and hardworking, but also vulnerable and incredibly loving towards herself, her family, and Khai. It came naturally to wish her all the success she was after. 

I highly recommend this book to other readers. I felt like it spoke to my soul in a way, and would love to read it again. 

This was a really relatable story about a young woman who learns to stand up for herself and embrace her differences after realizing she is autistic. This book was definitely written to be informative, so some passages felt like they were written more for the benefit of allistic readers. This isn't necessarily a flaw, but I know it can bug some people to read stories that are about their experience but prioritize the learning of those outside of it. 

It saddened me to learn how behind France is on understanding their autistic citizens. Things are far from perfect in many countries with more autism resources and organizations though, as a number of them do more harm than good. It's unfortunate that Applied Behavior Analysis was mentioned in the back of this book as a 'time-tested method' to help autistic children, when we now know that many of these children grow up with severe trauma that went undetected or misunderstood by their Applied Behavior Analysis practitioners, alongside their doctors and family. I highly recommend researching viewpoints provided by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network for more information on how to raise autistic children healthily, and with respect to their individual needs. 

In regards to the art, I felt it was really clever to use the color red to express the overwhelming noises and social world surrounding Marguerite. I have sensory difficulties with colors, with red being the most overstimulating one, so this artistic choice was extremely affective for me. I could really feel Marguerite's distress in those pages. The use of color as Marguerite gained more confidence and made peace with the accomodations she needed was also very striking. The repetitive and well-paced panels skillfully helped pull the reader into understanding Marguerite's routines and social awkwardness. Altogether I feel this is a strong story, though I did have some issues with the information presented in it. I would recommend this comic to readers who want to understand more about autism, or to see themselves reflected in this story, but please don't let this be the only information on autism you read. 

This is the first romance novel I've read featuring an autistic protagonist, but won't be the last, thanks to Helen Hoang. I definitely found Stella to be a relatable portrayal of an anxious autistic person. It was highly rewarding to witness her self esteem blossom, especially since many of her behaviors and insecurities reflected my own.

Truth be told, I've avoided romantic attachments like the plague my entire adult life, worrying that any attempt at one would end as Stella's first three had,

where she was essentially sexually assaulted after becoming too overwhelmed to participate in the act or even to say no to it

. This justifiable anxiety has weighed on me since I was a young teenager, but these things are embarrassing and scary to discuss, so I've never known how to work past it. I've desperately needed a story like this to remind me that there are people out there who will be empathic to my struggling social skills and tendency to lock up and lose some or all ability to speak when nervous. Anyone else is not worth spending time and heartbreak on, but it would never be my fault if someone exploits my trouble saying no. Like Stella, many autistic people are interested in romantic relationships and sex and need to be educated on how to enjoy them safely, which includes understanding our undeniable right to protect ourselves from predators and feel no obligation to please them. Stella's story starts when she hasn't fully grasped this truth, but Michael's genuine respect and love for her eventually emboldens her to feel those emotions towards herself, and to seek out what primarily pleases her. 

This book is sweet, sensual, and sparkling with energy, but I think its most shining merit is how it reminds autistic readers that we deserved to be loved wholeheartedly, and should never view our worth through the lens of those who have previously exploited us or leveled unfair expectations against us. Stella's journey with Michael teaches her, and by extension, the reader, that she is perfectly lovely as she is. Autistic romantics, and the world in general, were achingly in need of this story.

This was a brilliant book from beginning to end. The characters and the influences they created in their world read so realistically that at times I had to remind myself that this wasn't a biography. This is a book about music and journalism, and the combination of the two, but primarily this is a story about Opal. Each of the characters presented have their own complexities, but Opal seems most lovingly depicted. She's both courageous and terrified, heroic and disappointing, wise and ignorant. It felt impossible to not love her right back, to understand her and root for her, and wish for her a more loving world.

So many lines in this story really resonated with me, but my favorite had to be Opal's statement, "He saw me as I was, and still he seemed to be choosing me. It's a basic thing, but I had never in my life been chosen before. You understand what that means? I'm saying here was this stranger, clearly as crazy as I was, this person who dropped into my life out of nowhere, and he was reaching out his hand. What could I do but take it? What could I do but choose him back?". These few lines were so affective, and pulled me into Opal's view even deeper. When they were echoed near the end I nearly held my breath, all while reading towards the fate of Opal & Nev's final revival.

I would recommend this book to other readers. I found the interview format it was written in really interesting, as it provided space to hear many different characters' voices and perspectives on some of the same events. I also recommend going through the content warnings first though. Scenes of the racist violence Opal, Jimmy and Sunny were made to endure were devastating to read, especially since these characters felt so real. There's definitely much more that can be said about this story and how well it's told, and I'm sure it will stick in my memory for a long time

This is such a beautiful book. Multiple times I re-read passages to ensure I fully absorbed their words and weight. The pages shine with poetry and reflections on grief, and end more rewardingly than I had dared to hope. I highly suggest reading. 

I feel like I don't have much to say about this book, besides how much I loved it. Ben and Nathan's friendship-turned-relationship is so sweet and charming, it made this book a joy to read. I also thought Ben and Hannah's rocky but slowly healing relationship was rewarding to follow. This story does have some rough moments, but I still felt it was empowering throughout. I'm glad to have read it and highly recommend that others do too.

This book was a wonderful experience to read, even during the most terrifying passages. As an East Coast boy who grew up dreaming what it would be like to leave to the West, the back cover description immediately drew me in, and the story only got more engrossing from there. Even the passages describing things that should have been sort of dull made me want to read without stopping. 

I loved following Ron's journey from wanting to prove himself as a 'real' man to learning to accept himself as a transgender one. That sort of grieving denial isn't always approached with wisdom in our community, and definitely not by the world at large. Once Ron realized that he does have the option to come out to people and be treated with respect and kindness, his surprise mirrored my own. When you spend your life being rejected for being transgender, and experiencing or witnessing violence towards those who are out, it really does get difficult to remember that all people aren't out to harm you. And equally importantly, it can be hard to remember that when people do wish to harm you, you don't have to withstand that violence alone.

The most rewarding part of this book for me was reading about Ron finding a place to belong and feel like himself

in the Forest Service

. A little over a year ago I quit working at a place where I always felt a sense of terror simmering under my surface, knowing that the guys I worked with were the tough, masculine type who'd call me slurs or possibly do something even worse if I didn't earn their respect. After leaving that job and entering more accepting and less aggressive environment, it's hard to even make sense of why I felt like it was necessary to earn their type of twisted respect at all. It seemed like safety at the time, but as I'm growing up and growing older and growing less angry, I'm learning that what matters is to surround yourself with people who respect who you are when you're not putting on a courageous front, and you love you, and who will stand up for you. Through those types of people, we learn to know and respect ourselves. Essentially, I feel like Ron discovered the same thing, and it was reliving to witness. The only qualm I really had with this story was the significance age gap between him and his love interest. It wasn't really predatory, but I still found it unnecessary and off-putting. 

I would definitely recommend this story to other readers. I didn't find it difficult to read, and it was easy to get lost in the pages describing Ron's life in the West. The story does get very upsetting in some parts though, so I'd also recommend going through the list of content warnings first.