The Late Crew

by Rab Ferguson

Tyler is late for school again. And his teacher's not happy about it.

Thing is, his mum is sick and his autistic younger brother, Levi, needs help getting ready for school. Is Tyler supposed to leave without giving Levi his breakfast or Mum her cup of tea?

Sent to detention for lateness, he is joined by “bad-boy” Jayden, class clown Alisha, and, most surprisingly, straight-A student, Grace.

When an alien crash lands in their school gym, "The Late Crew" are entrusted with his special cargo. But can Tyler really take on another responsibility? It turns out his fellow Late Crew have problems of their own; but perhaps if they team up, they could just save their school and their new friend too…

Genres: Audiobook, Science Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

Published September 2, 2024

Reviews

[Becky Ginther]

This was a quick and easy read/listen, and while the story itself was somewhat straightforward, the exploration of the relationship between Tyler and his family really stood out. It's also a fun adventure/sci-fi story involving aliens.

Tyler's younger brother, Liam, has autism, and his mom has chronic fatigue syndrome. The way this book described the experiences of both the brother and the mom, but also Tyler's role in caring of them, felt very realistic and important to portray to young readers while being super approachable. At one point, a moving bit that is actually very lighthearted has the brothers discussing the possibility of an alien race all having autistic traits and how on that planet, Liam would be the neurotypical one. It would be a great conversation starter with kids.

[Rose]

The story was fun, and there was a fun alien romp here, but what impressed me with this book was how disability is handled. Tyler is a neurotypical, non-disabled teenager, but the two central people in his family both have significant disabilities. Tyler's little brother Liam has autism and some moderate support needs, and while some ways Liam's disability manifests can cause additional challenges, Liam's disabled status is never viewed as a bad thing. At one point, Liam and Tyler imagine a race of aliens that might view Liam as more "neurotypical" than Tyler. Tyler's mom has CFS/ME, so she also has trouble doing all of the things that most single moms do to keep their household running. The author uses Tyler's mom's disability to explain Spoon Theory to young readers, which I thought was absolutely fantastic. The author even describes instances in which Liam's and his mom's disabilities are struggle in connection-- when Liam has a meltdown, that can use up his mom's Spoons. Tyler is a significant provider of care for both his mom and his brother, but I didn't feel like his role as a carer was being viewed as unfair to Tyler. It seemed to me that Tyler was accepting his role as a care provider as a service to his family, but his mom also reinforced that he should take time to be a kid. Tyler's family members (individually and as a unit) are disabled by society: Tyler is punished for being late as a result of his care duties and Liam is ostracized by his classmates because he uses a paraprofessional at school. Part of the story is about helping Tyler get his own accommodations, even though he does not have a disability, and I think care for carers and allies is also an important part of good allyship.

I received a free ALC for library employees from Libro.fm.

[Stephy]

Such an incredibly educational book for young readers about young carers, chronic fatigue, autism and kindness.
Suffering from long Covid myself this book really explains the day to day reality of a long term illness as well as its effect on carers. I loved the characters and the clever description, imagery and a unique story.

[Katrina (at)FlirtingWithFiction]

Full review to come. This is a really cool book that will make a lot of young caregivers feel really seen. It also has autism and chronic illness representation.

[Tam I]

For what it was, it was wonderful.

Good representation of autism, chronic fatigue syndrome, and being a young caregiver.

[Nicole]

Good shorter middle-grade "adventure".

[Paul Robinson]

⭐️ 4.0 STARS ⭐️