However, we are now a little further down the road and I suppose I am more accepting and more than ready to understand my daughter in any way I can. Imagine, every day having a ball of anxiety and fear knotted inside you. Now try learning algebra with all that going on." It is early days but I really think this book is going to change a lot about how I think about things and how I support my daughter. However, she manages to have remarkable insight into her own emotional state, coming up with all the excuses why SHE can't behave a certain way, yet is utterly unforgiving of others, expecting perfection from them. Her family and even her peers are all supposed to put Tally's needs above their own. She expects her 11 year old friends to have expert knowledge and the skills and ability of a psychologist. She lashes out at others, telling them what they "should" be able to do, yet going mad if anyone tries to suggest what she might be able to do. "I'm not having a tantrum you horrible man... I'm not being naughty or like a baby and you should know that by now." Her needs DO NOT TRUMP ANYONE ELSE'S

This book is a combination of present-tense, third-person prose and short diary entries from the perspective of Tally, the autistic main character. The diary entries mainly focus on charting her anxiety levels and explaining terms and concepts related to autism, often breaking them down into pros and cons.There were some parts that made me cry because it was exactly like my experience at school. Her relationship with her sister was similar to my relationship with my brother. The relationship with her mum, being the one who understands, was the same with me. Tally has autism which includes a very difficult condition known as demand avoidance. What that means is if someone tells her to do something straight out, she absolutely can not do it. This condition makes her behavior hard to understand, at times. Nell, her older sister, doesn’t want to understand and just wants Tally to be normal and do what she’s supposed to do. Even Tally’s Dad, at times, forgets how he’s supposed to phrase things and often his words lead to confrontation.

Still, despite its stylistic flaws, this book has an encouraging message and provides what appears to be an extremely realistic representation of autism, even though I cannot speak from personal knowledge of it. This book should be very encouraging and helpful to kids who relate to Tally's situations at home and at school, and it is a great tool to help build understanding and empathy among family members, friends, and classmates of children with autism. Tally has autism but seldom tells anyone and usually hides away. When she starts her new school, everything is very big and overwhelming and she has to find ways to hide her autism, but what if she doesn't have to? With diary entries written by eleven-year-old Libby Scott, based on her own experiences of autism, this pioneering book, written in collaboration with esteemed author Rebecca Westcott, has been widely praised for its realistic portrayal of autism.

Tally isn't ashamed of being autistic -- even if it complicates life sometimes, it's part of who she is. But this is her first year at Kingswood Academy, and her best friend, Layla, is the only one who knows. And while a lot of other people are uncomfortable around Tally, Layla has never been one of them . . . until now. This glimpse into the world of a young autistic girl is astonishingly insightful and honest. Tally's struggles to 'fit in' are heart-wrenching, and her victories are glorious." -- Ann M. Martin, Newbery Honor and New York Times bestselling author of Rain Reign Tally's autism means there are things that bother her even though she wishes they didn't. It means that some people misunderstand, her and feel frustrated by her. Tally Olivia Adams is 12 years old and in 7th grade with her friends Lucy Aisha and Layla. Her big sister Nell is boring and annoying. Her parents struggle to help her with her autism. Tally life turns around as unexpected events come around ....