A techno-thriller that explores issues of consent, privacy, and disability pride through the harrowing adventure of a queer, autistic protagonist.
Paige Wells, who is almost 12, knows her parents don’t understand what it’s like to be autistic like her. But when she discovers an e-mail on her dad’s computer that shows they secretly implanted a chip in her brain to track her brain activity and location, and even inject chemicals to boost her mood, her sense of betrayal skyrockets. With the help of her best friend (and crush) Mara, she learns that the technology was created by a billionaire’s startup—a startup he has just agreed to sell to the world’s most popular social network, Homepage. And Homepage has the habit of selling its user’s private data to the highest bidder. Paige’s brain data is as private as it gets.
Now, Paige finds herself hatching a plan to find the other autistic kids who have similar chips and to stop the merger. As Mara and one of the other three kids start to become friends, however, Paige gets jealous, and she and Mara have a falling out. Can Paige still carry out her plan and trust the other kids to do their part? Can she even trust her own mind anymore?
Along with its techno-thriller vibe, the story offers thoughtful but pointed lessons about consent. Not only was Paige’s chip implanted without her awareness, but one of the other kids’ moms has built a social media following by posting about her autistic daughter, including her meltdowns, without her permission. Woven in, too, are headline issues about online privacy and tech billionaires—but also a look at one tween’s experience of being autistic, when everyone is “trying to change you instead of help you.” (As a neurotypical reviewer, I trust author Jen Wilde, who is autistic, to be our guide here, without assuming that she speaks for every autistic person’s experience.)
Paige is also queer, and her crush on Mara forms another thread of the tale. I particularly appreciate that Paige’s teacher, who is in a relationship with another woman, becomes a queer role model for her, as does her wife, whose more masculine appearance helps Paige realize her own nonbinary identity. (Paige still uses she/her pronouns throughout, however, which I follow here.)
The blend of action, disability pride, and burgeoning queer awareness, along with thoughtful personal growth arcs for the main characters, makes this a highly recommended read.
Paige is White; Mara is White and Jewish; two other kids whom they meet are Black.
