Show Us Who You Are
by Elle McNicoll
Intermediate     Crown    304 pp.         g
10/22     978-0-593-56299-4     $16.99
Library ed.  978-0-593-56300-7    $19.99
e-book ed.  978-0-593-56301-4    $9.99

In this middle-grade sci-fi tale set in the near future, twelve-year-old Cora meets Adrien (and his wealthy family) at a grown-up party. Both children are neurodiverse: Adrien has ADHD, Cora is autistic, and they bond over a shared love of adventure and the feeling that neurodiverse people shouldn’t have to change what makes them unique to be accepted. Adrien’s father runs Pomegranate, a company that creates holograms to give its customers a chance to hobnob with celebrities and revisit loved ones—a concept that appeals to Cora, who would love to be able to interact with her recently deceased mother. But after a devastating accident, Cora discovers that Pomegranate has flattened Adrien’s neurodiverse traits to make him seem more neurotypical. Horrified by the “digital eugenics,” she makes it her mission to expose the corporation’s deception and cruelty, while coming to terms with her own perceptions of death and grief. Adrien and Cora are smart and funny characters who make relatable the work of navigating life in an often-unsympathetic world. McNicoll’s suspenseful story has a lot to say about what makes a person worthy of respect.

From the November/December 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.