100 books like Switched On

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. 

I've never read a book quite like this. It was a little challenging to get into, but by the time I finished, I was blown away by the author's talent.

The character-driven plot makes whiplash-inducing twists and turns from several points of view. The reader is first drawn into the mind of a comatose patient who is slowly regaining consciousness and thinks he sees his roommate being murdered.

Next, we're following Patrick Fort, a teenager with Asperger's Syndrome, who has won a disability scholarship to study anatomy at Cardiff University. Patrick has spent the last ten years fixated on finding out what happened to his father, the victim of a hit-and-run driver.

His habit of bringing home dead animals and examining them alarms his mother but is the foundation for his later expertise in biology, particularly in dissection. At university, he and his team are given a human cadaver and… show more.

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.

When my daughter was diagnosed as autistic aged 10, I was desperate to be able to describe her and her ‘condition’ to the school so they would know how best to help her.

I was so grateful to discover this book by Clare Sainsbury (of the supermarket family), who is autistic herself. In it, she describes her schoolgirl experience and how she felt like a 'Martain in the Playground.' She was eight or nine when she realized she was ‘different in some nameless but all-pervasive way.’

I found reading this book to be nerve-wracking and heartbreaking but necessary. It looked into how my daughter was likely feeling every day. In a way, it was a guidebook for my own child. 

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.

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… show more.

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!

Thirteen-year-old Alice moves to a new town where no one knows she has Asperger’s syndrome. When she behaves in a way her teachers feel is inappropriate she gets sent to detention. It’s there she meets Megan, a hard-core “bad girl” who becomes the only person to make a meaningful connection with Alice. 

Alice likes rules, Megan likes to break rules. Yet somehow the two girls manage to become good friends. Megan’s home life is bad and she decides to run away. Despite the angst and the inner voice telling her not to, Alice goes with Megan to protect her.

Quote: “Is a hero average in type, appearance, achievement, function, and development?” Alice asks.

This book stands out for me because it shows that we all can “go farther” than any perceived limitation, be it developmental, physical, or emotional. 

Here’s one for slightly older children. The story of two siblings, one with Asperger’s syndrome, who find themselves at the centre of a riveting detective story. They’re on the hunt to find their cousin Salim, who’s gone missing from a sealed carriage on The London Eye. Throughout the book, we are challenged to see the world from different people’s points of view in order to solve the mystery.

This is the story of a girl named Rose, who is autistic and obsessed with homonyms. She lives with her father who’s often impatient with her needs and abandons her to drink at the local bar. Her mother has vanished, and Rose turns to her sympathetic uncle and her beloved new dog for comfort.  When her dad lets the dog out during a storm, Rose and her uncle find the dog and realize it already has an owner. She learns the truth of her mother’s disappearance and moves in with her uncle. 

Once again, here’s a story about the healing relationship that can exist between a kid and an animal. And as the sibling of a person with Down syndrome and a former special education teacher, I’m impressed with the author’s respectful portrayal of a girl on the autism spectrum.