17. A book with a neurodiverse character

[Stacey]

Hi all - I'm reading My Dark Vanessa for my local library book club pick this month, and I was wondering about slotting it in for this prompt, too. Would anyone know if it fits? Thanks!

[Chelsey]

1. What are you reading for this category?
Left Neglected

2. How did the main character fit under neurodiversity?
Left Neglect- Brain Injury

3. Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read?
Absolutely. Really interesting look at a disorder I knew nothing about.

[Stacey]

This really turned into a no-brainer for me.

While My Dark Vanessa has it's share of neurodiversity, I chose Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker for this week's prompt.

It's the story of six sons out of one family of 12 children who suffered from schizophrenia. It trails each family member and the advances made in the study of this insidious disease over the past six-plus decades. Highly riveting, the topic was wholly unfamiliar to me.

[Tabitha]

Going with

[Joanne]

I ended up reading The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang which I just loved. The main female character is autistic and it was an own voices story, as the author had discovered later in life that she also is autistic. I have read several books about autistic characters but they tended to be male characters, and as the author explains in the note at the end, women tend to present differently than men when it comes to autism.

[Alesha]

1. What are you reading for this category?
A List of Cages by Robin Roe

2. How did the main character fit under neurodiversity?
There are two main characters. Julian, a high school freshman, is dyslexic. Adam, a high school senior, has ADHD.

3. Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read?
Yes, most of the books on my TBR and those I've read in the past do not have any neurodiverse characters. This book helped to show the reader what types of inner-thoughts and thought-processes people with ADHD or dyslexia might experience. The only other book that immediately comes to my mind that I've read in this category before is The Kiss Quotient.

This book was extremely dark and hard-to-read at times, but I really enjoyed it and feel that it was a good representation of neurodiversity. 4.5 stars.

[Jo]

One of the best non-fiction books I read this year: Into the Grey Zone: A Neuroscientist Explores the Border Between Life and Death. All about people who are stuck between life and death (coma, vegetative state, locked in) and how the scientists worked to better understanding and in some cases enable communication.

[Joan]

1. What are you reading for this category? Flowers for Algernon
2. How did the main character fit under neurodiversity? The character starts out having intellectual disablity and then has an operation to be made smarter
3. Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read? His point of view is interesting as he is looking back and realizing how people treated him when he was slow.

[SadieReadsAgain]

What are you reading for this category? The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
How did the main character fit under neurodiversity? The main character has been hospitalised for a non-defined mental health issue
Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read? Yeah, as this is a humorous book which is fictional. If I read mental health books they're either fictional and quite serious, or memoir (and either funny or serious, but real).

For years I wrote this off as a rom-com, but when someone told me it was about mental health I decided to give it a go. So, Pat Peoples (worst name in literature?) is brought home by his mother after treatment in a mental health institution for an undisclosed amount of time. He has very specific issues including, hilariously, uncontrollable anger when he hears Kenny G. He's obsessed with exercise an reconciling with his wife in their very own happy ending. We know that something terrible happened which lead to his hospitalisation, and his estrangement from his wife, but we don't know what. This book is heavy on the American football thing - lots of matches, tailgate parties and even his therapist is a fellow Eagles fan. I hate sports, so that was a bit grating, but I fully understand why it played a big role in this book. Pat strikes up an odd relationship with a similarly unwell woman whose husband has died, which involves her following him when he runs, and a date where they don't talk much and share a bowl of cereal. This book is quirky. It's funny, and I liked the way it dealt with mental health by not being an in-depth exploration (though I know some may find it flippant...I wouldn't agree). It has a really sweet ending, and despite the heavy issues it's actually quite a fun read.

[Alexx]

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

2. How did the main character fit under neurodiversity?
Well an official diagnosis wasn't mentioned in the book, although the main character spent 7 years in a psychiatric hospital (4 years inpatient and 3 years outpatient)

3. Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read?
I suppose, in a way it was different as I don't think I've read many books with neurodiverse characters but it's not a decision that was made purposely

[Suzanne]

1. What are you reading for this category?
Funny, You Don't Look Autistic: A Comedian's Guide to Life on the Spectrum

2. How did the main character fit under neurodiversity?
The author of this memoir has been diagnosed with autism.

3. Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read?
I read a lot of memoirs, so in that sense this book is not different from what I normally read. I have read a number of books where a character has autism because I have a nephew with autism. I decided to pick a nonfiction choice for this prompt because I wanted to get an authentic viewpoint.

[Jackie, Solstitial Mod]

I went with Sadie for this prompt; the main character has a stutter, which is a type of fluency disorder.

[Kellie Lyn]

What are you reading for this category?

Regular: Fish in a Tree Lynda Mullaly Hunt-dyslexia
ABC: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock Matthew Quick-Depression with homicidal and suicidal ideations

Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read?

Both of these books were about children in school and the struggles they were undergoing with thier respective issues. As a teacher, I found each book interesting to read and see how the author protrayed the thoughts and feelings of each child.

[Veronica]

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig
2. How did the main character fit under neurodiversity?
Ginny is on the autism spectrum.
3. Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read?
I did, as I don't believe I have ever read anything from an autistic person's point of view before.

[Arunimaa]

1) What are you reading for this category?
I read The Bride Test


2) How did the main character fit under neurodiversity?
Khai, the male protagonist, is autistic.

3) Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read?
Definitely! I haven't read a lot of books dealing with neurodiverse characters as the protagonists. And it's always interesting to view the events from their perspective, understand their thought processes and actions rather than them being described by another person's POV. So it was definitely new and intriguing for me.

[Ashley]

Tabitha wrote: "Going with "

Who in the book is a neurodiverse character, Tabitha? I could use this one as well!

[Emily]

I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It's not explicitly said, but my assumption is the main character is autistic. It's definitely a different POV than most books I read.

[Tracy]

A mental asylum and several mental health issues, as well as an autistic character, are included in The Curse of Misty Wayfair by Jaime Jo Wright. It was an interesting insight into some of the history of the treatment of mental illness (on a fictional level).

[Bree]

I just finished Harrow the Ninth which would absolutely work for this prompt, for anyone continuing the Locked Tomb series.

[nitisha]

Ashley wrote: "Tabitha wrote: "Going with "

Who in the book is a neurodiverse character, Tabitha? I could use this one as well!"

Ashley, Jack (view spoiler)[ has OCD (hide spoiler)] Tagging spoiler, just in case.

[Jette]

1. What are you reading for this category? When Mr. Dog Bites
2. How did the main character fit under neurodiversity? The character has Tourette's Syndrome
3. Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read? It was sometimes hard to differentiate between what was his personality and what was Tourette's. He had some very good points but was always careful to distinguish between himself and some of the others at his 'special' school

[Wendy]

So Flowers for Algernon has been on my Goodreads TBR list for...eleven years. I guess it is time...(just started today!)

[GailW]

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read The Rosie Effect
2. How did the main character fit under neurodiversity?
Asperger's syndrome
3. Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read?
Yes, definitely.

[star_fire13]

1. What are you reading for this category?
Queen of Air and Darkness

2. How did the main character fit under neurodiversity?
It wasn't the main character, but Tiberius (Ty) Blackthorn was featured more prominently in this book than in the previous two. He's clearly somewhere on the autism spectrum; based on my own experience and professionalism, I'd say Asperger's Syndrome, but the previous book outright called it Autism. He's loved by his family, but they're wary of how he presents himself, since their organization and society still greatly stigmatizes (and probably institutionalizes) mental and social disorders.

3. Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read?
The book is written in third person, so I didn't really get to see from his POV per se.

[Anna]

1. What are you reading for this category?

I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time for this prompt.

2. How did the main character fit under neurodiversity?

The main character was autistic.

3. Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read?

The point of view was clearly different, but it also made the story more interesting I think being told from an autistic person's point of view. I liked the book,

[Jill]

What are you reading for this category?
I read The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

How did the main character fit under neurodiversity?
Aspberger's Syndrome

Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read?
I tend to avoid romance books, but this was a quick easy read.

[Jackie]

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays by Esmé Weijun Wang

2. How did the main character fit under neurodiversity?
She has schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type.

3. Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read?
I don't think I've ever read a book from the point of view of person this diagnosis. I think what comes across most in this book is that people with diagnoses for types of schizophrenia are just trying to come to terms with them. How do you live when at any moment your reality and the reality of the other people in your life become begin to fracture? You hear voices that other people can't hear and believe, for example, that you are dead when everyone else knows you are very much alive. It is a scary reality that is compounded with both a lack of a cure or often even an effective way to manage this condition.

[Evelyn]

1. What are you reading for this category?
The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley
2. How did the main character fit under neurodiversity?
Autistic Spectrum
3. Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read?No

[Angela]

What are you reading for this category?
The Rosie Effect, by Graeme Simsion


How did the main character fit under neurodiversity?
The main character has Asperger’s Syndrome.

Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read?
All books offer a different point of view, so this was no different.

[Virginia]

Does Lennie in Of Mice and Men count as neurodiverse?

[Jackie, Solstitial Mod]

Dogdaysinaz wrote: "Does Lennie in Of Mice and Men count as neurodiverse?"

Yes, I think it's pretty clear that he has some sort of developmental disorder.

[Virginia]

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read Of Mice and Men. I have a great Book of the Month edition with Tortilla Flat in the same volume. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9... (some of the reviews on this version are...LOL.)
It's part of a John Steinbeck set I'm trying to get through this year. (I only have the two shortest books left after I finish the one I'm on now!)

2. How did the main character fit under neurodiversity?
Lennie was described as simple-minded. I don't think neurodiverse was a term in 1937 when this was published.

3. Did you find this point of view different from what you normally read?
Yes, the whole story is...uncomfortable...but I can see why it's a classic.

[JenniferAustin]

ladymurmur wrote: "I've been meaning to read The Speed of Dark for ages. This might be the time!"

Did you end up reading it? It's a book I loved!