Hello and happy Monday. These past days have been horrible for me reading-wise, and you’ll see that throughout the week. I hope that changes because reading bad books or having to DNF them negatively affects my mood since I mainly read for entertainment. I did finish the book I am reviewing today, but I’m giving it a one-star rating so I will not be sharing a link with you. I am talking about NonVerbal by Molly Zenk, which I was able to read and review thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher.

When I give a book a one-star rating it’s because I find something structurally wrong with it. It’s not because it is poorly written or because the plot makes no sense. When I give a book a one-star rating it’s because I feel that the existence itself of the book as it is will negatively impact people’s lives. I think this is what NonVerbal can do even though I understand the author’s purpose was not that all. I also understand, however, that no matter how good our intentions can be, we can still harm others with our actions.

Now, I cannot speak in terms of the representation in this book because I have not been diagnosed with ASD and that means that I cannot relate to the reality that the main character in the book, Em, experiences. The issue is that neither can the author because she herself doesn’t have the diagnosis Em has, so she doesn’t struggle the way Em does. Based on the dedication, I would assume that someone close to the author (I am guessing her child, but again, this is an assumption) might have the condition that the main character in her novel has, in which case I think it would have been so much valuable and less problematic to speak from that experience, the experience of a parent or a caretaker because that would’ve probably been her own experience.

Zenk decided, however, to take another route. She wrote from the perspective of Em, a teenager diagnosed with (I’m quoting from the synopsis) “autism spectrum disorder, functionally non-verbal, sensory processing disorder, and intellectual disability.” Even if the author had been diagnosed with ASD it doesn’t mean that the way she represented Em and her various conditions and struggles was accurate or respectful. This situation reminds me of something that YouTuber Reads with Rachel mentioned in a video, and it’s that even if you are representing your own identity, you could be misrepresenting others. I think what NonVerbal did was misrepresent many people and it breaks my heart to see that from the few reviews I saw on Amazon and NetGalley, readers are seeing it almost as a staple when it comes to books about people with ASD.

In the past, I would’ve said something along the lines of “this book shouldn’t exist,” but I believe Molly Zenk came from a place of love when she wrote NonVerbal and I’m coming from a place of love when reviewing it. I think it should not exist as it is now, but I think if it were written from the perspective of the adults in Em’s life it would be way less problematic.