Take a photo of a barcode or cover
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Grief, Car accident, Gaslighting
Minor: Death, Death of parent
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting
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Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
1. real shocker: I actually processed about 80–90% of the audiobook this time!!!! (as opposed to 30–40% last time I listened to one)
2. I cried. this was amazing. was NOT expecting that major thing that happened in the middle bc I hardly read the description at all before checking this out. oh my god. that caught me so off guard. so I cried a lot when that happened and I teared up again at the ending too.
3. however. I didn't like the voice that the narrator gave adrian (adrien?)
2. I cried. this was amazing. was NOT expecting that major thing that happened in the middle bc I hardly read the description at all before checking this out. oh my god. that caught me so off guard. so I cried a lot when that happened and I teared up again at the ending too.
3. however. I didn't like the voice that the narrator gave adrian (adrien?)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Grief, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
a child is in a coma for a major part of this book
challenging
emotional
inspiring
fast-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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
2/5 ⭐⭐ Missed Opportunity
Show Us Who You Are centers around 12-year-old Cora Byers, who is autistic. She quickly befriends a boy named Adrien, who has ADHD. Cora also becomes captivated by Pomegranate Institute, a company that uses holograms to recreate real people, allowing them to live forever as AI counterparts. But as Cora digs deeper, she discovers that Pomegranate is hiding a lot of secrets.
When I heard that Elle McNicoll, the author of A Kind of Spark, wrote another book, I was intrigued to see how this story would unfold and set the standard for future neurodivergent representation in literature. But this book was a disappointment. Let's go over the pros, cons, and autistic representation.
Pros: One of the only things that I can say that I liked about this book is Adrien’s character. He had more personality than Cora did, which is not a good thing because she’s supposed to be the main protagonist! The other thing that I liked about this book was the themes and messages in it. It’s nice to see a book that positively reflects autism and neurodiversity, but in a sense, the messages feel a bit forced. Despite the title of this book being Show Us Who You Are, it does more TELLING than SHOWING, which brings me to some of my problems with this book.
Cons: There were a lot of things that bothered me about this book. One of them is how it's not very descriptive. The writing is very matter-of-fact, but it's not very artful; because of this, scenes that are supposed to be emotional fall flat. So I'm not only having difficulty visualizing what's happening in the story, but I don't have any emotional investment with the characters either. In the first chapter, the book mentioned how Cora didn't like bright lights and loud noises. However, it doesn't describe what those sensory sensations feel like for Cora. All we know is that she doesn't like them. That's it.
Speaking of Cora, she was an underdeveloped character. We don't know much about her, except that her special interest is in journalism. (That only got brought up about two or three times in the book) Cora also had a very "meh" attitude at the beginning of the book. But at the end of the book, her character does a 180, and now being proud of being autistic becomes her personality. The story insists that Cora is "different," yet there aren't many scenes showcasing that.
The last point I'll bring up here is the story's pacing. Some chapters feel like they go on for way too long, while others go by too quickly. The book felt like such a chore to read through, and the worst part was that it wasn't even enjoyable. Some of my other gripes with this book lie in the autistic representation.
The Representation: As an autistic person, I looked forward to seeing how Cora's portrayal would've been handled, considering how wonderful A Kind of Spark was. But this was such a letdown. As I've mentioned earlier, Cora's character was underdeveloped. She seemed to be disinterested and indifferent about everything. (Yes, that includes things that are supposed to be her “special interest”) The only thing she DID care about was learning more about Pomegranate in the book.
One thing that makes her portrayal particularly disappointing is that it had an opportunity to touch upon a lot of interesting topics. Cora not only got diagnosed late, but her mom also died afterward. Cora’s family also didn’t talk about her being autistic very much. The book could’ve explored an interesting dynamic between Cora and her family, but it didn’t delve into it at all. It doesn’t say WHY Cora’s family shies away from talking about her autism. It just tells us that her family never mentions it. Based on the way the book talks about Cora’s mom (Or how it doesn’t talk about her), we don’t even feel sadness for the fact she was gone.
A Kind of Spark was so much better than Show Us Who You Are was. Addie’s book was like fillet mignon, while Cora’s book was more like steak that wasn’t seasoned. The story and character development just felt so empty compared to A Kind of Spark, and considering how the same author wrote this book, that only makes it even more of a letdown. Let’s move on to the conclusion, shall we?
Conclusion: Overall, Show Us Who You Are was one of the books of all time. The writing was mediocre, the character development was lackluster, the themes and messages felt forced, and it was just a huge disappointment. If you liked A Kind of Spark, you’re probably not going to like this book. The sad thing is that this book could’ve been phenomenal, but it didn’t do it for me. Please consider reading A Kind of Spark instead.
Thank you for reading, and God bless!
Show Us Who You Are centers around 12-year-old Cora Byers, who is autistic. She quickly befriends a boy named Adrien, who has ADHD. Cora also becomes captivated by Pomegranate Institute, a company that uses holograms to recreate real people, allowing them to live forever as AI counterparts. But as Cora digs deeper, she discovers that Pomegranate is hiding a lot of secrets.
When I heard that Elle McNicoll, the author of A Kind of Spark, wrote another book, I was intrigued to see how this story would unfold and set the standard for future neurodivergent representation in literature. But this book was a disappointment. Let's go over the pros, cons, and autistic representation.
Pros: One of the only things that I can say that I liked about this book is Adrien’s character. He had more personality than Cora did, which is not a good thing because she’s supposed to be the main protagonist! The other thing that I liked about this book was the themes and messages in it. It’s nice to see a book that positively reflects autism and neurodiversity, but in a sense, the messages feel a bit forced. Despite the title of this book being Show Us Who You Are, it does more TELLING than SHOWING, which brings me to some of my problems with this book.
Cons: There were a lot of things that bothered me about this book. One of them is how it's not very descriptive. The writing is very matter-of-fact, but it's not very artful; because of this, scenes that are supposed to be emotional fall flat. So I'm not only having difficulty visualizing what's happening in the story, but I don't have any emotional investment with the characters either. In the first chapter, the book mentioned how Cora didn't like bright lights and loud noises. However, it doesn't describe what those sensory sensations feel like for Cora. All we know is that she doesn't like them. That's it.
Speaking of Cora, she was an underdeveloped character. We don't know much about her, except that her special interest is in journalism. (That only got brought up about two or three times in the book) Cora also had a very "meh" attitude at the beginning of the book. But at the end of the book, her character does a 180, and now being proud of being autistic becomes her personality. The story insists that Cora is "different," yet there aren't many scenes showcasing that.
The last point I'll bring up here is the story's pacing. Some chapters feel like they go on for way too long, while others go by too quickly. The book felt like such a chore to read through, and the worst part was that it wasn't even enjoyable. Some of my other gripes with this book lie in the autistic representation.
The Representation: As an autistic person, I looked forward to seeing how Cora's portrayal would've been handled, considering how wonderful A Kind of Spark was. But this was such a letdown. As I've mentioned earlier, Cora's character was underdeveloped. She seemed to be disinterested and indifferent about everything. (Yes, that includes things that are supposed to be her “special interest”) The only thing she DID care about was learning more about Pomegranate in the book.
One thing that makes her portrayal particularly disappointing is that it had an opportunity to touch upon a lot of interesting topics. Cora not only got diagnosed late, but her mom also died afterward. Cora’s family also didn’t talk about her being autistic very much. The book could’ve explored an interesting dynamic between Cora and her family, but it didn’t delve into it at all. It doesn’t say WHY Cora’s family shies away from talking about her autism. It just tells us that her family never mentions it. Based on the way the book talks about Cora’s mom (Or how it doesn’t talk about her), we don’t even feel sadness for the fact she was gone.
A Kind of Spark was so much better than Show Us Who You Are was. Addie’s book was like fillet mignon, while Cora’s book was more like steak that wasn’t seasoned. The story and character development just felt so empty compared to A Kind of Spark, and considering how the same author wrote this book, that only makes it even more of a letdown. Let’s move on to the conclusion, shall we?
Conclusion: Overall, Show Us Who You Are was one of the books of all time. The writing was mediocre, the character development was lackluster, the themes and messages felt forced, and it was just a huge disappointment. If you liked A Kind of Spark, you’re probably not going to like this book. The sad thing is that this book could’ve been phenomenal, but it didn’t do it for me. Please consider reading A Kind of Spark instead.
Thank you for reading, and God bless!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent
Minor: Grief
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Grief, Car accident
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
Really enjoyed this story which tackles big themes of neurodiversity, bereavement and the ethics of AI. My favourite Elle McNicholl story so far, probably because I’m a sci-fi fan.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident
Moderate: Bullying, Medical content, Death of parent
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh my god wow. I finished A Kind of Spark and was keen on reading more of Elles work and picked this up next. I wasn’t really sure what to expect and I didn’t read into the synopsis to know what I was in for.
not sure how much or what will end up being spoiled ahead, but using the tags for safety. At first I loved that the main character in this book was also autistic. I love seeing more autism representation in literature, especially positive.
I was not prepared for what happened to Adrien. It wasn’t like a huge out of left field moment, but I still wasn’t expecting it to happen when it did. I’m so glad he made it out okay. Even if he didn’t, Cora grew so much from his accident that I feel like she’d matured enough to better handle his passing if she needed it.
This book messed me up just as much as AKOS. Would highly recommend.
I was not prepared for what happened to Adrien. It wasn’t like a huge out of left field moment, but I still wasn’t expecting it to happen when it did. I’m so glad he made it out okay. Even if he didn’t, Cora grew so much from his accident that I feel like she’d matured enough to better handle his passing if she needed it.
This book messed me up just as much as AKOS. Would highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Gaslighting
Minor: Death of parent
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Elle McNicoll is a supreme writer. I’m eighteen years old and I cried many many times while reading it.
I’ve never seen such a beautiful exploration of the fact that we are seen as our best when we seem the least autistic.
Cora and Adrien fulfil one of my favourite tropes ever (autistic-and-ADHD friendship), and are so perfectly written. There’s such a joyful celebration of ND kids in this book and it really gave me hope. Cora is what I wish I’d been at that age.
Thoroughly recommend.
I’ve never seen such a beautiful exploration of the fact that we are seen as our best when we seem the least autistic.
Cora and Adrien fulfil one of my favourite tropes ever (autistic-and-ADHD friendship), and are so perfectly written. There’s such a joyful celebration of ND kids in this book and it really gave me hope. Cora is what I wish I’d been at that age.
Thoroughly recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Car accident