the year the maps changed danielle binks

A major theme of this book is the expectations and preconceptions around how autistic people live their lives, and I loved that Erin moved beyond these expectations. She is such a well fleshed out protagonist, clearly written with lots of affection. It will be easy for both neurotypical and neurodiverse readers to connect with Erin. This enjoyable, emotionally complex novel marks an important step towards more representation of autistic girls in Australian YA. It’s quietly heartbreaking to see a protagonist as lovable as Erin subject herself to a relationship with zero respect and care, but as with the other trials of Please Don’t Hug Me, it’s a part of a greater journey.

Erin tends to omit her terrible boyfriend Mitch from the letters, prefacing any mentions with acknowledgement that Rudy always said Mitch was bad news, or that her own feelings for Mitch are very lukewarm. Erin writes these letters as a cathartic exercise, and by choosing this model for her narrative, Kerr is able to give her readers an imperfectly introspective view into Erin’s life the letter writing format effectively represents how a young person might ‘edit’ their lives for the people around them, and even for themselves. Please Don’t Hug Me is written as a series of letters to Rudy, Erin’s older brother, who is not around anymore for reasons that soon become clear. But despite her meticulous planning, things start to head in quite a different direction. As the book opens, she has one main focus-going to Schoolies with her best friend Dee. Erin is a planner she has strong ideas about how things should play out, and feels most comfortable in a routine. And she wants to keep all of this to herself-people at school finding out she is autistic would be a huge item for the cringe list. She is autistic, so as well as living the teen experiences her peers are going through, she is dealing with deciphering social cues, avoiding outbursts, and keeping her ‘cringe list’-where she keeps track of social mistakes and misunderstandings-to a minimum. Please Don’t Hug Me is our First Book Club pick for May-stay tuned to the KYD website and Podcast for more throughout the month!Įrin is in her final year of school, navigating formals, final exams and driving lessons.

Kay Kerr (Text Publishing, available now)

The year the maps changed danielle binks