Can You See Me?

Can You See Me? is written by Libby Scott & Rebecca Westcott, and published by Scholastic.

For anyone out there who thinks they’re the only weird one, or the only one who doesn’t know how to act in certain situations, or doesn’t like what everyone else likes, don’t worry, you’re not the only one – I can prove it as I feel like that every day, and this is one of those books that helps you to see how different we all are.

Can You See Me is about 11 year old Tally. She’s just starting year 7, and so far it’s not going well. Her friends have changed over the summer, high school is a lot harder than primary school, and her sister hates her. She’s also autistic, but is determined no one will know, because otherwise how will she learn to be “normal”?

Books like this are so important as, way too often people like Tally are dismissed, as crazy or stupid, when that’s obviously not true and they are just as much “people” as all the neurotypical folk. Also, it’s just generally a really good book.

Tally is definitely my favourite character, with Rupert as a close second, but so many of the situations Tally faces, although they’re made harder by her autism, are issues that every teenager can relate to. I can also relate to Tally’s family, because my brother has ADHD, so it was really interesting to see a story told from the perspective of a person with a similar condition.

I suggest this book for probably age 9+, and I think it’s a really important book for all schools to get.