Freya Harte is not a puzzle

Read this if you like good fiction, but have some hankies handy. My heart strings were pulled time and again by this story of teenager Freya. Up to now she has struggled with life and school. Recently she learned she is an autistic person. This brings some relief, but has it’s own problems as well. As a Scottish teacher life long learning can be sometimes be boring in its presentation. I am happy to advise every teacher, and everyone else as well, I found reading this book an easy way to access the topic of autism and to add greatly to my understanding of autism and autistic people. Thank you to O’Brien Press, BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine.

What a wonderful book. As an educator, I love stories with strong, neurodivergent characters, and this did not disappoint. The book was so well written that reading it was a joy. It is appropriate for both middle school and high school leaders, as well as adults, trying to understand the neurodivergent teenagers in their lives. I loved that Freya’s struggles, in her social behaviors, and also with accepting that she was neurodivergent, were extremely realistic. I love that the reader gets to feel her pain of being ostracized, as well as finally being accepted by others, The family relationships were very realistic, and added much to the story, as did the short blogs that we read along with Freya during the story. I highly recommend this book, and I think the author for writing it.

This is the most incredible book I've read on .Autism. The representation.of Freya's struggles is so accurate. Though I am not Autistic , I felt incredibly close to Freya , and related to her struggles and stresses she felt due to her inabilities to connect with her peers. I will forever recommend this book and it will have a special place in my heart . As A women with a physical disability, I feel books like these are essential for those with disabilities to feel heard and represented. I will forever be grateful to the Netgalley platform for providing this book. I can't wait for the world to meet Freya.

4.25/5 stars! This book handled mental health so well and really captured the energy of how receiving a diagnosis can both provide relief but also worry. We see this in the show "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" when the main character is happy to finally understand why she struggles in the way she does but also fears what this means about her or if she is damaged/broken. The author captured this exact situation perfectly. A truly special and beautiful story.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

While this is a great view into the life of a teen learning to live with her recent autism diagnosis, I don’t think much of it can apply to an NYC teenager. There are a lot of references to Irish teen culture, Irish schooling, etc. that might not be relatable for someone living in NYC. That being said, I really enjoyed this — Freya is a deep and complex character who shows what it can be like for a person with autism in high school. I think the book artfully paints the daily troubles that a neurodivergent teen has to go through, and how it can be tough for both them, their peers, their family, and their teachers to understand. I will be recommending this to some teens who may be interested, but I think overall it doesn’t check all the boxes. If this list was for the Dublin Public Library I would probably have nominated it.

A lovely and heartwarming story of a girl navigating the complexities of being a teenager and having an autism diagnosis.

Being a teenager is hard. Being a teenager with autism is even harder. This story of Freya learning about herself felt like a realistic and honest look at what navigating the pitfalls of the teen years can be when you perceive yourself as different, other, and wrong. I loved that it wasn't all happy endings and that the easy way wasn't always taken during the course of the book. I loved how the reader could feel Freya's insecurities and how she tried to cope with them. At times, I felt parts of the book got a bit preachy or overly educational about autism, but it was well done in the context of "blog" posts that were openly written to educate. This would be a great book for someone wanting to get a better understanding of what someone with autism might be going through. Like the book reminds readers, autism presents in unique ways in each person so knowing one presentation doesn't mean you know all of them. Overall, this is a heartwarming look at trying to fit in, finding yourself, friendship, and family.

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to read this book- it was one of the best books on Autism. I finished this book in one day and enjoyed it from start to finish.

This book follows Freya who tries to navigate secondary school and all the challenges that come with it, along with her recent diagnosis of an eating disorder and autism. Two diagnosis’s she completely rejects and tries to keep a secret from the world. Can Freya find her identity in this world where labels can change how others look at you?

As someone who was diagnosed as Autistic but as an adult, I could relate to Freya in so many ways. A wonderful book for young teens who are going through diagnosis or have been diagnosed.