The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily by Laura CreedleMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A neurodivergent YA romance with autistic and #ownvoices ADHD rep? Sign me up. And though I picked this one up a lot later than I should have, I'm glad I eventually did all the same.
Okay, so my feelings about this book are a tad bit mixed, and a lot of that owes to how the book diverges from my own neurodivergent #ownvoices experience. Especially on the autistic side, because Abelard doesn't quite match me as an autistic guy - he's got more sensory processing issues than I do, for one thing - but his being much more eloquent in text than voice, that's a match to me. And his annoyance with people not being on time, which, sadly, I share with him. As for Lily, while I can't really speak to being an #ownvoices reader for her - ADHD does run in my family, and I've got a few symptoms, but have never been officially diagnosed myself - it's her self-destructive tendencies, her own sensory-processing issues (often mishearing what other people say), and her hangup on having someone who loves her be the very person who validates her existence in which I see myself strongly.
The story's a bit of a rambly one, but it's also an emotional roller coaster, especially since Abelard and Lily's relationship is far from perfect. Their respective mental issues make it hard for them to love each other, but love each other they do, and I'm totally here for that. A lot of the supporting cast helps too, especially Rosalind and Richard, who make a sweet beta couple - this book's pretty well-populated with soft boys, always a plus. Even Lily's mom and sister, though not as supportive as they could be, pop off the page very well. And while I'm nowhere near enthused about the storyline involving Lily possibly getting neurosurgical treatment for her ADHD - in her shoes, I'd refuse no matter what, but that's just me - the doctor in charge, whom Lily nicknames "Frankenstein," is a pretty funny guy who genuinely cares about everyone he meets.
I'd like to close this review out by remarking, quite happily, on how Lily actually calls Abelard "sexy" or "gorgeous" or variations thereof several times in text. Having spent years lonely, lacking in relationships, and feeling that my autism somehow desexualizes me and makes me undesirable, I'll gladly take any rep I can get that proves that autism doesn't take away from physical attractiveness at all. And on one more note - Abelard's description in the book reminds me a hell of a lot of one of my best friends. In that respect, he's like the best of both my world and Koda's.
It took me longer than I should have to pick up this book, but now, I can thank Laura Creedle for having written it.
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment