Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Peta Lyre’s Rating Normal by Anna Whateley

2 reviews

nibs's review

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challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I really liked it. It's a simple yet emotive story about friendship & self-discovery. 

Peta's voice is really clear and the author does a great job at communicating her inner thoughts. I care about the characters in this book. 

I think it would be a very different experience for readers who don't know about neurodiversity and the the social model of disability. With that knowledge, you can see from the start how reliant Peta is on masking all the time (the book literally has 'rating normal' in its title) and how many people in her life have encouraged high masking behaviour and suppressing her neurodivergent traits.
Understanding this made me feel happy for Peta that by the end of the book she's exploring who she is unmasked and how to approach her life. But for readers who don't have this broader context, I wonder how they'd feel - would they be confused? Would they empathise and gain knowledge from Peta's experience? Maybe they're like Sam and Jeb - don't entirely get Peta but love and support her regardless.
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babyleo's review

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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