A very enjoyable and engaging young adult spec fic book. I'm an autistic reader/writer and always keen to see quality representation of autistic characters. I liked the worldbuilding and enjoyed the emotional arc of the main character; it felt very believable. Hopefully the author wlil write other similar novels (it took me ages to catch up to this one so I haven't checked yet.)

The Place Inside the Storm takes place in the near future, 2038, where the word Autism has been deleted from dictionaries and published papers. Tara is a 14 years old girl who is extremely intelligent and struggles to make friendships. Her only current friend is Xel, an AI that looks like a cat. Her parents moved to LA for better job opportunities, higher salaries, and hopefully better lives for Tara and her sister. But then the corporation her parents work at made them choose between inserting an implant in Tara’s brain to make her neurotypical and losing their jobs. Tara doesn’t wait for her parents to take their decisions and decides to run away with Xel.

When Bradley reached out for me to read and review this book and mentioned it was own voices for neurodiversity, I automatically said yes. We don’t get a lot of good neurodiverse representation in YA, and we rarely get ones that are own voices. The Place Inside the Storm is a coming of age, dystopian story of a girl named Tara, who goes on a journey of self-discovery and learns more about neurodiversity and embraces it throughout the story. I pretty much teared up towards the end of the story and highlighted multiple consecutive pages.

I really loved the amount of emotion and well written characters embedded in the storyline. The plot itself is very unique, but the characterization stood out the most. Tara’s voice is so unique, and powerful that it could carry the entire weight of what makes this book so good! I also loved the display of acknowledgment and respect in certain chapters. I really hope humans in real life learn more about humanity and embrace diverse people instead of erasing their voices.

Now, I am not autistic, so I unable to 100% spot any problematic content in the book or even properly highlight what makes The Place Inside the Storm an important, amazing read. So I highly recommend you check out my dear friend’s ( Rachel from the Graceful Goddess) review.

As I write this review, I am being hit with an overwhelming need to contact Bradley to guest post for my WHY I WRITE series, so we’ll see how that goes. Also, stay tuned for this month’s Quotes I devoured this month to see a glimpse of what made me cry.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, then feel free to grab your copy here! This is an affiliate link so I might get a commission if you decide to make any purchases.

Till next time,

Ayah

The cover is interesting. I got a sense for a dystopian, possibly ost apocalyptic society al its immediately. The description of the book seemed action packed and while it definitely got me to want to read it, I felt like I had already read the whole book. The description of the book felt less like a hook, and more like a summary of synopsis of the entire novel. I think if the author just used a maximum of 5-6 sentences describing the book, ending with the final question of whether Tara is destined to fit in with this future society, would entice the reader into reading the book a lot more.

With the topic of early biomarkers and pre-natal testing popping up throughout autism research, the topic of the erasure and alteration of neurodiverse minds seems both ideal as a concept within a dystopian future and realistic possibility of something which could actually happen. In 'The Place Inside The Storm', the reader follows Tara Rivers and the journey she undertakes after learning that her parents intend to give the go-ahead for an implant to be put in her brain that will change her behaviour and thoughts. That will make her more "pro-social".

Feeling like she has no other choice, Tara and her robot cat, Xel, make a run for it. With no real direction or plan, a chance encounter leads them to Loki and Aeon. When it becomes clear that Loki has also suffered at the hand of the corporation - and in a serious way - Tara, Xel and Loki embark on the long journey back to where Tara used to live, seeking help for Loki. Along the way, their destination and plans change and they become part of something bigger.

The book is easy to read and engage with, with quick paced action scenes interspaced with slower sections or sections with more dialogue. There is a sense of struggle in many scenes and even though Xel can literally access information from all over the place, they still come up against obstacles and barriers they cannot completely avoid and have to scrap their way out of.

The characters are likeable and interesting, with Xel being a stand-out character as both Tara's friend and protector. The bond between Tara and Xel and their interactions were done in such a way that their friendship was undeniable, yet you never forgot that Xel was a robot cat - and it worked. The corporation also felt like a character - it's oppressive presence being felt and referenced throughout the book. I felt that there was scope for a little more conflict or reflection on the actions of the mother of Tara's old friend, especially as her actions demonstrated the reach of the corporation. That said, I can also appreciate the need for the story to be kept moving so the fast pace of the actions reflected the internal state of the characters.

Alongside the physical journey that Tara undertakes, there is a co-running emotional journey that Tara makes towards understanding and accepting herself in a world that doesn't accept people who are too different. The wrap-up of this comes through powerfully at the end of the book, even though there remains a tinge of sadness to it. In many ways, this also feels real because there are rarely perfect happy endings.


Autistic Rep

Tara doesn't know what autism is at the beginning of the book, and she certainly has no idea that she is autistic herself. The corporation have been highly successful in reducing - borderline eliminating - neurodiverse minds within society. She does, however, know that she is different to her peers - much like many autistic children do on some level - and struggles to understand where she fits in the world. While in the world created by Wright, Tara doesn't know what autism is because of the corporation's design, in many ways the process is similar to the realisation that many autistic teenagers go through when they first realise they're different.

Without succumbing to stereotypes, Wright creates a realistic representation of an autistic teenager. His descriptions of Tara's impending meltdowns and her sensory overload come across as genuine and real, and while she Tara does refer to eye contact (or lack of) a few too many times - in that it becomes noticeable - the scenarios in which it is discussed make sense. Later in the book, there is a section where information about autism is provided to Tara in a manner which ends up being a bit too "info-dumping" and stilted and it jars the flow of the book for a few pages.

When other autistic people are introduced later in the book, there are only fleeting moments where different representations of autism are discussed but this did include a brief scene with a non-speaking autistic person who used AAC.


Wrap-Up

Tara and Xel are likeable protagonists in this young adult adventure and, a few sections aside, the story flowed well with peaks of action and the periods of reflection and character development and growth. The story was quite straight-forward and you can kind of see where it's going to end up from about midway but the read is enjoyable all the same. In terms of autistic rep, I think Tara is a good addition to the pool of fictional autistic characters, particularly for the young adult range.

I try to avoid YA but gave this a try. Decent story with good character development. Not disappointed.

As dystopian stories go, The Place Inside the Storm is an average read. The plot is intriguing. The characters are likeable. Overall, however, something is missing. Perhaps the story line could have been tighter and the characters more substantial. Overall an okay read. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not sure what this book was trying to be. The plot seemed to be all over the place. Was it a scifi or a dystopian? I loved the idea of AI pets and Xel the cat was the character who shined the brightest.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review The Place Inside the Storm.

Fall foliage is beginning to transform into bare branches and blanketed snow, and the colder the weather gets, the more reason readers have for staying indoors with a cozy new read. Whether you're in the mood for a steamy romance, heart-pounding thriller, or riveting historical fiction, there's a book for everyone on this list. Check out our list of the best books winter 2018 has to offer, complete with publishers' descriptions.