Member Reviews

Davis has a once-in-a-generation voice that digs straight into your heart. As someone who has watched the evolution of this story first-hand, I know just how much time, love, and care has been put into creating a story that is so authentic, poignant, and timely. I absolute flew through the pages and cannot wait for more books from this author. She's one to watch!

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I absolutely loved this cover and the fact that it addresses a boy with autism which is near and dear to my heart! This was a fantastic read! Nothing like brotherly love ❤️

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If you are looking for autistic Black teen representation within an All the Hate You Give kind of story, you may want to pick this one up 🥹 All the Noise at once centers on two Black teen brothers, Aiden, who is autistic, and Brandon, who is a popular quarterback in their town. Told through Aiden’s POV before and after an incident, this story captures the love between two brothers who are learning what it means to be Black in a world set on seeing you as a threat. It pulled at my heart strings, it made me angry, but it also spoke the necessary truth. Just an overall compelling and moving story y’all idk pick it up!!!

Things I loved:
-the characters feel natural and complex. I especially loved the care that when into exploring Aiden’s autism and learned so much more about it while reading (some common triggers, how autism organizes your brain in specific ways, etc). I also loved how his autism is not portrayed as a limitation to what he wants to do as a teen.
-I loved the messaging that proximity to whiteness does not make you exempt from experiencing racism because it’s the truth. Brandon is a loved football player who, at the same time, got to see how quickly people turned their backs on him. I think a lot of folks need to read this, especially kids.
-the brotherhood stole my heart
-the lowkey romance was super sweet 🥹

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very painfully real, very stressfully written, very interesting. awesomely written main characters. entirely well-done. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

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Characters: 4.5⭐️
Setting: 4.50⭐️
Plot: 5.00⭐️
Themes: 5.00⭐️
Personal enjoyment: 4.50⭐️
Emotional Impact: 4.50⭐️
Overall rating: 4.50⭐️

All the Noise At Once is a story that focuses on two brothers; Brandon who is the star quarterback of his highschool's football team, and Aiden who is on the autism spectrum who just wants to play football and be like his older brother. One night, when the team goes to the diner to celebrate, a fight ensues and Brandon is wrongfully arrested on charges of trespassing and assault. Aiden is now trying to navigate the after effects and try to find justice for his brother.

This story is so important to read, and covers some pretty heavy topics like social injustice and racism. Even though this is a YA contemporary novel, it was written and done so wonderfully which made it both difficult and harder to read. There is great representation within this book of autism and how the justice systems continues to fail young, black men in our country.

Told through the eyes of Aiden, you get a first hand glimpse of how something traumatic could affect an entire family and community. This book was out of my comfort zone, and I am so glad I read it. I think this is perfect for the younger generation to read to understand the injustices of the judicial system and the racism that people still face to this day.

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First off I want to say that this book is just wonderfully written. A few pages in you can tell that this is going to be a good story. The book follows main character Aiden and his brother. Aiden has autism and wants to play football with his brother for his brother’s senior year but an incident happens that could jeopardize that for both of them. The story allows you to look at a lot of things from Aiden’s point of view while he deals with autism. I like that this book highlights the struggles of someone with a disability and also being black and trying to navigate both. It’s so much anyone can learn from this story. The ending is great and I was happy to see how a lot of the characters were able to learn and grow from their mistakes throughout the book.

Thank you to DeAndra Davis, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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I've been trying to figure out how to word this. But first I will say, at only a few chapters in I immediately preordered this book. This is a beautifully written book that resonated with me in so many ways. It touches on being neurodivergent (in this case autistic specifically) and the way the world views you. But added onto that being neurodivergent and Black. Beyond that it touches on the societal expectations of perfection and to caste aside our internal turmoil when faced with hard decisions and difficult moments. I love Aiden! I love the relationship with his brother Brandon. The internal dialogue for this main character was just .... It resonated with me so much. I was so proud of this fictional character in this book. His growth helped others grow around him in ways they couldn't out didn't expect. You will see growth from unexpected characters, and great examples of real healthy dialogue around difficult topics. I will be keeping an eye out from more from this author. I finished this book and can't wait to get the physical copies to highlight so many good quotes and moments. Thank you DeAndra for such a beautiful story that will forever hold a special place in my heart. I haven't made a video yet , but can't wait !!

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This novel was compelling, as much as it was moving. I really related to Aiden as someone who is also autistic. And how others view you being autistic. This novel follows Aiden, who has always wanted to play football like his quarterback brother, Brandon. After an overstimulation meltdown causes him to miss getting on the team, he gets a second chance when a spot unexpectedly needs to be filled. However one day, a fight breaks out and Aiden's brother interfere's. And then Brandon is arrested-now, Aiden has to try and figure out what exactly happened that fateful day.

I will definitely be requesting this book from my library and getting a physical copy of my own, I think this story is fundamental and should be required for everyone.

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I really enjoyed this story. All of the characters were so well develped that I could envision what they looked like and the mannerisms they had as if they were right in front of me. I wasn't sure how well the austism side of the story would be reflected, but I was very happy to see how well it was portrayed. As an educator, I could see several students in Aiden's place and could connect to the struggle that he was feeling. I think the issues that the book mentioned are ones that are so important to bring to light and this book does that beautifully. I will definitely be purchasing this for my school library.

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This book was such a pleasure to read. The writing is empathetic and compelling, like speaking with a good friend. The characters are dynamic and loveable - as someone very different from the main character, I appreciated the insightful and authentic point of view that let me understand the way he saw the world. Some characters have more flaws than likable traits, but even they are well written to the point where they feel like real people with their own internal struggles you can relate to.

This book is about family, and the relationship between two brothers who mean everything to each other, but it's also about many aspects of community and coming of age. Aiden has to grow as his relationship with his brother is strained under the stress, but he also learns about his own identity in terms of race, friendship, his team, his neighbors, and living on the spectrum.

It is sad and yet comforting, unique yet familiar, and accessible and lighthearted without being sugar-coated or watered-down. I'm looking forward to recommending it to anyone who has felt discouraged, outcast, or trying to find their place.

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This book was very different from what i typically read but i ended up enjoying it a lot and wanting to read more from this author.

All the noise at once tells the story of brotherly love and injustice in a society that is still not acceptant.
It also highlights how important it is to not make assumptions about something or someone before you know the whole story. The characters in this story weren't perfect and i liked that even when they made mistakes, they tried to learn from them and do better.

Thank you Netgalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing and the author for this amazing ARC!

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While this book stressed me so much and angered me, I loved it. There are many stories like this, but adding the additional detail of having an character with autism sheds a new light. When you're Black there is already so much that we have against us. Black people can do all the right things, but we are going to be treated differently not matter what. This is what made it so frustrating because this is reality. Their parents even tried to move them to an environment to show them that Black people are just like them, and honestly, I understood. But instead they only viewed the family as good despite being Black. You can still be a "respectable" person and you will still get treated different, which is the unfortunate truth.

I really loved the brotherhood between Aiden and Brandon. I felt for the both of them because they both had such conflicting emotion. Brandon quietly questioning everything and wondering why all of this is happening to him despite doing everything right, and then Aiden feeling guilty about what happened and constantly blaming himself because he's different. It was complicated despite the love they had for each other, but it felt very real. I also loved the brotherhood between SOME of the football team. They obviously loved Brandon, but I loved how they showed up for Aiden throughout the book too.

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This book hit me right in the heart—such a beautifully written, emotional story that had me both laughing and crying. The relationship between the brothers felt so special, and Aiden was a main character I would follow anywhere. I loved this book so much!

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All the Noise at Once centers Aiden, a black, autistic high school student, and his brother, Brandon, the star quarterback of the school. After Brandon is wrongfully convicted, Aiden has to figure out what really happened at the scene of the crime, and find a way to clear Brandon’s name.
The way Aiden’s character was written resonates a lot with me. The way he navigates relationships with many of the characters was beautifully written. I also love the way prejudice in terms of race was explained in this book. It spoke out of truth about the differences of privilege in terms of both wealth, and color. The relationship between both brothers was so well crafted, and I found myself tearing up multiple times.
If you want beautiful relationships, and a compelling story about what it means to navigate life as black and autistic, I would definitely recommend.

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This is a voicey, important book but it’s been some weeks now and I can’t bring myself to pick it back up. This is no fault of the author or the book.

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I would like to begin by expressing my sincere appreciation for this well-written book. As this is my first book on autism, I found the author's thorough exploration of both the positive and challenging aspects to be truly insightful. If you are unfamiliar with autism, I highly recommend this book; it offers a heartwarming and realistic portrayal of the everyday struggles faced by many autistic individuals. The opening sentence immediately grabbed my attention.The characters and the events that took place made the book a page turner.In the words of the author, "What is easy is not always what is right." Thank you for providing me with an advance readers copy; you have gained a loyal reader.

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The story itself was fabulous. We need more portrayals of racism in the police force, as well as autistic individuals leading normal lives. That said, the ending felt a little too saccharine and I wasn’t impressed with dialogue. Aiden is our autistic main character, and his voice is often a little robotic. He doesn’t use contractions and he often spits out facts and definitions. I’m on board with this, but what I wasn’t on board with was when other characters started speaking without contractions in places or giving definitions to words. I can understand when Aiden’s family plays fact games with him, but it wouldn’t make sense for classmates to do so. Brandon also had a unique voice, but every other character sounded really similar. It’s like the author put a lot of thought into how Aiden and Brandon sounded, but didn’t try for the other characters.

I definitely wanted characters to learn from their mistakes and grow by the end of the book, but I think most characters did so too dramatically and suddenly. Carter’s moment was especially jarring. An entire town doesn’t change overnight, and there are still a lot of struggles that would happen and I don’t think those were adequately portrayed.

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Following the life of Aiden, a junior in high school who tries out for the football team his older brother is on. Both boys love football and Brandon is mentioned to be a big shot with a bright future ahead of him. Yet, when he steps in to help get his brother out of a fight he ends up being arrested himself. The cops failing to listen to the harm they were causing.

This story did a good job at capturing the life some people have to live. People having the privilege of looking the other way when they see something. Keeping things quiet or being friends with some people all the while putting others in danger by disgusting stereotypes. Aiden finally notices this, he realizes why his parents told him to always mention things like his mom being a lawyer when he was questioned by authorities, or how his brother had to mention their coaches name in order to get a cop convinced they weren’t in the wrong place. It’s in the little things everyday and it’s the smallest action that can have the biggest impact.

The writing is truly outstanding, the plot balances out the unfortunate reality of social justice all the while having a good sense of home, community, and identity as Aiden figures out what happened that night. Aiden has such a good support system in tack with his family and later on with his friends. His thought process was honestly so pleasant to read. I really enjoyed how football was mentioned in this book as well.

If you liked “The Hate You Give” this book has similar vibes and I would highly recommend it.

Plot: 9/10
Pace: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
Enjoyability: 7/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Would I Recommend? Yes
Favorite Character: Aiden

Favorite Quote: ❝”This is real for you today, but Blackness is not your reality. And look, I am not judging. I have been Black all my life, but until recently, autism has been my whole reality. I never paid attention to how my Blackness made autism much more dangerous until now. And now I see it. I see it, and Marcia, I cannot unsee it. You see something. Do not close your eyes. Do not try to unsee it. It might not be your reality, but like you said, it is real.”❞

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An absolutely stunning and perfect debut. One of those rare books that you read and wouldn't change a thing about. Highly, highly recommend reading and purchasing for libraries/classrooms.

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All the Noise at Once deserves a place on every classroom and library shelf; it's a beautifully written story that tackles difficult issues of systemic racism and inequity while also spotlighting nuanced and joyful depictions of childhood. The characters are crafted so lovingly; Aiden wants to play football, and is good at it, but because he is Autistic, some of his teammates are not welcoming. When his brother defends him and is unfairly arrested, Aiden works to keep everything together and clear Brandon's good name as the trial approaches. This is a book that will sit with you for a long time after you read it; it is a must read for teens--it's voicey, with a cast of complex characters to root for, and it strikes exactly the right tone for its age group---but also for teachers, librarians, and any adult who wants to understand children better and to advocate for the needs of all children in the classroom and on athletic teams. Davis is an autobuy author and I cannot wait to see what she writes next.

Thank you to DeAndra Davis, Atheneum, and NetGalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

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