Disappointed in this dreary book. It did not live up to the blurb or my expectations.

By half way through I wanted to give up, but I did finish it, and wish I hadn’t bothered. The writing style was poor, although the front cover illustrations are lovely.

Everything moved slowly and tiresomely, and I never felt a connection to any of the characters. It was just a dry and mediocre story. The thing about Kids Like Us is that none of the events seem to draw a bigger picture. Its arc is obvious. Or maybe, to put it simply: this book is a bit boring.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately I have been unable to get into it. DNF @ 11%.

I think Kids Like Us by Hilary Reyl was one of the first books I ever requested on Netgalley back in 2017 but I obviously never got round to reading it. I've mentioned before how I'm trying to get my ratio back up before I start requesting again and I knew this needed to be read. I'm still in two minds about how I feel about this book as there was nothing particularly wrong with it but I still wasn't invested or wowed by it.

This book follows Martin, an austistic teenager, as he spends the summer in France with his family. He translates the world around him through his favourite book, Proust's In Search of Lost Time, and consequently believes a girl at his new school is the love interest from the book. I obviously can't speak personally about how well the autism rep in this book is done. However, my younger brother is on the autism spectrum and I could recognise certain behaviour and language in Martin's character so I would say I was able to make connections between his character and my brother.

Whilst the writing was good, the events that occur in this book are pretty slow moving. It is essentially a story about Martin's outlook on life and how he handles his austism, making new friends and other situations. I will say it had a unique approach and I quite enjoyed Martin's perspective on everything. I'll also mention that the mother in this story can be quite anti-autism at times as well, it's not a problem that's addressed very well either, it's just sort of there.

....................................................................................................

To me, this book was beautifully written. The autism representation was something that drew me to this book and I think it was well-portrayed in the book.

Sadly, the writing style was not for me. I chose to DNF Kids Like Us but was interested in the representation for Autism which is what drew me into giving the novel a try.

I was initially drawn to this book because the cover looked cute and whimsical, but Kids Like Us turned out to be a pleasant surprise. In the beginning, I had a hard time getting into the novel and getting used to Martin's voice, especially since he seemed to reference Proust's In Search of Lost Time quite a bit, which I am not familiar with. As the story went on and we were introduced to more characters, I actually found myself enjoying the book. I was most interested in the side characters, especially Elisabeth since she seemed to be so supportive of Martin and we only saw glimpses of her personality. I liked how Martin's romance with Alice wasn't insta-love and it seemed realistic for their situation.  The lovely setting of France also added charm to the story.

However, I didn't enjoy some aspects of the novel, such as the excessive mention of boobs. I understand that Martin is a teen boy, but it seemed a bit weird when he kept on commenting about his sister's chest and how she was unbuttoning her top lower. I also feel like the author tried to make Martin as "normal" as possible for a boy with ASD, which was kind of counter-productive to the message in the latter half of the book. She makes it very obvious that Martin is a fit swimmer, he is tall, and he has a handsome face. These traits certainly make it easier for him to be a love interest to Alice and also gain a group of friends while he is at school in Paris. This is also brought up by his mother a lot, who desperately wishes Martin was "normal" probably because he looks so normal. Her interactions with Martin weren't very meaningful and she never really understood Martin or even knew what he was going through. 

So while there were a few shortcomings, the minor characters and charming setting made the book enjoyable for me.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

As a clinical psychologist, I've worked with autistic patients and their families. Hilary Reyl's portrayal of 16 year old Martin is spot on. The first person voice adds immediacy to the narrative and reveals Martin to be a fascinating individual with a unique mind-set. A book filled with optimism and hope and I would recommend it to all my patients.

I had high hopes but it fell off for me from the very starting. The narrative style is so flat. I DNF'd. It.

I've dreaded writing this review because I feel absolutely terrible about what I'm going to say but... I really didn't like the book. I couldn't actually finish it because it just didn't grip me AT ALL! Maybe it's not my kind of writing style, but I just didn't make it to the end. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and I didn't feel a whole lot actually happened in the story. However I was pleased to see a lot of 4 and 5 star reviews from other reviewers which goes to show that it's a matter of perspective from different readers.

Reading this book had opened up a whole new world to me. It let me in on a journey of understanding what autism is about through the eyes of Martin. I actually like Martin. His being autistic does not bother me at all because I feel like I appreciate how he appreciates the little details. There was a part of the book when he appreciated the buzzing music of the flies that he calls "the chamber music of summer". The amount of details was also satisfying and to me, there was enough description for imagination.

Initially, I thought I would be giving this book a rating of three stars, but the plot did something and towards the end of the book, there were some emotional content that tossed to me like hot potato and convinced me that this book deserved more stars.

I think that there is something beautiful in being different (and I will say this line again and again because a vast majority of the population seems to not understand this, which frustrates me. I mean, how would diversity be defined then???). I do believe that there is room for achievement but to change a person because of something you wouldn't want them to be is too much.

There is so much appreciation in this book that I recommend it to everyone. With the European setting, and you might want to choose this book for a light read.

After reading the description of Kids Like Us, I was immensely excited to read it. I dove right in, expecting a flurry of emotions and a plot that I could devour.
Unfortunately, this did not happen.
I really love reading stories about people who are sometimes regarding as being on the outskirts of society, per se. I love the show Atypical, and I was expecting and emotional connection to this book like I have with Atypical.
Somehow, the writing feels clunky and the plot moves slowly and is a bit boring.
Overall, I was disappointed with Kids Like Us and would not recommend it to a family member or friend.

Autism is a condition that I find fascinating. I work with several children who have the condition and seeing how they deal with everyday situations really amazing. There has, in the past, been a lot of negativity towards the functionality of people with autism but I see how similar people with the condition are to – for want of a more accurate term – “fully functional people”.

In her book, Kids Like Us, Hilary Reyl explores this notion by placing her main character Martin in an unusual environment. He has moved to France with his mother (a moviemaker) and his sister, Elisabeth and he is embarking on a massive challenge of attending a mainstream school.

What is heartening about this novel is that you see Martin succeed. It isn’t easy for him to be in such an alien environment but he does the best he can and manages to blossom.

The novel also explores the idea that we never really can know how a person is thinking or feeling. Martin sees this most when he makes new friends. He cannot tell if they are trying to ride is coat tails into the glamorous world of showbiz or if they genuinely like him.

Reyl does an excellent job of portraying the mind of someone with autism. The rigidity and the early triggers are sensitively handled and Kids Like Us was genuinely an eye opener and a joy to read.

Kids Like Us by Hilary Reyl is available now.

For more information regarding Hilary Reyl (@HilaryReyl) please visit www.hilaryrey.com.

For more information regarding Text Publishing (@text_publishing) please visit www.textpublishing.com.au.

I really liked this book; it is unlike anything I have read in a while, if ever. The pacing is a bit slow at times but the way the story is told makes it worth it. Martin has autism; he is very much in his head and in Search. I found Martin to be an extremely likable character. It is apparent almost from the start that he greatly misses his father and that life with him is not always smooth sailing for his mother and sister. In France for his mother’s work Martin is attending school to practice his French for the most part. The synopsis makes it seem like more of a romance than it really is. Yes, there is a girl and yes they do grow a relationship but it is not the only or the main thing really happening in the story. I really liked Martin’s friend Layla. I love a line of hers especially, “Do you think our phones are instruments of communication or torture?” Also, I love the cover.

Good story, just not for me. It was interesting to read a book narrated by an Autism spectrum boy. I guess I expected a...lighter, teen romance? Hmph, mistaken, but I am sure teens will get into the story in varying degrees. The Paris setting and a actress mom were interesting. And I guess Martin confusing a character in a 100 year old book with a contemporary girl in his class at school was kind of tragicomic.

My reading experience was 1.5/5
This is a book about a kid with an autism spectrum who moves to France for a period of time. The story tells the struggles this kid has to socialize with the people around him.
I had read a book about an autism kid before but I didn't like that so I had a high expectation reading this book. I have no knowledge about the autism spectrum so reading from that perspective could be goodand informative. However I didn't like this book. I didn't connect with the character nor the story. I really dislike his mom, I feel like she wasn't as supportive as she should be with her son.
Maybe if the reader has autism would understand this book better that I did but from an outsider perspective this was really hard to commit.

There is something truly raw and genuine-feeling about this book, that I don't feel like I come across often in YA contemporary.

Kids Like Us is a very character driven story. The storyline is fairly slow moving, but in a way that lets you delve into the mind of Martin. The story focuses a lot on how Martin perceives the world through his understanding of Search, through the tools that he's been developing with the help of his family and The Centre, and through his own intuition of how the world and others work.

I adored how much I felt I learned from this book. Reyl dives into so many little nuances that I haven't come across before in autism-related lit. For example, a lot of Martin's responses involve echolalia - repeating back what he's heard before instead of using 'original language' - and mixing up his pronouns, both things that have featured very little, if at all, in other books featuring characters on the spectrum.

Of course, ASD, like so many other neurodiversities, develops and presents differently in one person to the next. But so often I feel as though the same things are presented over and over in a stereotypical way. In this way, Kids Like Us breaks free of this narrow-minded way of presenting autism.

I also loved the examination of identity in this book. Martin's best friend, Layla, who is also on the spectrum begins a conversation about the neurodiversity movement - a movement that society should accept people on the autistic spectrum for who they are instead of trying to cure them.

The discussion of where the line is between equipping someone on the spectrum with tools to navigate the world and giving them therapy to develop them closer to being neurotypical/general-ed is, of course, a tough one that requires a lot of discussion and understanding on the topic.

But I truly admired it's inclusion to the story. It is presented in a way that will fuel readers to ponder on the idea and how they view people on the spectrum.


There are a lot of other things that the book does well

+ this book will make you hungry and it will possibly make you want to draw moths on your shoes
+ you will fall in love with Elisabeth - she is everything that should be an older sibling
+ you will root for the friends, as they navigate the difference between friend and moth, and develop their own views and understanding of interacting with someone on the spectrum.

A well-written, nicely characterized, and clear narrative, it takes on a potentially sensitive subject with charm and depth, I especially appreciated the acknowledgement of the pro-neurodiversity movement and its impact on Martin and his family.

Kids Like Us is a sweet contemporary novel. I like that the characters are likable, and the descriptions especially the setting are vivid. I also like how there is a mixed of both mystery and love story in the plot.