Written by a British 16 year old, this book has good intentions, offering support for autistic girls and young women. I am an autistic woman, and read this with the question in mind of whether this would have been helpful for me. The answer is complicated. Castellon’s approach is upbeat and encouraging, but is often problematic as well. She repeatedly recommends autistic kids turn to their parents for help, based on what appears to be a positive and supportive relationship with her own parents, but many autistic kids won’t have that kind of parental relationship. Parents—and other adults and authority figures— are often focused on cure, and nowhere does she address how to handle the ongoing issues that stem from that. She also embraces the idea of calling her aspects of autism “superpowers,” which is a compensation narrative many autistic people reject, and rightly so, because it further Others us and makes us seem abnormal. She cites Greta Thunberg as a role model, but seems unaware that much of Greta’s success comes from her privileged parents—something few of us have. The book is full of anecdotes that share Castellon’s experiences with bullying, bad friends, and uneducated educators, but her message that by working with parents and finding mentors you can trust will make everything better is naive and Pollyanna-ish. I’d like to have a book about living with autism that is more realistic and isn’t afraid to tackle the much darker issues and problems of being an autistic girl or woman in our patriarchal, racist, sexist, capitalist society, with real advice for the hard times.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. I think it is awesome to write about a subject that does not have a lot of books out there. It was much longer than I anticipated. I love that it was written by a 16-year-old and she is really putting herself out there and sharing her story. I really enjoyed the information in the book even though it is written towards people on the spectrum and I am not and I think that is really important because this is a book everyone can read and enjoy.

I am a bit older than the target audience (hitting 21 in a couple of days) but even I could definitely still learn new things. This is exactly the kind of book I would have needed as the confused, bullied outsider I was in middle and high school. I am certain that this book will help many young girls and pave the way for a new generation of autism acceptance.
There are many awesome details about this novel and I can't count all of them but here is a selection:
* an introduction by Temple Grandin, maybe the most famous autistic woman and scholar, an absolute role model for every young girl reading this
* a teenage survival guide written by an autistic teen for autistic teens because nothing about us without us. Most autism books are written by allistic people and most books for teens are written by adults who are completely removed from the teenage experience, especially bullying, so this is the most accurate guide you can get
*it is transgender and queer inclusive
*discusses functioning labels and why they are problematic
*names both the real and painful struggles about growing up autistic and being bullied but also focuses on self-love, seeing autism as a superpower
*pro and con lists in several chapters so the readers can figure out what works for them and highlights choice and living your authentic life and, for example, mentions that you do not have to come out to anyone, perform traditional femininity etc

This is a wonderful resources for adolescents on the spectrum who are dealing with finding their place in the world. Though targeted at girls, there are many chapters in here that will be applicable to boys as well. After speaking about the premise with a few adults who were spectrum girls struggling to find their own voices and carve their own paths, I've been told that this is the type of book they wish someone had given them at that tween / teen age. Definitely a good resource for counselors, parents, and teachers to recommend...and even read themselves!