Long review. Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, and Atheneum Books for Young Readers for the digital arc.

“This is real for you today, but Blackness is not your reality.”

Wow! DeAndra was writing in this. You can tell her pen is blessed. She wrote the autism representation with so much care and strength. This book is so amazing. She did a really good job of capturing what it's like to be black in America. Especially for a black man at any age and it doesn't matter what disability you have because all they see first is, black. These friends, coaches and so on seen Brandon as the one to make them look good with football and how they look good being linked to him. The moment something horrible happens they all turn their backs.

I really love this family. Brandon and Aiden are such a beautiful bond of brotherly love and kindness. I enjoyed, while also being hurt, how we get to experience first hand how this is effecting each member of the family. We see the change as the trial starts. Also see how people would rather hide the truth knowing that this moment can destroy someone’s future before it even begins. All because they rather not be exposed for the privilege they use day in and day out. Care more about protecting a nasty parasite in your family, in your community than focusing on right vs wrong no matter who it is.

Aiden was a stellar character. I absolutely loved his growth and honesty. I mean the he was serving those other characters up with things to make them think and expose them for who they are. You want to talk about proud. I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of a character. This book deserves every blessing.

Quotes/moments:
-“Is his freedom worth less than your comfort?”
-When Aiden spoke facts at football practice and in the locker room with the coach.
-Aiden and Isabella ♥️.
-When Marica told Aiden she was sorry and he said “Yes. You are.”
-When Aiden had to break down autism to Carter.
-“When have you had to be perfect, Aiden? You get to mess up! You get to mess up and keep messing up and Mom and Dad will accept it, they’ll even expect it. I’m the one who has to be perfect. I have to be the perfect son, the easy one. I have to be the perfect brother to be—” Brandon presses his lips together.
-I am used to people making assumptions about me the second they find out that I am autistic. People who believe I am either a problem to be had or fixed. People who believe I am either incapable or somehow super capable due to autism being some “secret superpower.” I am used to watching that shift from a normal interaction to a stereotypical one the second the word “autism” is uttered.

All the Noise at Once is a deeply moving, beautifully written novel that felt incredibly personal to me. As a mother to a son who is autistic, this book resonated with me so much. The author captured the nuances of navigating this world with tenderness, honesty, and authenticity that hit me straight in the heart.

This book places us directly in the mind of Aiden, a young African-American teenager living with autism. Through his perspective, we’re offered an intimate look at how he processes the world—his fears, frustrations, and quiet moments of clarity. As a mother to a child on the spectrum, this story gave me a deeper understanding and helped me imagine how my son might be feeling in situations he can’t always put into words. It was incredibly insightful, and I truly value the way the author captured Aiden’s inner world with such care.

From the very first page, I was completely immersed. I found myself rooting for Aiden and Brandon throughout every challenge, triumph and moment of growth. The emotional depth of the story is unmatched—it doesn’t shy away from the hard parts of life, yet it never loses its sense of hope.

What really stood out to me was how the author balanced such a serious, emotional subject with small but impactful moments of humor. It never felt out of place—if anything, those glimpses of levity made the story feel even more human and relatable.

This is a novel that lingers long after you turn the final page. It’s one I’ll be recommending to friends, and family. I’m so grateful this story exists—it made me feel seen.

The blurb:
"All Aiden ever wanted to do was play football just like his star quarterback brother, Brandon. Unfortunately, due to Aiden’s autism, summer football tryouts did not go well when Aiden finds himself at the bottom of a pile-up resulting in an over-stimulation meltdown. But when the school year starts, a spot on the team opens urgently needing to be filled. Aiden finally gets his chance to play the game he loves most.
However, not every team member is happy about Aiden’s position on the team, wary of how his autism will present itself on game day. Tensions rise. A fight breaks out. Cops are called.
When Brandon tries to interfere on behalf of his brother, he is arrested by the very same cops who, just hours earlier, were chanting his name from the bleachers. When trumped up charges appear for felony assault on an officer, everything Brandon has worked for starts to slip away and the brothers’ relationship is tested."

I learned a lot about the various forms of annoyance that the autistic brother could not tolerate and those things that those without autism could do when interacting with a person on the autism spectrum. Beyond that, this novel was written so well with fully dimensional characters. There's a lot of interior monologue that gives the reader insight into how the brothers relate to each other, their strengths as a family and they friendships they make.

I believe YA readers and adults will gain from reading this engrossing novel. If readers are football fans they'll love the play by play action. If readers are parents, they'll learn much of how one family navigates the stresses of the situation their oldest son goes through. What is of significance is that the author is herself autistic, so the story is authentic and delves deep into the emotions of the main character.

Great story. Aiden is an autistic black junior in high school and all he wants to do is play football with his brother Brandon as this is Brandon’s last year in high school, and he will be going off to college. One celebration after a football game gets the boys in trouble and that dream gets placed on hold. The author did a great job with representation of autism. The Author also did a good job talking about racism, police brutality and family bonds. I loved Aiden and Brandon brother relationship. The bond that they had was everything. I love how Brandon was always including Aiden in everything that he did and he loved his brother. Aiden was so smart and honest. Aiden was my favorite character.

I loved so much about this book! The bond between brothers Aiden and Brandon was so heartfelt. I love football, so I thought the football references were a great touch. I appreciated how the story explored race, social justice, and privilege, but what stood out most to me was the autism representation. It really made me think about how being both Black and autistic can shape the way someone experiences the world and how the world experiences them. There were some moments that were really sweet and funny and brought a bit of levity to the story. This was a quick read for me, but also a deeply profound one. I really enjoyed it and look forward to more from this author. Thank you to Simon Teen for the eARC!

Okay, this story had me crying so hard and so much a lot of times. I felt horrible for the poor autistic child navigating through this situation and feeling helpless. I loved the pacing in this and I loved hoe this whole story played out. I had such a great time reading it.

Thank you so much to Simon Teen for a copy of this e-ARC! This is an AMAZING YA story. Although this book stressed and even angered me, I loved the representation of autism. I really appreciated how this story shed light on the challenges of living on the spectrum while also dealing with daily biases and racism as a Black person.

One of my favorite aspects of this book was the brotherhood, as well as the questions around fairness and privilege. I truly felt for both Brandon and Aiden. The conflicting emotions they each experienced really tugged at my heartstrings. This will be a book I will forever recommend, especially to anyone who is a fan of YA. Read if you enjoy:

-Books with neurodivergent representation
-Brotherhood bonds
-Books that address social injustices

I would’ve been into the race and social justice plots by themselves, BUT I absolutely love and believe the autistic representation made the story so much better! I really enjoyed getting to know Aiden. Being picked on for being autistic set off this domino effect of bad things, but through it all, I loved seeing the people around Aiden learn to accept him. Also, seeing Aiden learn to be accepted. I was just so happy for him. Of course, the other parts of the plot are heavy as well. Brandon’s experience was difficult to read, but his story reflects real life and needs to be told. Also, the very serious representation of how Black people are treated by cops in general, but being Black and autistic is a whole other level of challenging and an important reality to portray. My heart really hurt for Aiden during the cop scene. I flew through this book and I hope everyone gets to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

This book is a game-winning touchdown of a book! DeAndra Davis has written an absolute gem in All the Noise at Once. Aiden’s POV narration is an inviting window into the mind of an autistic boy and sings with Davis’s lived experience as an autistic person. I’m neurodivergent, too, and I felt held by so many parts of this story. I know it is going to mean so much to neurodivergent teens—especially boys. The sibling story at the heart of the book is also moving and real, showing all the parts of siblinghood. I just really loved this one. It’s going big places—I can feel it!

And just on a silly personal note—I am not a football person at all, but I found myself cheering during each on-page game for this book. Sports knowledge is not needed to enjoy this at all. It’s accessible even to chronic indoor kids (like me).

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was so close to DNFing this book or just putting it aside for a little bit but I knew that it had potential so I wanted to give it more of a chance and once I got to the 50% mark, I ended up just flying through the book. I really loved the main character Aiden, and I loved his connection with his older brother. I loved the representation and how reflective it was in a very simple and realistic way. I also appreciated the important conversations that were brought up, and the way that all the characters were able to come together and do the right thing considering all the context and circumstances. Obviously this wasn’t like my favorite book in the entire world, but I highly recommend it and overall just think it’s important for people to read. There are a lot of topics and conversations that are talked about in this book that are very relevant in our world today and those are the kinds of books we should be reading right now.

𐙚 - 🅣🅗🅞🅤🅖🅗🅣🅢: Such a great read✨
Wow! This story of brotherhood and identity was just so gripping. It highlights the unfortunate reality of social injustice. With Black autistic rep at the center of the story, Davis takes you on a journey that has you feeling like these are your own sons learning to navigate the challenges and struggles that someone like them may face in this world despite the choices made to protect them from these realities. Packed with emotions, there moments of pride, anxiety, frustration, fear, love, and so much more.

✨🗣️Shout out to Brandon. He was everything the Aiden’s of this world need and more. Even through his own journey, he provided such a beautiful comfort in his brotherhood to Aiden. ✨

Did I ever think I would enjoy a book that had football in it? Nope. But guess what?! This book was great! I would read it again, for sure.

Aiden is a black autistic teenager who just wants to be on the football team with his big brother. There is an incident, and Aiden tries to help find out the truth and get justice for his brother all while navigating his own emotions about everything going on around him.

I loved the autism representation in this book!

I’m sure this a great story with an impactful message, but the way the prose conveyed how the protagonist’s brain worked kept taking me out. The constant “Note” tangents frustrated me, especially the ones about football.

This book was so so so soooo good! DeAndra did a beautiful job with telling Aiden and Brandon’s story., and I have very minimal critiques.

All the Noise at Once follows Aiden and Brandon, two brothers who have bonded through their love of random facts and football. Aiden is on the autism spectrum and all he wants to do is play football with his brother before he graduates. He’s struggled with dealing with controlling his emotions and reactions when he gets overwhelmed, which he thought ruined his chances, until an opportunity comes up that allows him to join. After the team goes out to celebrate their big win, a teammate named Carter picks a fight with Aiden where someone calls the police and the situation escalates. Aiden and his other black teammates are assaulted by the police for “resisting arrest,” and Brandon is arrested for assaulting an officer trying to save Aiden from being hurt. Aiden now has to navigate school without him brother while Brandon prepares for his trial after finding out the police are trying him as an adult. This story allows both brothers to navigate grief of the familiar, understanding new feelings they’ve never dealt with, learning who really had your back or not, pushing back, and about what resilience truly means.

- I loved Aiden and Brandon’s relationship. The random animal facts and how Brandon looks out for him.
- I love Isabella
- I love Aiden’s ability to understand more than people give autistic people credit for
- the pushback of authority
- questions the norms of privilege and fairness

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!

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 ❤️

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 🥹

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

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.

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.