-Disclaimer: I received this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.-

1.5 stars

Disjointed & hard to read font.

"There are no words to describe the pain of denying yourself for a lifetime".

Some information was new to me. It was interesting to see some overlap between neurodivergent and neurotypicals. It mentions how measuring time can be hard to some. How some Autistic people use notecards to talk. Hair can also cause overstimulation which results in them cutting it off or covering it.

But other than that, a bunch of the information was repetitive (a lot is about mirroring, masking, & recovering). The majority of the art was horrible. It was hard to tell when one story ended and another began. All-in-all, the book wasn't well-presented.

My one and only problem was that it was really disorganized. It was pure chaos at time. There's no title page or anything to signify that a comic ended and another one is starting. They are just thrown there in no particular order. There should be accessibility guidelines to AT THE VERY LEAST make sure the text on the comics is readable, which isn't true for many many of them. Small fonts, thin fonts, tons and tons of text in a single page, contrasting colors that made my eyes hurt, everything that could have gone wrong in that regard went wrong at some point.
There was also no theme besides from autism. That's where the right order might have done some good. About half of these were about the authors telling their experiences being autistic, and the other half were textbook stuff: what's sensory overload? What's a meltdown? Why is it difficult to get diagnosed as an adult? I didn't care about these because I honestly already knew everything in them (I am making a thesis on autism currently so I might be unusually privileged), but either way I don't think you should waste book space in things that you can easily google. Or if you do, make it make sense. Put them as openers for a section of comics. What's a meltdown? This is a meltdown. Now we'll read a few comics about the authors' experiences with meltdowns.
The mood was also all over the place. Some were like "I hate my autism and I wish I was dead sometimes" and then after two pages of that would come a comic that's like "autism is the best! I love being autistic!". Which are two completely valid and real experiences, but as a reader it felt wonky. This is a problem of order, not of content.
Overall the book made it really hard to pay attention to it. I would say the longest comic was 6 pages long, the book is almost 200 pages long so you can imagine how distracting constantly jumping from one idea to the next, unrelated one got over time. I finished it last night and I have trouble remembering more than three or four of the comics. I understand this was more of a zine that got traditionally published than a full fledged comic anthology, but there are still some things that would've taken almost no effort to fix and would've made my experience reading this much better.

VERY IMPORTANT THING: as I mentioned I'm currently doing my thesis on autism and as far as I can tell there's no misinformation in this book. That's a heavy enemy in the academic sphere for the autism topic, and I was glad honestly that the authors didn't contribute to it. So don't be afraid to read it, just know that you may end up dizzy when you finish it from the chaos that's inside.

I loved this book!! What a wonderful resource for those living with ASD. This book is going to be an instant hit with teen/young adult readers.

I am not on the spectrum, as far as I know at least. I do have a lot of friends and a sister who have been diagnosed, and a few of them recommended this to me.

This was such a great, uplifting anthology! There's mini comics from 40 autistic creators, and I really loved them. I even recognised some of them from when friend had sent them to me!

I think this is a really good resource to revisit, it’s easy to read and can be enjoyed by a lot of different ages. The stories empower people on the spectrum and even have coping strategies that my friends let me know really work ❤️

This is a good collection of comics about being autistic no matter what age you are, where in your autism journey you are, or even if you aren't autistic!

I was thrilled to see so many autistic creators in one place, and found it very validating to see and read some of their experiences. I also thought that having comics was a good way to mix visual media so people could learn whether they prefer words or images.

I myself am still early in my autistic journey, having recently self-diagnosed myself. I identified with a lot of what was discussed here, and even learned some new things that I didn't realize had a name!

I would have liked title pages between each comic so I knew what they were called, but otherwise I really enjoyed all of these different comics coming together! Everyone who is autistic or has someone autistic in their lives should give it a read so they can learn more.

This was such an amazing collection, I wish I had it when I was younger. I wish my parents and friends had this when I was younger.

40 different artists, relatable stories, unique art styles, truly a brilliant collection. I’ll certainly get this for my birthday!

I highly recommend it to everyone who has an autistic friend and wants to understand different experiences or is wondering if they are autistic themselves.

"Sensory: Life on the Spectrum" is an anthology of short comics by autistic artists, in which they dig into different aspects of their autism and share different bits and pieces of their life as autistic people in a world that is, sadly, not quite adapted to anyone who steps outside of neurotipicity. Some of these comics were too short to fully convey the message, in my opinion, but this is purely a matter of narrative preferences. Many of them were excellent little peeks into the different experiences one can find within the spectrum, and I particularly loved having one comic that explained the growing criticism of the term "Asperger's Syndrome" (since many psychologists still use and defend this by-now outdated diagnostic label). All in all, this was an excellent anthology, and anyone interested in knowing autism from the words of actually autistic people should give it a go!

I really enjoyed seeing all the different comics in this book. I can definitely see this being a very popular book.

Thank you so much Netgalley for the ARC!❤️✨

Packed with valuable information, healthy coping mechanisms and stunning artworks, It is a remarkable book that I believe, will bring comfort to Autistic people all over the world. There are so many unfiltered experiences included, it was heart warming and enlightening to read. I loved all of the art styles. Some of them were whimsical, some resembled the ones we see in manga, some were childish but all of them were beautiful. Highly recommended!

Although I am highly sympathetic to this project and completely understand what they were going for, the quality of the different short vary to much.

Some of the works are quite amateurish and many are basically not good comics. That doesn’t mean that the stories and persons behind them aren’t valid. They just don’t cut it when it comes to actual published works that people have to pay for. They are perfect for a free webcomic but I’m a bit disappointed that this got through an editorial process and deemed worthy of print.

A delicious buffet of amazingly real comics presenting the wide variety of autistic perspectives and experiences, designed by a highly creative group of autistic contributors.

I generally enjoy reading YA and children books with neurodivergent themes. I have a neurodivergent son and seeing the increase of children’s literature and YA books that are now available that feature neurodivergent themes and topics is heartwarming and empowering.

This anthology of autistic comics is out of this world!! To say it is colorful and one of a kind just do it justice. It really is OUTSTANDING!! This doesn’t even touch the genuine perspectives that are shared in each of the comics. It helps neurodivergent readers know that they are not alone, and it lets neurotypical readers see another point of view.

I just can’t say enough about this terrific compilation!! Go out and get your copy today.

Grateful to have received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley & Andrews McMeel Publishing.

This book is a sweet collection of various autistic people's life experiences, told and illustrated by themselves. I really enjoyed the variety of stories and styles that created a very diverse set. A lot of the illustrations are really amazing while some of them are made by people at the beginning of their artistic journey, but they are all unique and giving people the chance to completely own their stories made all of them very personal and touching. Thank you for putting together this little gem of a book!

Sensory: Life on the Spectrum as an anthology that beautifully captures how everyone on the spectrum sees and interacts with the world differently. It showcases to readers scenarios and concerns that those on the spectrum experience. This book perfectly encapsulates what it means to be human.

Life on the Spectrum by @Schnumn abfab autistic creator compilation!! Take understanding of autism to the next level. Just as no two herteronormatives are identical neither are two neurodivergents. Beautiful stories sprinkled with raw realness. #TLchat #BookTwitter #GraphicNovel

I appreciated that this was a collection of comics written individuals with autism and being able to hear their individual perspectives on what it is like to be them.

I was interested in learning insights to their feelings and thoughts since I have an adult son with autism who is unable to tell me how he feels yet has many sensory issues.

I did expect the book to talk more of sensory issues. While some did, many spoke more of feelings of being left out and misunderstood. Many of the writers were high-functioning and diagnosed later in life or described as self-diagnosed.

Again, while I was expecting something else from this book initially, I think it is a worthy look at many different individuals on the spectrum being able to express themselves.

Amazingly insightful collection of stories. Over the course of approx. 170 pages you are introduced to 40 creators, their stories, their struggles, and their lives. This is a very intimate and personal share of their life on the spectrum.
Some are more upbeat and positive than others, while some highlight the difficulties and darker sides of the judgment or ridicule they've face. Each important and moving it's in own way.

I'm very thankful I was given the opportunity for read this and feel it's and important one for many that may feel alone or unheard.

**Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

It was wonderful seeing so many different artists and getting a small peak at what life is like for them. Each story was unique and gave a better understanding about how autism is experieced differently by each person with it. The only thing I think this book could have been better with is having a title page with the artist's information before each work. This is a great read for those on the spectrum and those that want to learn more about "Life on the Spectrum"

I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sensory: Life on the Spectrum: An Autistic Comics Anthology is a great Own Voices graphic novel about autism by several creators who are on the spectrum. Some of the stories made me nod along and smile, some helped me to understand more clearly another perspective I hadn't known before. I had some a-ha moments while reading a few of the stories and gained a lot of helpful information,

A great read for really everyone YA and older. This book would be an excellent resource to check out for those who have been diagnosed/self-diagnosed or are unsure if they are on the spectrum. I would definitely recommend this one. Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to access this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am a psychologist who works with children, teens, and adults in the spectrum and have been looking for good resources for cathartic and sensitive stories about what it is like being on the spectrum. Yes, maybe not all of this stories will be entirely relatable for everyone, and yet that is shown as a them through this book. I loved the representation, positive messages and often very honest and raw depictions of both the joys and the struggles of autistic experiences.

I will be recommending this book for my adults on the spectrum who like comics, and for many of my teens and older children I work with. I also will be recommending to all, especially other medical professionals who work with this population as I learned a lot due to powerful messaging from so many. I hope we continue to get books like this published!

A comic anthology from 40 different authors about their experiences having autism.

The themes across the comics were mostly the same, but it was interesting to get so many different view points about the same thing.

I definitely liked some of the art styles better than others. A couple of the comics had fonts that were hard to read, which was unfortunate. It would've been great if every comic had the author/artist credited with it instead of just on the contents page.

Thanks to Netgalley for an eARC.