**TW: Eating disorders**

I really enjoyed the premise of On the Spectrum and I loved the characters, but I felt like the plot lagged in the beginning and absolutely sped through the most important parts of Clara’s character development. After about 30 minutes of reading, I was wondering if I was reading a different book than the synopsis had promised when I requested it on NetGalley – and that’s never a good feeling.

Had everything felt more balanced, I would’ve rated this much higher. I loved the adventures of Alistair and Clara, and I thought the romance was appropriate and perfect – it didn’t distract from the sibling bonding that was far more important.



The writing

Nothing about Jennifer Gold’s writing did or did not stand out in On the Spectrum – not much to say here. I do love that she didn’t try to insert French into every single opportunity, only when it felt organic and natural. So many authors, when using multiple languages or sending characters to far-off countries, love to just throw in a few phrases here and there to remind everyone, “Hey, they’re in Spain!” and I’ve always found it obnoxious. I can’t keep up with it.

The characters

Clara is a 16 year old girl struggling with a dangerous and unhealthy obsession with eating healthy. It is haunting to hear some of the things she says and thinks, but I thought Gold painted her and her eating disorder with a realistic, albeit horrifying, brush. I’m thankful that Clara has a temper and loses her patience with Alistair, that she doesn’t fall madly in love with Michel but instead just acts on her feelings for him and lets that grow over time and that she doesn’t outright hate her father, just doesn’t know him. I think there was the opportunity for a lot of melodrama in Clara’s character. Minus a few parts of the plot, that wasn’t the case.

And Alistair is pretty amazing for a 6-year-old kid. Alistair is high functioning and is on the spectrum, and he is bullied in school for being different. But he loves food and loves to cook, and he wants very badly to be brave. I love watching him build a relationship with Clara. And I love when Clara apologizes and Alistair responds, “Why? You didn’t do anything.” He doesn’t realize that he is everything Clara needed that summer in Paris, but he really put her pieces back together.

The plot

This is what got me. Enough to go from a solid four-star read to two stars.

I blew through On the Spectrum in about two and a half hours, split between two plane rides, but I feel like I spent most of that time reading about Clara in New York with her mother and not in Paris with Alistair and her dad, where most of the actual plot development and character development happens. It takes forever, so it feels, to get Clara to Paris.

I’m not wild about the moment that pushes Clara to decide to up and leave New York, either. She kisses a boy at a party and he ends up being an aspiring investigative reporter and tweets about kissing her and then tweets the shitty things she said about her mother’s friend? I don’t know. Obviously, nothing like this has ever happened to me, so I can’t relate… but I would’ve been more likely to buy this plot point if Jacques had been pissed at Clara or if her mother had. It just didn’t feel right to me that she’d leave her life in New York over something like this.

And once Clara is in Paris, everything moves so quickly. It’s lovely to watch Clara and Alistair become close and to see Alistair start to trust his sister, but I had less than 30 minutes left in the book (thanks for that, Kindle!) when she blows up on Michel at a fancy dinner he arranged for her, learns that her mother broke her hip, admits out loud that she has an eating disorder, gives Alistair a nut-infested cookie, sends Alistair to the ER and reunites with Michel. Are you tired? I was.

In conclusion…

I loved this sweet, sweet story about Clara learning to love herself and learning to love Alistair all at once. It really was an enjoyable read, not at all miserable – I just needed more from the plot than the quick minute lap around Paris that I got.

It was such a unique book, I hadn't read anything like it before.

What a fabulous, sweet, heartwarming story.

The summary failed to mention any romance when actually there was quite a bit. However it wasn't the main focus of the story and thankfully our MC's problems didn't suddenly disappear when she met a boy.

The main focus was on family, with real relationships between parents and children and sibling relationships (from a split family), and the problems that the family have with autism and eating disorders. I thought the problems were handled so well, with no quick fixes but with realistic reactions and outcomes.

The characters in the book were flawed but adorable, especially the little brother Alistair who I just wanted to scoop up and hug.

All that, with great descriptions of both Paris and food made this a great read.

On the Spectrum follows 16-year-old Clara as she travels Paris for the summer. Clara’s running from a social media scandal that threatens her social status as well as her mother, a famous ballerina. Additionally, Clara’s running from her orthorexia, an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating and exercise that she refuses to believe is a problem for her. In Paris, she stays with her father and his wife and their 6-year-old son, Alistair, who is on the autism spectrum. As Clara spends time with Alistair exploring Paris, she must come to terms with her own existence on a spectrum of disordered eating.

Clara’s voice is incredibly compelling. Although she lives in New York and attends a private school, she’s aware of her privileges and doesn’t want to be seen as just a spoiled kid. She struggles with similar issues to a lot of teenagers, from body image issues to how to survive in a cliquish high school environment.

I’m admittedly not entirely familiar with autism spectrum disorders, but I felt that Alistair’s character was pretty realistic. He doesn’t understand a lot of jokes or expressions and he often speaks bluntly about what he thinks. Throughout the story, Clara tries to help him become more “cool” in the way he dresses, while also encouraging him that there’s nothing wrong with being different. Their relationship was downright heart-warming and definitely drives the story.

I’ve read a few books that deal with eating disorders, but I’d never heard of orthorexia until I read this book. Clara’s food issues were a big part of her character journey; at times it got to be a little too much, but I still felt it was pretty realistic. That being said, I don’t think this book is designed for readers struggling with eating issues, and I can imagine it might be pretty triggering.

Clara’s orthorexia stems in part from her relationship with her mother, a famous ballerina who has her own food issues that ultimately result in some serious health complications. One of the first scenes in the book is Clara’s memory of Halloween as a child, when her mom only allowed her to eat one candy bar. Her whole childhood was built around fear of becoming fat, which explains why she winds up with orthorexia.

One of the things that did bother me about the eating disorder storyline is that most of the book takes place before Clara admits that she has a problem. She’s completely in denial, which is realistic, but we don’t really get to see much of her actual recovery journey.

This was another one of those books where I felt like the romance was gratuitous. I enjoyed reading about Clara’s developing relationship with her half-brother, from her learning about the autism spectrum to just them wandering around Paris. I appreciated that Clara’s love interest, Michel, is a black Algerian, something that really fleshes out his character in that he has his own struggles. However, I felt that Clara’s budding romance with Michel wasn’t really necessary to move the story along.

Their romance also falls into one of my least favorite tropes: the love-cures-mental-illness trope. Right away, Michel wants to help Clara with her food issues, despite her denial. As their relationship progresses, Clara takes a few baby steps, but her decision to admit her problem stems in part from an argument with Michel. He basically tells her that until she’s ready to eat, he’s done. He goes from insisting that he wants to help her to rejecting her based on her mental illness—or at least, rejecting her based on her denial of her mental illness.

overall recommend:

This was a fun read with some nuanced discussion of autism spectrum disorders and disordered eating. The writing was compelling, as was Clara’s character growth. However, I do feel that this is a book written for neurotypicals, rather than a book written for those with orthorexia or autism spectrum disorders. On the one hand, I appreciate that we now have more books for white/able-bodied/neurotypical readers with diverse characters; on the other hand, I’d much rather read an #OwnVoices book about an autistic character, or an #OwnVoices eating disorder book. While On the Spectrum was an enjoyable read, it wasn’t completely my cup of tea.

Mommy issues, daddy issues, body image issues, eating disorders, social media wars, teens flying across the globe, people ‘on the spectrum’—why, yes, I did think this book was a little ambitious. But did that stop me from picking it up (from a display of galleys)? Not if the cover and the author’s surname had anything to say about it. So in spite of my hesitation, I went into this book with great hope. (And my fingers crossed.)

I’m pleased to report that the author managed to sew all everything quite skillfully. The story gave me a glimpse into what goes on inside a person’s mind who has orthorexia through Clara; brought me along the highs and lows of parenting through Clara’s image-obsessed mom, distant dad and his new all-organic, super protective wife; and helped me understand a little bit more of how children who are on the spectrum of autism can be.

It even had a few surprises for me here and there, one of which is my surprising wanderlust for Paris (thanks to all those little field trips!) and the more important one which was Michel, the hot half-Algerian baker. I would say the plot was already intriguing enough and worth reading, but adding that bit of romance for Clara there certainly earned some brownie points. Plus, he also played a significant role in helping bring Clara back to understanding and appreciating food, and in being Alastair’s friend.

And speaking of Alastair, as can be predicted, he was my favorite. It was refreshing to see people and the rest of the world through his eyes, and to me, he was the perfect piece of the puzzle that made this story of acceptance, family and love complete.

'On the Spectrum' by Jennifer Gold is a heartwarming, sometimes-funny blend of accepting differences and rebuilding families.

This is a cute and heartwarming YA novel that deals with eating disorders, Asperger's Syndrome, social media, and living in Paris, with themes of family, romance, acceptance, and recovery. Although the issues may sound serious, it was overall a light read, though still handled with tact. The main relationships in the book are all familial (parents, step-parent, and sibling) but there's just enough of a hint of romance to satisfy readers. The setting of Paris is a great touch and adds vivid scenery and an interesting setting. Alastair is a cute character and a good example of Asperger's. This book doesn't have much of a place in a public school curriculum but I would definitely purchase this book for a classroom library and recommend it to students who I think may enjoy it.

This book had a lot of promise. It's about a young girl, struggling with orthorexia (an eating disorder), who goes to nanny for her half brother, a 6-year-old on the spectrum, in Paris. It's a refreshing premise for a YA-- tackling eating disorders and ASD. However, parts of it fell flat due to other typical YA aspects-- a love "connection," despite no seeming actual connection, a two dimensional protagonist, and other cliched pieces in the writing. That being said, it's still entertaining and filled with lovely images of Paris. Also, Alastair will probably serve as a great resource for young readers who don't know anything about those on the spectrum.

A thought-provoking gem

This book is about a girl with an eating disorder who spends the summer in
Paris with her estranged father, his new wife, and their son who is on the autistic spectrum.

It was thoughtfully-written and thought-provoking, raising some interesting points about behaviours contributing to the protagonist's relationship with food. It was sensitive and although the eating disorder was not what defined Clara, it affected her relationships with friends and family.

The first few chapters were less compelling than the rest of the book, and seemed more like filler than anything necessary, but it didn't dull my enjoyment.

I also liked that the book didn't end with everything neatly tied up - it showed that Clara is on a continuous recovery that will take time.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jennifer Gold's YA novel On the Spectrum explores the themes of body image, neurodiversity, family dynamics, and first love against the backdrop of Paris.

This book offers a fresh perspective on familial relationships with stronger developed adult figures than most YA books. Clara's father and mother have their individual identities and challenges that influence Clara's life. Catherine's own food issues that stem from her career as a professional ballerina affected Clara's own orthorexia. And, her father's absenteeism for most of her life contributed to some of her feelings of inadequacy as well.

The most moving relationship of the book is Clara's evolving relationship with her autistic brother, Alastair. While given a character development that allows him to function as an individual, he's also portrayed in a way that may allow readers to increase their awareness about types of neurodiversity.

There are a few plot contrivances that are present to move the story forward (e.g., Twitter wars), but overall, the strength of the novel exists in the ways in which the characters grow as individuals and in their bonds with one another.

Thank you for Netgalley for letting me read this book and to write an honest review when read.

What can I say about this book! Working with children autism this book was a lovely find.
This book was beautifully written with a beautiful flow between pages. I loved the relationship between Clara and Alastair who is on the autism spectrum. Clara is a daughter of a famous ballerina, who is obsession with exercise, eating healthy etc and this has rubbed off on her daughter.

Clara goes and spends the summer in Paris after a social media disaster, with her half brother Alastair, her dad and her step mum. This lead to a good relationship between her dad and half brother.
Clara had a few run ins with her Step mum as they both wanted the best for Alastair and they became friends at the end of the summer together. This became very realistic and learn't a lot off each other.

Clara's eating disorder is known as Orthorexia where sufferers are obsessive about clean living, clean eating and being super healthy with a lot of exercise.

But being in France in the School holiday like myself, having food issues in here! would be nightmare especially as the french love of french bread, cheeses, croissants etc. I don't know how Clara coped it must of been Hell for her.

This Book made me relate to my Job I love doing and made me cry in several places.
This book was a Gem to read and would recommend highly.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
First of all, I LOVE this cover. I was ready to request this book based on just the cover alone when I saw it! The pastel colours and the little pictures are just perfect. When I read the description, however, I was even more intrigued. I struggle with eating problems myself and I find autism very fascinating, so I was interested to see what this book would do with these two topics. Also Paris, which is always a good place to set a story.

Clara's eating disorder is portrayed so well. Not only the way she handles it, but also the way people around her handle it. They stumble around the subject and aren't sure how to act, and Michel thinks he can just fix her quite easily. This actually happens a lot, as people don't understand how you can just not want to eat, so showing this so honestly was a real plus for me.

I do not have any firsthand experience with the sort of autism that Alastair has, so I can't say if it's realistic. It felt realistic for me though, and I appreciate how Clara handled it. The bullying is also something that I know autistic people can struggle with, and I just love how Clara explained to Mag how to deal with Alastair's bullying. It's very honest but not cruel. She says: ""You don’t want to be a sheep but you don’t want to get beat up, either", which I think is a good way of describing it. Clara's relationship with Alastair was super sweet and I loved the two of them a lot.

Now onto another important part of the story: Michel.
Overall, I thought he was alright. I got very frustrated with him for the way in which he handled Clara's eating disorder, but I understand why he acted this way. He meant well. It is also explicitly mentioned that he is mixed race and that he has struggled with this in school, which is a nice touch to the story, especially because Young Adult romances are too often about two white kids.
I do have to say, I am quite disappointed in the fact that Michel is 20 and Clara is 16. He is just too old for her, and I'm sad that this happens in many romance novels. As if teenage girls cannot fall in love with a guy their own age. I feel like there will always be a power imbalance in a relationship between two young people with a big age gap. If Michel had been a bit younger or Clara a bit older, I would've approved of their relationship much more, because Michel was really trying to help Clara, he loved Alastair too, and he was just a big sweetheart.

This book was not lacking in character development, despite the fact that it moved very fast. Clara, her mother, Mag, Alastair, Michel.. everyone showed character development in some form. This is one of the reasons why I would love to see a sequel for this book! I am dying to see what will happen with all the characters, and also with the plotlines that were started but never really got closure, like what Bree is up to, and the fact that Alastair is good at photography.

To close this off: I want to praise Jennifer Gold for making me cry! On the Spectrum and the final Harry Potter book are the only two books to have ever made me cry so far!

All in all, a lovely read which I would recommend to anyone when it comes out on September 12th this year!

**I received a complimentary copy of ON THE SPECTRUM in exchange for my honest review

I have little patience for poorly researched books. Exhibit A: the guidance counselor suspects Clara has orthorexia. After a conference with Clara's mother the counselor calls social services who immediately arrive. The caseworker asks Clara to eat a Hershey's Kiss and when she refuses the caseworker makes a diagnosis and opens a file. Hello reality? Caseworkers are inundated with cases of raped, burned, bloodied and other crises. They are overburdened with more clients than the can see. Medical neglect
specifically psychological medical neglect is so far down on the radar, it would only be investigated if the child was medically compromised and reported by a doctor. Guidance counselors aren't qualified to diagnose and caseworkers are even less qualified. Additionally, guidance counselors have hundreds of kids on their caseload and would never have time to walk around campus, diagnosing kids who aren't exhibiting behavior problems in the classroom. If Jennifer Gold had done a google search, she could have figured this out.

Jennifer Gold writes clever, engaging sentences. Her diverse characters felt mostly stereotypical of that diversity. I appreciated how Clara's mother embraced parenting classes, though in reality there's most always a learning curve and son's resistance. During grad school and as a child psychologist I conducted a lot of parenting education. I also interned in a foster care agency and I've worked with both caseworkers and guidance counselors.

I'm not sure how many, if any books on orthorexia exist in YA lit. Gold could have written a much better book focusing on the underlying issues that caused the eating disorder, rather than focusing on the symptoms of eating and exercise.

Alistair's character seemed somewhat better researched, though at times he felt less real than an amalgamation of symptoms and techniques to help with those difficulties. I appreciate the growth within the sibling relationship.

Gold had all the components of what could have been a five star story. I wish the writer or editor had beta readers with mental health and the child welfare professional knowledge.

I'm not usually a fan of young adult novels but this is one that really grabbed me and refused to let go.

Clara lives in a world where she wants for little, if anything, but her life is incredibly complicated. Clara's mother Catherine is a famous ballerina and food, or lack thereof, has always been a central part of Clara and Catherine's relationship. Clara soon is diagnosed with an eating disorder and Catherine tries to do everything she can to make up for sixteen years of poor parenting. Everything is thrown into disarray one night at a party when Clara is duped by a cute Yale student.

Clara finds herself in Paris, living with the father she never really knew and his passive-aggressive anti-American wife. Clara also meets her little brother, six-year-old Alastair, who is "on the spectrum." Charged with his care over the summer, Clara is worried about how she will ever know exactly what this weird kid needs when he needs it. Despite her trepidation, Clara and Alastair have a lot to teach each other.

As a step-parent to a kid on the spectrum, I was dubious as to whether the book could really capture what it's like to be the kid and the parent. I was thrilled to find that Jennifer Gold was spot on when it came to both Alastair's quirks and his father's fears about his future. This book was so touching and well written. It's definitely a must-read and I highly recommend it!

Like other reviewers have said this book was an unexpected yet lovely surprise. On the Spectrum is the story of Clara, a young woman struggling to overcome her food issues brought on by her famous ballerina mother's own issues with food and control. The book uses some familiar tropes--teen romance, family issues, a whirlwind trip to Paris, but treats each with a unique spin. Both Clara and her mother are sympathetic yet frustrating at times, the trip and the delights of Paris are filtered through Clara's struggle with eating and the love interest is a young Algerian baker rather than some upper class Parisian (which always seems to be the love interest of YA heroines traveling abroad). However, the main relationship is that between Clara and her six year old brother Alastair who is on the spectrum. Their relationship is the one that steals the show, and makes the book so enjoyable.

I received a free e-copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

On the Spectrum is a great story. Captivating the interest in this age group is a challenge, but Jennifer Gold does it admirably. The reader jumps right in with Clara and her famous ballet mother. Clara has eating issues to deal with which are completely realistic to the average reader. After a social media snafu, Clara goes to live with her father in Paris. Here she truly bonds with her six year old brother that she never really knew - who's on the Austism spectrum. As Clara and Alistair grow together through the summer, they realize they have a lot more in common than the thought. This excellent book could have received five stars but because of one section with foul language (enough to make it rated R current movie ratings) it drops the overall rating to three. There are instances of acceptable under age drinking and other curse words used throughout. An excellent story with great writing.

As a person with an eating disorder, I'll admit I found this rather triggering. I wasn't expecting that. I found myself defaulting to old behaviours, brought back to my mind by the book. That was a terrible shame.
However, it was a sweet story and I loved Alistair.

There are a couple of signs that a book really WOWED me. If I finish it within a couple of days, it's a given. But, whenever I feel compelled to immediately write a review, well then you can be sure it's a winner.

Clara doesn't want for much of anything, but her life is anything but easy. Growing up as the daughter of a famous ballet dancer has put enormous pressure on her going back as far as she can remember. She's always felt as if she can't measure up to her beautiful, graceful, and excessively thin mother. So it's no surprise that she's developed an eating disorder. Maybe not the binging and purging or wasting away type, but still. Under the guise of healthy eating, she's obsessively concerned with everything she puts into her mouth. And who can blame her? She's just following her mother's example, after all.

When things go too far, however, she finds herself sent off to visit her estranged father for the summer. Sure, it's in Paris. But it also means she has to spend the summer with her stepmother and a brother she doesn't even know. To make matters more difficult in her mind, he's on the autism spectrum. Will they be able to help each other?

There are so many important things going on in this story, things that almost any young person or adult can relate to. There's a nontraditional, blended family as a result of divorce. There's a love interest, of course. Because what young adult story wouldn't have one? And then there are the more serious issues, eating disorders and children with autism spectrum disorders.

This is the rare young adult book that I actually feel safe recommending for truly young adults. It provides a true look at real issues faced by many young people without delving into the culture of sex, drugs, and alcohol so prominent in many of today's books marketed toward young people. A great story!

*Trigger warning: contains eating disorders and lots of discussion about food*

This book was such a beautiful little gem and I urge you to read it.

Clara grew up with a famous Ballerina mother who was unsurprisingly, super healthy and had a variety of different eating disorders and food-related anxieties which she had passed down to her daughter. When Clara's father asks her to come and live with him in Paris for the Summer to look after her half-brother Alastair, she is less than thrilled. Having only met him once and had heard him been described as being "on the spectrum," Clara wasn't sure how to deal with this little six-year-old boy. During her time in Paris, she gets to know her brother, begins to overcome some of her own issues, deals with some of the psychological repercussions of her disorder and creates strong friendships with the characters.

Now, whilst part of that summary sounds a bit clinical and perhaps a bit boring, it is far from it. In the first half of the book, the eating disorders and the lives of the mother-daughter duo are emphasised greatly, so we can come to understand the complexity and the severity of the food issues. The second half of the book is an honest look at how somebody who has no experience with Autism, then comes to terms with the way that her little brother may be classified as "different" to other children. Throughout the book, both Clara and Alastair help each other and the relationship is such a beautiful thing to watch blossom and will hopefully educate some readers on the Autism spectrum a little bit. I would highly recommend reading this gorgeous book, it truly is a heart-warming read.

This book was very sweet. I loved the relationship between Clara and Alastair. I'd never heard of orthorexia, but can think of several people who are probably on its spectrum as well. Getting into Clara's head was helpful and investing, if that makes sense. Oh, and Paris doesn't hurt either!