To start with, I'm so glad that an autistic tween had a hand in making this book. I appreciate the commitment to an authentic voice and portrayal that will help readers get a better example of what autism can look like.

However, I struggled a bit with this book. As someone who was definitely an undiagnosed neurodivergent kid, I can relate a lot to Tally's struggles: the ostracization from other kids, the meltdowns, the little rituals to make things feel okay. All of those moments rang so true. But it felt like Tally never really got a lot of time to breathe. Each chapter ended in either a meltdown or a misunderstanding or Tally was so stressed out it was hard to move on just to be treated with more of the same. There were positive moments, like her moments with Rupert or her drama teacher actually being a good ally to her, but they felt so few and far between comparatively. It felt so cyclical after a while that I sped up my audiobook just so that I can get through it a bit faster.

Also, while Tally's emotions are valid and come from the exhaustion of having to mask all the time, she says some really hurtful things to her family that she never apologizes for. Emotional regulation can be hard for autistic kids, especially when every emotion feels so big and they all move so fast through you. But it doesn't excuse harmful behavior. 

The whole thing with Luke also rubbed me the wrong way, how he was able to get away with so much and then gets a get out of jail free card with "Oh if I had known you were autistic I wouldn't have bullied you." Which...isn't the problem. Bullying is wrong no matter who you do it to. 

Though I have a rocky relationship with this book, I could see fans of Wonder and Out of my Mind enjoying this one.