An Autistic Author Recommends Autistic Kidlit
Let’s talk about some great kidlit books with autistic representation. There are so many more that could be included—but these are some of my favorites.
Meg Eden Kuyatt
The Complicated Politics of Passing as Neurotypical—and Writing as Autistic
Maybe there’s a reason autistic authors have often opted to write neurotypical characters. Maybe it’s proven to be more sellable and “believable” than their own experience. I’m upset, wondering how many wonderful autistic stories we’re missing out on as a world because of neurotypical gatekeeping.
Book Review: The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn
The Fire, The Water, and Maudie McGinn is an absolutely wonderful, important book for kids that don’t have a voice and may not be able to identify abuse or know how to talk about it. Fantastic for autistic and allistic readers alike.
On Writing Neurodivergent Characters
I had poured so much of myself into my protagonist. When my agent called my character childish, naive, and vulnerable, I couldn’t help but feel she was calling me childish, naive, and vulnerable.
Autism in Fiction: Reviewing A Kind of Spark, by Elle McNicoll
Reading A Kind of Spark, I felt a part of myself represented and explained on the page that I’d never seen anywhere else before. I feel so much for Addie, the 12-year-old autistic main character: How she puts herself in the historical stories of witches, and how the injustice of their history upsets her, while others seem detached.