Twelve-year-old Mia, who is autistic, expresses herself through singing and songwriting, and her best friend Charlie, who is nonbinary, puts together beats for her. Yet her mom doesn’t understand what it’s like for her to be autistic, and her well-meaning efforts to help Mia appear more “normal” are aggravating. Other kids in her class tease and bully her, and Mia often feels overwhelmed. After she and Charlie create a song that she sings as as her alter-ego, Elle-Q, however, he encourages her to put it online—and Elle-Q becomes an Internet sensation. Everyone in Mia’s class loves Elle-Q’s music, and wants to know when the mysterious singer will do a live show.
Charlie thinks an upcoming local talent show will be the perfect venue, but Mia isn’t so sure. She’s worried that she’ll end up “freaking out … cos of my autism.” Charlie tries to assure her that “Your autism is the reason you’re so creative and good at memorizing your lyrics,” but Mia still thinks it would be too much, and her mom would “get all weird about it.”
The question of whether to perform endangers her friendship with Charlie, the only person who seems to understand her. Can Mia stand up for herself and show everyone what she has to say?
Without going into too many spoilers, I’ll simply say that I loved this graphic novel’s arc that shows Mia learning to see her autism as a strength and finding how to speaking her truth. There are some other plot twists, too, but I’ll leave them for readers to discover. This is a well-paced, engaging read with a contemporary plot and evolving characters. As for its depiction of autism, author/illustrator Rebecca Burgess, who is also autistic, has said, “I’m pouring my personal experiences into this book.” Not being autistic myself, I’ll take her at her word. I’ll just add that I liked the characters enough that I’d love to see a sequel!
Mia is White and Charlie Black.
