When My Heart Joins the Thousand by A.J. Steiger

There were so many potential tropes that the author cleanly subverted, and I was so invested in this story and these characters that I genuinely did not want it to end.

Going into a book with a romance between an autistic MC and her disabled love interest is the sort of thing that makes me feel very wary – will it be good, authentic rep? Will these characters be painted positively? Will I find myself knee-deep in tropes and cheap shots? Again, while I can’t speak from experience, I found myself feeling really pleased by the rep in this book and the way issues were handled. Why did everyone act like it was my fault when the other kids bullied me? Why was I always the one who had to change? I want to preface this review by saying that I am not autistic, not do I have the disability that Stanley suffers from, and I can only speak as an outsider looking in however, any and all own-voice opinions and reviews would be welcomed and I would be happy to boost your review if you DM me or drop me a comment! But if she can find the strength to face the enemy inside her, maybe she’ll have a chance at happiness after all. Her past stalks her with every step, and it has sharp teeth. But Alvie remembers what happened to the last person she truly cared about.

Without even meaning to, she finds herself getting close to him. Then she meets Stanley, a boy who might be even stranger than she is-a boy who walks with a cane, who turns up every day with a new injury, whose body seems as fragile as glass. She can bide her time with him until her emancipation. But if she fails, she’ll become a ward of the state and be sent back to the group home.Īll she wants is to be left alone to spend time with her friend, Chance, the one-winged hawk at the zoo where she works. If she can make it to her eighteenth birthday without any major mishaps, she’ll be legally emancipated. She’s spent years swallowing meds and bad advice from doctors and social workers. Survival is.Īlvie Fitz doesn’t fit in, and she doesn’t care. But that has nothing to do with anything. Obviously I’m not what most people would describe as happy.

When My Heart Joins the Thousand by A.J. Steiger