The story is interesting enough, though I felt the last part of the book had too much going on, and I was irritated by some details that felt overly cutesy to me: for example, Liana is really into astronomy, and her last name is Planet.<\/p>\n
Hank himself felt like a fairly accurate portrayal of what it\u2019s like to be autistic. He obsesses over music, doesn\u2019t understand social cues, plays air guitar to calm down, and gives Liana seemingly random presents based on her off-handed mentions of them: root beer in a glass bottle, for example.<\/p>\n
It was great to see an autistic character as the star in a romance, as many autistic characters are desexualized by default. It was also nice to see an autistic character who wasn\u2019t obsessed with math or something similar. Music permeates every aspect of Hank\u2019s life; he meets with Liana for coffee at a place that lets him DJ occasionally, and he brings a CD that he hopes will help him start a conversation if they have nothing else to talk about. He also stims by playing air guitar, which was interesting to see. Most books, if they recognize the existence of stimming, use hand-flapping and nothing else.<\/p>\n
Hank also has some descriptions of what social interactions are like for him that I felt were very accurate. It\u2019s clear from the beginning of the book that he likes Liana a lot, but since this is the first time a girl has given him the time of day, he has no idea what to do. When pondering this, he says:<\/p>\n
It occurs to me that in semi-romantic situations, or whatever, there may be rules that don\u2019t apply to normal conversational situations. I feel lost. I know that in normal conversations, words are working on two levels, but I can only follow one. Now I feel like there may be at least one more level, making me two levels behind. (p. 100)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I\u2019ve somehow managed to stumble through those sorts of situations, but with the help of friends who actually had experience in this area. Hank\u2019s only romantic advice comes from his lecherous brother Chase, whose advice is generally about getting into someone\u2019s pants, and his mother, who just tells him to be himself.<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, but also sadly, he resents his mother\u2019s advice; when he\u2019s himself, everyone at school bullies him. I found it somewhat hard to believe that he hadn\u2019t encountered anyone<\/em> his age who shared his interests and\/or operated more on his wavelength before he met Liana, but maybe people were peer-pressured into bullying him even if they could have gotten along well with him. Hank doesn\u2019t particularly seem to care about being bullied. The bullying subsided after ninth grade, which I felt made sense based on my experience of trial and error of how to avoid bullies.<\/p>\nAn example of Hank\u2019s social and romantic inexperience is that at one point he asks the social worker who helps him with social skills to a movie \u2014 not because he likes her, but because he doesn\u2019t understand teacher-student boundaries and simply thought she would like the movie. I learned about those boundaries when I was far younger, but it didn\u2019t necessarily feel like humor at Hank\u2019s expense; it could\u2019ve been the result of not having the opportunity to learn.<\/p>\n
Unlike the main characters in many other \u201cAspie\u201d books, Hank is portrayed as an actual human being, with feelings, a sense of humor, and hopes and dreams. He doesn\u2019t use a detached-sounding voice in the chapters that he narrates, and when he goes to a party and someone yells at him, \u201cWay to wreck the party!\u201d he responds with, \u201cI am available to ruin any party for a small fee.\u201d He makes other jokes throughout the book, and I was happy to see that he was shown having a sense of humor.<\/p>\n
Hank isn\u2019t always treated well, but it\u2019s written realistically. For example, when he first meets Liana, he doesn\u2019t say up front that he has Asperger\u2019s. But he decides that if they\u2019re actually going to be friends, he should inform her of his diagnosis. He\u2019s braver than I am in that way; I didn\u2019t tell my boyfriend I was autistic until we had been dating for several months. Liana\u2019s reacts by temporarily thinking Hank is a whole different person, which felt honest, even if it wasn\u2019t ideal. People often reevaluate everything they know about an autistic person before they come to the same conclusion: They\u2019re the same person, but now it\u2019s clearer why they sometimes act a certain way, which is what Liana eventually understands. Liana doesn\u2019t treat Hank differently for the most part, aside from a weird desire to push him out of his comfort zone, which I\u2019ll discuss later.<\/p>\n
One scene in particular made me want to love this book. We eventually learn that Hank\u2019s father died a while back, and he was most likely autistic as well. In real life, this wouldn\u2019t be particularly surprising, as autism has a strong genetic component, but in books, this is rare. I appreciated the acknowledgement that autistic people are so rarely the only ones in their family with autistic traits. Some of what Hank said while describing his relationship with his father to Liana stuck out to me. He understands that his father loved him, even if he had a different way of showing it than his neurotypical mother did.<\/p>\n
We would sit side by side for hours, you know, him cataloguing his music collection, me sharing interesting tidbits about, for example, the ever-shifting borders of certain African nations. This was \u2026 I know that this was his way of expressing love. I think he was as puzzled by Chase as Mother is by me. He would attend the games and cheer, but fundamentally not get it. So I know \u2026 I know he loved me. I know he loved me because he would sit with me and listen to me talk about maps, and because he would tell me the history of SST Records the way some parents tell the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut all the same, he never took me in his arms and hugged me and told me he loved me so much, the way Mother does. (pp. 167-8)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
(Before Hank was obsessed with music, he was obsessed with maps, hence the mention of shifting borders of African nations.)<\/p>\n
In a world where people believe you\u2019re a monster if you don\u2019t constantly hug people and tell them you love them, this sticks out. It emphasizes how you can express love in multiple ways, and how these aren\u2019t any lesser.<\/p>\n
Now, for the parts I didn\u2019t like. I\u2019m very concerned by some elements that seem to be cure-ish symbolism, Liana\u2019s treatment of Hank, and what I call “The Separation.” Let\u2019s start with that last point. As is common in romances, there\u2019s an obligatory period where Hank and Liana are broken up, in this case over an event that felt manufactured: Hank tells a group of girls about a plan of Liana\u2019s not to kiss anyone for the summer, and in response, Liana kisses Hank\u2019s brother. It didn\u2019t feel true to the characters as I understood them, as though it was done only for the sake of drama \u2014 even though there was plenty of drama to go around already.<\/p>\n
Throughout the story, I also noticed elements that might\u2019ve been symbolism for Hank\u2019s autism \u201cimproving.\u201d Hank works at a music store, and has his eye on a Jazzmaster, a guitar that was used by several famous musicians. He puts all his money towards the guitar, but as the book progresses, he skips work repeatedly to spend time with Liana, and buys a cell phone at her encouragement. Nothing is wrong with either of these, but it seemed like symbolism for becoming more \u201cnormal\u201d because he was spending time with a girl instead of only trying to save up for the Jazzmaster. It felt like a sudden shift in priorities, and I hope the authors aren\u2019t trying to imply that Liana is becoming his new obsession.<\/p>\n
I sincerely hope that at some point after the happily-ever-after kiss, Liana and Hank have a serious talk about their relationship. Several times throughout the book, Liana seems to be trying to change Hank. She takes him into social situations he doesn\u2019t know how to navigate (going to an arcade with a crowd of obnoxious college lacrosse bros), and at the very end of the book, Liana makes a comment about how he doesn\u2019t mention anything music-related right before they kiss, \u201ceven though he could.\u201d This bothered me a lot. Unless Liana accepts Hank\u2019s obsession with music and is willing to understand that he won\u2019t be some super suave, romantic guy 24\/7, I have a hard time supporting the relationship. My boyfriend does not force me into puzzling social situations, and if we find ourselves in one, he helps me through it. I would have had a lot of trouble with going to a Boston Calling concert if he hadn\u2019t been there with me, and if I suddenly relate something seemingly unrelated to one of my obsessions du jour, he is understanding.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, I wanted to like the representation, but I thought elements of both the autistic character and execution of the story in general were poorly done. If conventional rom-coms are your thing, then you might enjoy it, but I wouldn\u2019t recommend it purely for its autistic representation. Ultimately, I wasn\u2019t a fan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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<\/a><\/center><\/div>The story begins with Hank running into the women\u2019s bathroom in a hospital with water on his crotch while the female main character, Liana, stands in the bathroom thinking about her last day of school. From there, the plot is a typical romance. They get coffee and become friends, and a summer romance seems possible. The main obstacles: Hank is socially awkward and has an overly flirtatious older brother, while Liana\u2019s father has regular health scares.<\/p>\n