Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me free access to the digital advanced copy of this book.

A moving middle-grade novel about friendship, neurodiversity, and the importance of staying true to oneself. I will absolutely be recommending this to readers at my library! Another job well done by Elle McNicoll!

A wonderful follow up from the author of A Kind of Spark who represents neurodiverse kids so authentically.

Grief and disability acceptance take a front row seat in McNicoll's compelling foray into middle grade suspense. McNicoll demonstrates Cora and Adrien's unique strengths without shying away from their weaknesses, some of them linked to her particular collection of neurodivergent traits, and in doing so provides readers with positive, realistic neurodivergent heroes--a boon for neurodivergent readers looking to find positive reflections of themselves in the books they read and non-neurodivergent readers who need opportunities to better understand people of all neurotypes. On top of the wonderful neurodiverse representation, McNicoll delivers a thrilling borderline dystopian plot that becomes difficult to put down in the second half. I'd recommend this one to fans of middle grade contemporary and/or middle grade thrillers.

A cleverly written, moving story about friendship, grief, and neurodiversity. Set in the near future, the plot involves both the dangers of allowing corporations to harvest and profit from personal data, and the danger of a society that encourages uniformity. With great suspense and puzzle elements.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Elle McNicoll was recommended to me before any of her work had been published in the US, thanks to How to Train Your Gavin raving about her work. And while I enjoyed her first book, I didn’t have a ton of thoughts, especially as it was on the shorter side (as well as not being a review copy). But I was so excited to get a copy of Show Us Who You Are, because I heard about the great neurodiverse rep in this one in particular.

The true strength is in the characters. Cora is very much like a young me, struggling with making friends. There’s even a scene that felt straight out of my school days where she was part of a group project, and her partners felt they had to compensate for her social ineptitude and redo her parts of the project.

I love her friendship with Adrien as well. He has ADHD, but I love that their friendship isn’t purely based on their neurodivergence. Their interactions and banter are a lot of fun though. And given the depth of their connection, I can understand why she would want to hold onto it as long as possible.

I appreciate how the text navigates the ableist world who doesn’t understand autistic people and/or wants to infantilize or cure them. From the small things, like a discussion around “person first” vs. “identity first” language, to the deeper themes of an insidious corporation scheming to find a cure for autism, it’s wonderful to have a book that preaches the message that autistic people are worthy of love and acceptance without having to change.

It did take a bit to get into the “rhythm” of the book, I immediately saw a “spark” in the narrative, which came to fruition as the book progressed. It walks the line between exploring seemingly “adult” issues through a lens that is approachable to younger audiences, without them feeling too dumbed down for older readers.

This is a wonderful read, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for books with great neurodivergent representation.

I received.a free eARC of this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

There are a growing number of MG and YA books with neurodiverse protagonists. In general, ones where the author is neurodiverse themselves tend to be the best. Show Us Who You Are is yet another piece of evidence in support of this theory.

Cora is autistic. She struggles to find her place in this world, often being excluded even in her areas of strength, such as writing, because of the perceptions others hold of her. When she meets Adrien, the homeschooled son of her older brother’s boss at Pomegranate, an AI firm working on digitally saving people’s personalities as “grams”, she finds a like mind, and a friend.

This by itself is a compelling beginning. That struggle for connection is vividly and well played, as is the connection that ND folks often find with each other, What follows, though, is even stronger. Each step Cora takes is logical. Her emotions are real and raw. And the story progresses to a logical, well earned conclusion, while not shying away from hard questions.

Neurodiverse kids will see themselves in Cora and Adrien. So will neurotypical ones who feel different. Meaningful representation in a solid sci fi book. Well done.

I love Elle McNicoll and I love autistic protagonists. This book is an absolute blessing. Cora is wonderful, Adrien is wonderful, and I've never seen a book that so heavily focused on ableism and eugenics in such a clear way and so unequivocally denouncing it, especially surrounding neurodivergent children. This book has already been released in the UK, so any comments obviously can't be taken into consideration for publication, but I wouldn't have any notes even if they might make a difference. There isn't anything in this book that needs to be different (much in the way nothing in our protagonists needs to be different,) I like the attention to the complexities in friendships between neurodivergent children- not perfect and effortless, but somehow The Same. Adrien waking up at the end could be considered cliche or unrealistic, but don't they deserve it? Don't we deserve a little disabled joy and victory? The technology is interwoven with the plot in a very reserved way; some readers might not pick up on the fact that this isn't just sci-fi with new technology, but is actually set in the future, but the aesthetic and background it provides is enough to give us a real feeling for the world in the way that a twelve year old might process it. Outstanding.

This is a wonderful sci-fi/dystopian style tale for younger readers. It deftly tackles topics of ethics and eugenics, grief and loss, mental health and neurodivergence, and social dynamics. It’s emotional, nuanced, and very empathetic. I enjoy the representation of both ADHD and Autistic representation in both of the main characters, and I love the acceptance and understanding of their families. I also appreciate that the characters remain true to themselves in spite of a society and cast of characters that are hell bent on getting them to conform, change, and “be normal.” I found myself quite drawn into the story and really appreciating how much I related to Cora and Adrien even as an adult! I just recently finished watching “Made for Love” on HBO which tackled very similar topics but aimed towards adults, and i was delighted to see “Show Us Who You Are” available for kiddos and teens because it’s quite similar but more age appropriate. There’s a lot of subtlety and nuance to the elements of this story even on topics such as consent and autonomy, and I really enjoyed that. Looking forward to gifting this to family members for the holidays!

Show Us Who You Are is a fast-paced story that dives deep into thought provoking questions about our identities, our differences, and what we're willing to sacrifice for those we love. Elle McNicoll writes from the point of view of neurodiverse Cora, providing insight into what it feels like for an autistic twelve year old to exist in the school and social situations of mostly neurotypical peers. Cora is enthralled by the work of the Pomegranate Institute and grapples with difficult ideas about the ethics of holograms, what makes us who we are, and whether she and other neurodiverse people are okay as they are or need to be "fixed".

There is a lot to discuss with students who read this book and the depth of these discussions can vary greatly based on where students are gaining entry to the content. Discussions could range from what makes a true friendship to the ethics of holograms and digital eugenics.

There were two things I found confusing in this book, which I'm almost hesitant to mention because I loved the book so much overall. First, it is mentioned several times that people don't fly in airplanes much anymore but it is never explained. I kept thinking it would be explained eventually, but it wasn't. The second thing that stuck out to me was that Cora's new friend Adrien is, according to the book, the only person with ADHD that she's ever met. As an educator, I find it improbable that a student could be 12 years old and not have met anyone with ADHD.

Those two things aside, this book will definitely be added to my list of book club books for students ready for discussion and debate. I'm looking forward to recommending it to other teachers as well.

Elle McNicoll is an absolute treasure to middle grade writing that features neurodivergent characters. This story brings Cora, autistic, and Aiden, ADHD, into a futuristic world where people aren't allowed to fly planes but artificial intelligence and holograms are far more advanced than our current experience. Cora is wrestling with grief over the loss of her mother, learning to find her place in a school that isn't very accepting, and how to speak up for herself to family, friends, and the world. The suspense, the ethical wrestling, the mystery... All of these elements draw the story quickly forward. And there were so many moments where I, as an autistic reader, felt that the child within felt so seen -- and I know that our neurodivergent students desperately need that, too, across all of the genres. McNicoll is quickly becoming a must buy author for me.

This middle grade sci-fi novel about a neurodiverse girl written by a neurodiverse author will signal loud and clear to some students. The main character, Cora, is likable and the author does a great job of explaining Cora's thoughts and behaviors. It might even make a neurotypical kid say, "huh, that's why that autistic student does that" or it might make someone think, "hmm, I can relate to that, I get overwhelmed making small talk too!"

The only critique I have with the book is towards the end of the book, chapter 27. The book does not sound authentic to Cora in this chapter and it seems like it's trying to tell the reader too many different things. Luckily the book clicks back into place in chapter 28. I love the sci-fi aspect of the book and think that fans of Margaret Peterson Haddix will also like this one!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this middle grade novel.

Appropriate for upper middle grade readers, this book takes a hard look at ethics associated with the possibilities of artificial intelligence and digital preservation. It does a great job dealing with grief, neurodivergence, friendship, and everything in between. Though it's very different from McNicoll's first book, A KIND OF SPARK, it's equally powerful in a dramatically different way.

Another great story with autistic representation written by an autistic author. Cora's story opens up an important dialog about how we perceive those who are unlike ourselves. As a neurotypical person, I have no idea how an autistic person experiences the world. I may get glimpses from autistic students, but that is only a tiny portion of who they are. We need to realize that people of all abilities are valuable to our society just as they are and don't need to be "cured".

This was such a heartfelt lovely story <3

Cora is a 12 yo autistic girl. She lost her mom when she was little, and now lives with her father and older brother, who works for a mysterious company called Pomegranate Technologies. One night, Cora, her brother and her father go to a party at her brother's boss's house and there she meets and befriends Adrien, the son of the before mentioned boss, the CEO of Pomegranate Technologies.

As she starts hanging out with Adrien, at first reluctantly but soon she gives in to his charm and eccentric personality, she finds out more about what PT does and is asked by Adrien's father to be interviewed to help out PT in its mission. In fact, Pomegranate Technologies is trying to create holograms of real people so that potential customers will be able to interact with loved ones who passed away, famous stars and so on and Cora is PT's chance to study a neurodivergent person in order to faithfully recreate a neurodivergent hologram.
Cora, wishing everyday she had the possibility to speak with her mum once more, agrees; however she'll soon discover that PT's true intentions are much more sinister and dangerous.

I loved Cora's strenght and her determination, her pain and her grief, her courage to speak up about herself, how she was treated and how neurodivergent people like her are treated.
I loved her friendship with Adrien, it was so pure and blunt, how they were just themselves openly, even though other people looking at them might think they're weird or strange.

Do you have to suspend your disblief a little bit because she's twelve and she's the only one advocating for neurodivergent people and fighting for their cause with no grown ups to intervene and help her out? Well, yes. As it often happens with middle grade books, you gotta do that.
That being said, I loved the story, I teared up more than once (yes, I can get very emotional very fast) and I could see myself in so many aspects of this book.
I'm so happy to see neurodivergent representation done well, happy that neurodivergent people can read stories about people just like them and live new adventures through the pages they read.

This book was so beautiful and moving. I love that Elle McNicoll incorporates autism into a fully palatable book with sci-fi themes for any reader, and especially younger ones. Her previous book made me cry and this one accomplished that even more. She finds a way to get to the heart of difficult matters and give a moral to the story that helps people who are normally bullied or undermined feel like they have agency and courage. I highly recommend this for any library.