29 - A Book with a Neurodivergent Main Character

[Heather]

I read Come Tumbling Down for this prompt. The main character Jack has OCD. I think other books in the series Jack is in could work too -- Every Heart a Doorway and Down Among the Sticks and Bones.

[Kelly]

I just finished Hello Stranger by Katherine Center and the main character has Prosopagnosia or faceblindness. Does this qualify as neurodivergent?

[Nadine in NY]

Kelly wrote: "I just finished Hello Stranger by Katherine Center and the main character has Prosopagnosia or faceblindness. Does this qualify as neurodivergent?"



Yes

[Laura Ruth]

An Excess Male by Maggie Shen King has four POV characters, one of whom is autistic.

[Kristy]

I read “Holly” by Stephen King. Holly is neurodivergent. She was in the Bill Hodges trilogy before getting her own spin off trilogy.

[Dea]

I read either YA or middle grade fiction each year in January and February, because I'm a judge for our county's reading quiz bowl. I try to fit as many of my ten books into here, so I can knock out prompts early!

It's not canon, but I'm counting The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga as my "neurodivergent main character."

One of the girls, Quinn, has several of the characteristics that, looking back, were the flashing neon signs I have ADHD.

She talks about not being able to be still no matter how hard she tries.

Quinn describes having so many thoughts she can’t get them down fast enough, because she has “too many thoughts”.

She has “doom spiral” thoughts that it’s hard to break out of.

Her mom talks about how Quinn becomes “like a zombie” as she reads internet articles, clicking obsessively on one after another.

She has read every book in the library about her favorite topic, to the point that the librarian orders new books on the topic and save them for her. (The topic itself is chosen because of a recent extreme trauma, but the focus is typical of ADHD hyper focus.)

The character isn't stated as having ADHD (so far), but I feel like Warga accidentally created a neurodivergent character. Since so many of us go undiagnosed until well into adulthood, that feels appropriate.

[Anshita]

I am reading Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi for this prompt. I read The Death of Vivek Oji by Emezi last year and loved it.

[Lilith]

Anshita wrote: "I am reading Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi for this prompt. I read The Death of Vivek Oji by Emezi last year and loved it."

I hope you enjoy Freshwater! I read it for an IRL challenge, and really liked it. At first it felt bleak, in parts, to me, but it became so captivating, and it's so beautifully written, that it was difficult to put down for long.

[Paula]

I read the mystery guest for this one. Very enjoyable.

[Anshita]

Lilith wrote: "Anshita wrote: "I am reading Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi for this prompt. I read The Death of Vivek Oji by Emezi last year and loved it."

I hope you enjoy [book:F..." I am loving this book. Emezi always delivers. I would like to read the rest of their work.

[Milena]

Anshita wrote: "Lilith wrote: "Anshita wrote: "I am reading Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi for this prompt. I read The Death of Vivek Oji by Emezi last year and loved it."

I hope yo..."

Sorry to rain on your parade, but I also loved Freshwater and The Death of Vivek Oji, but did not care for You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty. I still gave it 3 stars for the beautiful writing and sense of place, but hated the story line so much. Very curious to hear what you think if you do ever end up reading it.

[Jaimi]

Anshita wrote: "Lilith wrote: "Anshita wrote: "I am reading Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi for this prompt. I read The Death of Vivek Oji by Emezi last year and loved it."

I hope yo..."

Just want to mention in case you or others in the thread don't know, Emezi uses they/them pronouns.

[Nadine in NY]

Milena wrote: "Sorry to rain on your parade, but I also loved Freshwater and The Death of Vivek Oji, but did not care for You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty. I still gave it 3 stars for the beautiful writing and sense of place, but hated the story line so much. Very curious to hear what you think if you do ever end up reading it...."



Yeah Emezi is unpredictable and always trying different but not always succeeding. YMaFoDwYB was pretty bad, and I was not a fan of Pet, either. I'll keep reading their new books though (except for any Pet sequels, I skip those)!

[Lilith]

Milena wrote: "Anshita wrote: "Lilith wrote: "Anshita wrote: "I am reading Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi for this prompt. I read The Death of Vivek Oji by Emezi last year and loved..."

Thanks! This was my first Emezi read, and I will definitely check out more.

[Aquaria]

I picked Helen Hoang's The Kiss Quotient. I'm *not* a romance fan, but this twist of non-typical characters might make it not too eye-rolling of an annoyance.

[Khalena Tate]

I read Adelaide for this one! The main character is bipolar.

[clara.lyc]

Is “Fight Club” main character neurodivergent right?

[Frogli]

I was browsing in the library and found The Framed Women of Ardemore House which has an autistic main character

[Julia]

not sure if this fits being non-fiction

[Jennifer W]

I was struggling with this prompt. I could read (and recommend) a ton of mental health books, but I wanted to stick with autism, or Asperger's, maybe ADHD. I was thinking I might try Autism in Heels: The Untold Story of a Female Life on the Spectrum, but it wasn't quite calling to me. Audible has a couple of lists up, and I found one that I think I will try (in book form), American Girl!

[Laura Ruth]

Laura Ruth wrote: "Any of the books in the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series would qualify; her being on the spectrum was specifically discussed in The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

I went with the 6th book in the series, The Girl Who Lived Twice

Review:
http://www.lauraruthloomis.com/whats-...

[Mony]

- What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
- The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley
- Rocket Science by Emily Mayer

[Mony]

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
The Love Hypothesis
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

[Denise]

I happen to be reading Holly because it was a Goodreads winner for last year, and it turns out that she is considered to be a neurodivergent character, so I'm using that book for this prompt.

I wanted to post a link to a site that talks about this, but I'm not allowed to post outside links here, so if you google "is the character Holly Gibney neurodivergent" you'll likely get the Washington Post article as your first hit.

[Mony]

PTSD is also considered neurodivergency in some circles. They go on to say that there are some changes to the brain with that condition.

[Mary]

I read miracle creek. It was really good

[LeahS]

I read But You Don’t Look Autistic at All. The book is based on the experiences of the author, Bianca Toeps. I thought it was I thought was extremely helpful, clearly written and well researched.

For a novel, I would recommend A Boy Made of Blocks.

[Victor]

Gone with Percy Jackson for this one

[Britany]

Finished The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose

My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Ron]

Even though I read a book for this prompt already, I currently picked up this book.

I hear it has an autistic character which is cool.


Cleat Cute

[Denise]

I read Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes

[Jennifer W]

I was struggling to get into American Girl in print, and audible has it for free while you're a subscriber, so I thought I would try it. So far, it is excellent! Even cooler, I was looking at the main book page of it and it has some info on the main narrator and *she* is also autistic! *in a stage whisper* Do I get double points for this? I feel like I should get double points for this... ;)

[Nadine in NY]

Jennifer W wrote: "I was struggling to get into American Girl in print, and audible has it for free while you're a subscriber, so I thought I would try it. So far, it is excellent! Even cooler, I was ..."




¡DOUBLE POINTS! hereby awarded to Jennifer!!! 🏆

[Sherri]

I read A Tempest at Sea

[Jennifer W]

Browsing around, I came across Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom if people are still looking and true crime fans.

[Michele]

Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem