Addicted to YA discussion

Hi, I'm just a simple Aspie making my way around Goodreads and I'm looking for books with characters like me. Bonus points for female MC and POC rep. Negative points for a neurotypical author or anything to do with The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime. I hate that book with a passion. Can you help? Thanks.

Oh that sounds interesting! I would like to know to

Commenting to come back and see the answers

^^ same here

Hey friends! I am 100% not trying to hype my own work here, but I am a YA author currently revising a YA fantasy novel about dragons and (human) families. It has a 17 year old female MC who is incredibly close with a group of other teenagers/young adults, which features POC rep, as well as HOH rep. One of her friends has ADHD; while the book is not an exploration of her journey, it is discussed and her friends support her throughout the book. I’m still exploring what all fits under ‘neurodivergent’, but I do struggle with anxiety and a BFRB form of OCD. I would honestly love feedback about what you look for in a neurodivergent character, or what drives you crazy. If you’d like a look at my book, great! If not, totally fine, I just thought I’d put it out there. Also, it has absolutely nothing to do with The Curious Incident — I’ve never even read it.

What’s it called?

It’s called Dragon Fly. It’s the first book in a proposed trilogy, but has a satisfying ending and NOT a cliffhanger..

Also Winter by Marissa Meyer is really good! Black Female MC. It’s part of the Lunar Chronicles series. I believe her mental illness is fictional, but the symptoms she experiences are real. It’s really well written! I’m not sure if Marissa Meyer is neurotypical, however.

Arianna wrote: "Also Winter by Marissa Meyer is really good! Black Female MC. It’s part of the Lunar Chronicles series. I believe her mental illness is fictional, but the symptoms she experiences are real. It’s re..."

Neurodivergence is something completely different to mental illness. OCD is a mental illness. Being autistic or ADD is not. That can actually be a harmful thing to confuse, it's good that you're passionate but definitely consult with some neurodivergent sensitivity readers if you are adding a neurodivergent character in your book. Xx

I'm not fully into the subject, so im really sorry if what I understand of neurodivergent is not correct... :( but I would recommend "The Kiss Quotient" by Helen Hoang. It's not YA, it's definitely NA, with a lot of steamy scenes. But IF you're okay with that, I truly recommend it, it's such a fun book.
Please, If you do read it let me know if it fits the topic you're searching for.
Any questions or just talk you wanna do just message me! :)

Arianna wrote: "Also Winter by Marissa Meyer is really good! Black Female MC. It’s part of the Lunar Chronicles series. I believe her mental illness is fictional, but the symptoms she experiences are real. It’s re..."

Thank you for pointing this out! I have a close friend with ADHD who has educated me quite a bit. I’ve read a lot of conflicting views on wether or not OCD should be considered neurodivergent or not. My impression when I was reading Winter was that the MC was neurodivergent and struggling with a seperate mental illness which was fictional. I certainly was not trying to make it sound like neurodivergence is the same as mental illness, but I didn’t clarify appropriately. I still have a lot to learn. thank you for your comment!

Arianna wrote: "Arianna wrote: "Also Winter by Marissa Meyer is really good! Black Female MC. It’s part of the Lunar Chronicles series. I believe her mental illness is fictional, but the symptoms she experiences a..."

You're welcome, thank you for taking my correction so graciously.