100 books like Martian in the Playground

By Clare Sainsbury,

Here are 100 books that Martian in the Playground fans have personally recommended if you like Martian in the Playground. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Susan Emshwiller Author Of Thar She Blows

From my list on first-person narrators navigating screwed-up lives.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am fascinated by first-person points of view. In writing plays and screenplays, I couldn’t write the inner thoughts of my characters. Now, in novels and short stories, I do that almost exclusively, even if the stories contain multiple narrators. I love the Unreliable Narrator—whether it is someone too young to understand what they are witnessing, someone who is in denial, or mentally ill, or a non-human experiencing the world in an odd way—the discrepancy between their view and mine delights me. I love discovering all those inner thoughts, fears, anxieties, and desires. These first-person stories let me into another’s experience and allow me to empathize with a whole new perspective.  

Susan's book list on first-person narrators navigating screwed-up lives

Susan Emshwiller Why did Susan love this book?

This stunning book puts me in the head of a young boy with a neurodivergent way of seeing the world. I picked up this book before a cross-country flight and couldn’t stand that we landed, and I would have to stop reading for the drive home.

It immersed me in Christopher’s dilemma of trying to make sense of people. The most trivial things become massive. I was hurtled along with him for a harrowing, incredible journey. Profoundly moving!

By Mark Haddon,

Why should I read it?

24 authors picked The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the Whitbread Book of the Year

'Outstanding...a stunningly good read' Observer

'Mark Haddon's portrayal of an emotionally dissociated mind is a superb achievement... Wise and bleakly funny' Ian McEwan

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger's Syndrome. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being touched. He has never gone further than the…


Book cover of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Rick Simonds Author Of Operation: Midnight

From my list on thrillers revealing government conspiracies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have long had an interest in government conspiracies and have spent hundreds of hours researching the many experiments our government has foisted upon an unsuspecting populous. When the Church Committee released info on Projects MK Ultra, Bluebird, Artichoke, and others, people were stunned to realize what had been going on. Movies such as The Matrix dealt with mind control and the attempt to create the perfect soldier, and I am convinced such research and experimentation continues today.

Rick's book list on thrillers revealing government conspiracies

Rick Simonds Why did Rick love this book?

This wonderful novel features a journalist, Mikala Blomkvist, searching for a highly respected, long-lost member of a notable family. Once again, government corruption is rampant in the investigation.

A special aspect of this novel is the introduction of Lisbeth Salander, a brash, tattooed young woman with an abrasive personality matched only by her singular skills. I loved this character, who is incredibly unique.

By Stieg Larsson,

Why should I read it?

27 authors picked The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder - and that the killer is a member of his own tightly-knit but dysfunctional family.

He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed, truculent computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history.

But the Vangers are a secretive clan, and…


Book cover of Girls of Tender Age: A Memoir

Catherine Simpson Author Of Truestory

From my list on books with autistic characters.

Why am I passionate about this?

The tagline on the cover of my book reads: Family life is not always easy. And never a truer word was spoken. I was inspired to write my book while raising my own daughter, Nina, who was diagnosed with autism at age ten. My book is fiction, but my knowledge of autism is from my lived experience. As Nina got older, she began to join me in doing talks about my bookwhere she was the autism expert, and I was the expert in writing. Together we have done many talks on TV, radio, newspapers, schools and libraries. I hope you enjoy these autistic characters–real and fictional–as much as I do. 

Catherine's book list on books with autistic characters

Catherine Simpson Why did Catherine love this book?

I could hardly put down this memoir written by the sibling of an autistic boy–set in a time when the term ‘autistic’ did not exist. Mary-Ann Tirone Smith was brought up in New England in the fifties when there was no understanding of autism at all. There was no welfare dept, social services, or health service to turn to for help because no one understood.

Instead, the family ‘absorbs’ Tyler, the autistic brother, and protects and cares for him themselves. Getting this ‘sibling’s view’ is really fascinating. I loved all the quirky characters and the inevitable humor when the outside world does not understand Tyler.

Running alongside the story of Tyler is a true crime story about a school friend of Mary-Ann’s who was murdered by a pedophile. I found the book to be gripping, heartbreaking, funny, and moving. 

By Mary-Ann Tirone Smith,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Girls of Tender Age as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Mary-Ann Tirone Smith grew up in New England during the 1950s, the daughter of an extended French-Italian family. Smith's neighbourhood was typical small-town America - everyone's door was left unlocked at night, and the school, church, library, pub and grocery shop were all within walking distance. In many ways, it was a typical rough-and-tumble childhood, but someone would shatter it and change Smith's life and that of the town, forever. Smith's family is peopled with wonderful characters - her mother who's always on the verge of a nervous breakdown; her adoring father who sees to waking Mary-Ann each morning to…


Book cover of Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's

Catherine Simpson Author Of Truestory

From my list on books with autistic characters.

Why am I passionate about this?

The tagline on the cover of my book reads: Family life is not always easy. And never a truer word was spoken. I was inspired to write my book while raising my own daughter, Nina, who was diagnosed with autism at age ten. My book is fiction, but my knowledge of autism is from my lived experience. As Nina got older, she began to join me in doing talks about my bookwhere she was the autism expert, and I was the expert in writing. Together we have done many talks on TV, radio, newspapers, schools and libraries. I hope you enjoy these autistic characters–real and fictional–as much as I do. 

Catherine's book list on books with autistic characters

Catherine Simpson Why did Catherine love this book?

I discovered this book by chance in a second-hand shop–what a find it was! John Elder Robinson was also raised in a time when the diagnosis of autism did not exist. He had to wait until he was forty to get a diagnosis.

As a boy, he had been described as a ‘misfit’ or ‘defective’ when, in fact, he was hugely talented and, as we find out here, a natural storyteller. I found this book to be a darkly funny, fascinating insight into the life of a man who never fit in but didn’t know why–until he finally found out.

Living with autism is hard enough today–it boggles my mind to think that autism has always been with us and that generations of autistic people have had to struggle with no chance of understanding. 

By John Elder Robison,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Look Me in the Eye as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“As sweet and funny and sad and true and heartfelt a memoir as one could find.” —from the foreword by Augusten Burroughs

Ever since he was young, John Robison longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits—an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother, Augusten Burroughs, in them)—had earned him the label “social deviant.” It was not until he was forty that he was diagnosed with a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome. That…


Book cover of Aspergirls: Empowering Females with Asperger Syndrome

Sarah Hendrickx Author Of Women and Girls on the Autism Spectrum: Understanding Life Experiences from Early Childhood to Old Age

From my list on autistic women.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an autistic female myself and have worked in the field of autism for 20 years. I’ve written several books on the subject of autism, have an MA in Autism and delivered many hundreds of conference presentations (several of which can be found on Youtube). Frankly, I know my stuff as I live and breathe the world of autistic women. I have an autistic daughter, all of my female friends are autistic and I have diagnosed hundreds of females as autistic.

Sarah's book list on autistic women

Sarah Hendrickx Why did Sarah love this book?

I loved this book when I first read it. It was ground-breaking at the time by presenting the autistic female world like no one else had done in this way before.

Rudi’s humour and relatable way of writing gave me an insight into what it meant to be an autistic woman. She paved the way for the rest of us writing in this way.

By Rudy Simone,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Aspergirls as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*Gold Medal Winner in the Sexuality / Relationships Category of the 2011 IPPY Awards*

* Honorary Mention in the 2010 BOTYA Awards Women's Issues Category *

Girls with Asperger's Syndrome are less frequently diagnosed than boys, and even once symptoms have been recognised, help is often not readily available. The image of coping well presented by AS females of any age can often mask difficulties, deficits, challenges, and loneliness.

This is a must-have handbook written by an Aspergirl for Aspergirls, young and old. Rudy Simone guides you through every aspect of both personal and professional life, from early recollections of…


Book cover of Marcelo in the Real World

Ned Hayes Author Of The Eagle Tree

From my list on YA on the autistic experience/outsider experiences.

Why am I passionate about this?

We all have important stories to tell. So my mission in life is to tell stories from many different perspectives. To date, I’ve written novels narrated by a 13th-century woman, a gruff North Idaho detective, a 14-year-old boy, a sorcerer, and even a tree! To write all my characters, I start with my own experiences of course –March Wong in The Eagle Tree draws on my own experiences growing up in China and from my experience working with neurodivergent children. But I don’t stay locked in my own perspective. Instead, I use my stories to continuously stretch our understanding of what it means to be human. 

Ned's book list on YA on the autistic experience/outsider experiences

Ned Hayes Why did Ned love this book?

Marcelo Sandoval hears music that nobody else can hear. He’s neurodivergent. But in his life most people often don’t believe in his experience or value his perspective. When he joins “the real world” by working in a law office for a summer, he learns lessons very different from just office work. He is introduced to love and affection and jealousy and injustice and desire. Lots of things happen in this book – and I love the way that Marcelo’s voice is privileged here. His neurodivergence is a strength, rather than a weakness. I truly enjoyed this book.

By Francisco X. Stork,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Marcelo in the Real World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

Marcelo Sandoval hears music no-one else can hear - part of the autism-like impairment no doctor has been able to identify - and he's always attended a special school where his differences have been protected. But the summer after his junior year, his father demands that Marcelo work in his law firm's mailroom in order to experience 'the real world'. There Marcelo meets Jasmine, his beautiful and surprising co-worker, and Wendell, the son of another partner in the firm.


Book cover of Soul Unique

Aya Walksfar Author Of Run or Die

From my list on prove what love can do.

Why am I passionate about this?

My illiterate grandparents taught me to love learning. A librarian who shared books and food with a ragged, hungry kid cemented my love of books. My fifth-grade teacher in a ghetto school took unpaid time to encourage my writing. My mother taught me to never give up my dreams. Dogs taught me the meaning of unconditional affection and loyalty. And nowadays, when I lose faith in myself, it is my wife’s love and belief in me that keeps me going. Love, in its many forms, has shaped my life. 

Aya's book list on prove what love can do

Aya Walksfar Why did Aya love this book?

Could I love someone with a permanent, life-altering disability? This question was presented early on as Greer Landon, a well-known and highly regarded art gallery owner, meets Hayden Rowe, an autistic young woman and extremely talented artist. Told in first person from Greer’s perspective, the subject was handled with sensitivity and insight, drawing me further into the story. An early confrontation with Hayden’s mother painted a stark picture of emotional abuse, and I wanted to throttle the mother for her callous disregard for Hayden. This was especially true after I “met” Hayden’s grandmother and brother.

As the relationship between Greer and Hayden developed, Greer made seemingly straightforward decisions that had unforeseen consequences and changed the milieu surrounding both Hayden and herself. I could relate to that particular situation and was immersed in the dance of conflict and discovery that permeated this novel. The characters were drawn with honest strokes of…

By Gun Brooke,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Soul Unique as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Greer Landon is a successful art gallery owner. She has created an empire by discovering and developing new artists. When she agrees to visit an art school in Boston, she encounters a woman, Hayden Rowe, whose paintings take her breath away. Greer realizes Hayden is not a student, but lives in a remote wing of the school and the maddeningly frustrating headmaster is her mother.

Mesmerized by Hayden and her art, Greer learns the young woman has Asperger syndrome. Hayden awakens something in Greer she didn’t know she was capable of. Having suffered from a profound loneliness for most of…


Book cover of The Rosie Project

Ruth Leigh Author Of The Diary of Isabella M Smugge

From my list on books you read and re-read even though you know every word by heart.

Why am I passionate about this?

I learned to read at four and have been telling stories ever since. Books were my escape from unhappiness into a new and endless world. Left to myself, I’d read ten or so weekly, and my mind was packed with characters, dialogue, jokes, prose, and poetry like an over-brimming literary reservoir. Words are my thing, and I am an avid collector of them. I was reading David Copperfield at eight and specialised in 18th and 19th-century literature at university. I’ve written five books and am working on the sixth. I love writing humour but have also authored Jane Austen Fan Fiction and poetry. Without books, my world is nothing.

Ruth's book list on books you read and re-read even though you know every word by heart

Ruth Leigh Why did Ruth love this book?

To my knowledge, no one has written a main character like Don Tilman before. A tall, handsome genetics professor who’s never had a second date, he approaches his need for a wife with typical precision and the use of a complex spreadsheet. Don navigates the unfamiliar world of feelings and unplanned activities with his customary efficiency, but what is this strange new emotion he’s feeling?

I simply adore this book and often read it twice a year. It’s an absolute delight, funny, poignant, and so incredibly life-affirming. You’ll be cheering Don and Rosie on and hoping that everything works out for them. I do every time, and I know what happens!

By Graeme Simsion,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked The Rosie Project as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The international bestselling romantic comedy “bursting with warmth, emotional depth, and…humor,” (Entertainment Weekly) featuring the oddly charming, socially challenged genetics professor, Don, as he seeks true love.

The art of love is never a science: Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially inept professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers.

Rosie Jarman possesses all these qualities. Don easily disqualifies her…


Book cover of Autism: An Inside-Out Approach: An Innovative Look at the 'Mechanics' of 'Autism' and its Developmental 'Cousins'

Andy Grayson Author Of Introducing Psychological Research

From my list on introductions to psychology for non-psychologists.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have taught psychology in UK universities for over 35 years. I love finding a 'way in' to the subject for my students. I challenge them to find a passion, and I love seeing that passion 'take off' in someone. In my experience, these are five books that have helped psychology students (me included) to find their passion.

Andy's book list on introductions to psychology for non-psychologists

Andy Grayson Why did Andy love this book?

There are now many excellent books on the market written by people with autism about living with autism. Donna Williams might be considered one of the pioneers in this regard. I love the way that this book gives insight into ways of being which would not traditionally be considered ‘neurotypical’.

Reading first-hand accounts of autism is a must for anyone who is interested in neurodiversity. Williams’ death in 2017 represented a great loss to autism communities and, indeed, to the world in general.

By Donna Williams,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Autism as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of The Electricity of Every Living Thing: A Woman's Walk In The Wild To Find Her Way Home

Kate Sweeney Author Of This One's for You

From my list on Hero’s Journey for introverts who love adventure.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a deeply introverted person who has always loved epic stories. The hero’s journey is one of my favorite kinds of books, because it gives the reader a chance to put themselves into someone else’s shoes and experience the full spectrum of life, a complete transformation that can only be found in a journey away from home. I’ve wanted to take on the Hero’s Journey in my own writing for a long time, and got to do this in my most recent book, This One’s for You. The protagonist of this book is an introvert like me. He's one of the many characters that have inspired me to try some adventures of my own. 

Kate's book list on Hero’s Journey for introverts who love adventure

Kate Sweeney Why did Kate love this book?

This is another book that changed my life.

It’s the true story of author Katherine May’s journey to hike a 680-mile path in England, while simultaneously processing an adult diagnosis of Autism. My therapist recommended this book while I was dealing with my own adult diagnosis, of OCD and ADD.

So many moments in this book sparked tiny insights for me that made my own journey more bearable. And I’m currently dreaming up my own real-life epic adventure, inspired by May’s bravery. 

By Katherine May,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Electricity of Every Living Thing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The New York Times bestselling author of Wintering writes a life-affirming exploration of wild landscapes, what it means to be different and, above all, how we can all learn to make peace with our own unquiet minds . . .
 
In anticipation of her 38th birthday, Katherine May set out to walk the 630-mile South West Coast Path. She wanted time alone, in nature, to understand why she had stopped coping with everyday life; why motherhood had been so overwhelming and isolating; and why the world felt full of expectations she couldn't meet.  She was also reeling from a chance…


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