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A review by pickledpotato1021
Good Morning, Dinah by Emily Holyoak
5.0
I received a temporary digital ARC copy of “Good Morning, Dinah” from the author, Emily Holyoak, in exchange for an honest review before the publication date. My review is my thoughts, my opinions, and my point of view and was not influenced in any way by anyone or anything other than myself.
“When people speak, they always seem to say sentences that mean two or sometimes three things other than their original meaning. Like if their point were a layered dip, I would only scoop the shredded cheese onto my chip while everyone else scoops to the bottom.”
Trigger/Content warnings may be considered spoilers about certain themes or plot twists in the story.
TW/CW: Injury of a pet; Depictions of Autistic meltdowns; Parental abuse; Brief mentions of underage drug/alcohol abuse
Dinah is an Autistic teen who despises change, until she meets Maverick, a new boy at school who has an Autistic brother. Dinah is thrust into a new world of good change (is that a thing?) and uncharted feelings. Will she overcome her biggest hurdle as an Autistic person, or is all this change just too much?
Oh my goodness where do I start? I guess I should start by saying I am an autistic person, and it should be WELL known that no autistic person has the same experience, the same stims, the same reactions to overstimulation. I cried on page two because of how seen I felt through Dinah. I think Holyoak, who is neurodivergent herself, did the most beautiful job of depicting the ugly side of Autism that other authors simply won’t. My Autism is not a superpower, it is a disability. I am not “otherabled” I am in fact disabled.
The author did not villainize, victimize, or romanticize Dinah. She simply wrote Dinah as autistic. Yes, this is a romance, but it is so much more than that. The focus is not the romance but the struggle of change and the hurdles Dinah faces trying to overcome her triggers. Not every page is this beautiful story of an Autistic teen finding love. There are pages full of detailed uncomfortableness, overstimulation, meltdowns, and even menstruation.
The writing of the story itself is very fluid and beautiful, however the writing of Dinah’s disorders is stunningly accurate.
In summary, this book is not only a beautiful story, but a wonderful example of accurate representation of a neurodivergent person. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone regardless of your preferred genre. I look forward to reading Holyoak’s future work!
“When people speak, they always seem to say sentences that mean two or sometimes three things other than their original meaning. Like if their point were a layered dip, I would only scoop the shredded cheese onto my chip while everyone else scoops to the bottom.”
Trigger/Content warnings may be considered spoilers about certain themes or plot twists in the story.
TW/CW: Injury of a pet; Depictions of Autistic meltdowns; Parental abuse; Brief mentions of underage drug/alcohol abuse
Dinah is an Autistic teen who despises change, until she meets Maverick, a new boy at school who has an Autistic brother. Dinah is thrust into a new world of good change (is that a thing?) and uncharted feelings. Will she overcome her biggest hurdle as an Autistic person, or is all this change just too much?
Oh my goodness where do I start? I guess I should start by saying I am an autistic person, and it should be WELL known that no autistic person has the same experience, the same stims, the same reactions to overstimulation. I cried on page two because of how seen I felt through Dinah. I think Holyoak, who is neurodivergent herself, did the most beautiful job of depicting the ugly side of Autism that other authors simply won’t. My Autism is not a superpower, it is a disability. I am not “otherabled” I am in fact disabled.
The author did not villainize, victimize, or romanticize Dinah. She simply wrote Dinah as autistic. Yes, this is a romance, but it is so much more than that. The focus is not the romance but the struggle of change and the hurdles Dinah faces trying to overcome her triggers. Not every page is this beautiful story of an Autistic teen finding love. There are pages full of detailed uncomfortableness, overstimulation, meltdowns, and even menstruation.
The writing of the story itself is very fluid and beautiful, however the writing of Dinah’s disorders is stunningly accurate.
In summary, this book is not only a beautiful story, but a wonderful example of accurate representation of a neurodivergent person. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone regardless of your preferred genre. I look forward to reading Holyoak’s future work!