A History of my Weird

It is the start of secondary school for autistic Mo and the start of learning to navigate a whole new set of spoken and unspoken rules in life. Primary school friendships seem a million years away and Mo already feels exhausted and alienated by her new surroundings; "I'm so rubbish at life". Mo is taunted and teased and misunderstood by pupils and some teachers, too. Only fellow outsider, Carys( or Onyx as they wish to be known) seems to accept and appreciate Mo's friendship and personality.

When Mo starts to learn of the history of an old asylum nearby and learns her great uncle may have been there many years ago for simply being autistic, she and Onyx team up to plan an investigation on how people who were, "different" were treated in the past. Secret visits to the abandoned, eerie building are planned to look back at the past and at society's treatment of those with disabilities whilst, in the present day, Mo copes with an often hostile environment herself that fails to understand or support her own neurodivergent needs.

A History of My Weird is an excellent and engaging book with a main character learning to find their voice, own their individuality and take their place in the world. Mo is an brilliantly written character who is completely seen by the author and reader; so many details of her neurodivergent needs are woven into the story scenes and she is so relatable. Hypersensitive to clothing, eating the same foods, repetitive stims, struggling with social groups, finding bodily changes of puberty distressing - these issues and challenges are all part of Mo's story.

For a young, autistic girl reading this book , there is no doubt that they will see themselves reflected in many of Mo's experiences. For every reader, however, there is a well-crafted character to love in Mo - an often feisty, sometimes reckless, anxiety-ridden but immensely resilient young schoolgirl. The dramas and highs and lows of daily school life and the family bonds and tensions of living life in more than one household or in a household where there are difficult family dynamics are all relatable, relevant and contemporary issues for many of the target age range of readers. Sharing those struggles in a book makes the story feel inclusive and accepting of all.

With a positive and ultimately uplifting growth mindset for many of the characters, this is a really empowering story. The plot that sees two girls exploring an unused, dark, gloomy asylum is also just fabulous adventure story-telling on its own merit and provides plenty of peril and tension to amp up the excitement in the story . Onyx's own family life adds another strand to an intriguing story and to the theme of acceptance and respect for our own differences and those of others .

Beautifully, warmly and sensitively written.

256 pages / Reviewed by Jenny Caddick, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 9+

A History of My Weird is an honest and insightful portrayal of life with autism. Our main character, Mo, opens the reader's eyes to the reality of being neurodiverse. We see life through Mo's eyes: her struggles to understand social nuances, her need to have idioms explained, the lack of empathy that she endures on a daily basis are all laid bare.

Mo has just started secondary school and is finding it a confusing new world. The complexities of friendship, the challenge of new teachers and the struggle to fit in are all part of Mo's lived experience and Chloe Heuch creates an eye-opening portrayal of how isolating and confusing life is for Mo. Mo explains to the reader that she has obsessions and the current focus of her attention is history; the history of the local, abandoned hospital, once used as an asylum in Victorian times.

A ray of sunshine for Mo is her new found friend Carys, the only class mate who seems to see beyond Mo's stimming and social faux pas. Bonding as friends at drama club, Carys and Mo soon form a friendship which is based on acceptance. Mo feels the injustice of the past; she is outraged to learn how those once considered to be 'different' were excluded from society and this fuels her desire to see beyond the ivy-covered walls of the disused asylum. With Carys (or Onyx as she prefers to be called) in agreement, the two friends plot to explore the old hospital at night.

Whilst the quest to investigate the asylum is a central plot, there is so much more within the pages. Reflecting the realities of so many young people, Mo shares her time between the houses of her divorced parents. She is experiencing, with great reluctance, changes to her physical appearance brought about by puberty and she is navigating her way through the complexities of identity - her own and those of her new friends.

The success of this book is its refreshing honesty and openness. Many readers will have their eyes opened to the lives of neurodivergent young people and many readers will sigh with relief to find a protagonist who echoes their own thoughts, feelings and battles. This is a powerful book with strong messages and a captivating storyline.

256 pages / Reviewed by Jo Clarke, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 11+

Mo finds starting at secondary school very difficult. Her friends from primary school no longer want to talk to her and she finds the whole situation at school difficult to navigate. Then she meets Carys, who prefers to be called Onyx and is also a bit different. They strike up a friendship, both accepting each other's differences and finding a real friend in the process. But Onyx's controlling father does not want to allow her to continue the friendship and tries to keep them apart.  Can the two friends still manage to keep up their friendship in spite of the opposition from one parent?

Mo is an interesting and lively central character.  She is autistic and sees things very literally.  She is a very compelling character, and the story moves along at a pace.  Whilst it is a bit melodramatic in places, there is something very engaging about Mo that keeps the reader hooked and wanting to know how things turn out.

The eye-catching cover by Veronica Carratello captures the zaniness of the two main characters, with a hint of the story in the background.

A History of my Weird, suitable for 11+, adds another story in the growing canon of children's books that feature characters with neuro diversity and this can only be a good thing.

256 pages / Reviewed by Jacqueline Harris, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 11+