French Lit, French Food, French Kisses // Kids Like Us

Title: Kids Like Us

Author: Hilary Reyl

Pages: 288

Date published: November 14, 2017

Martin is an American teen on the autism spectrum living in France with his mom and sister for the summer. He falls for a French girl who he thinks is a real-life incarnation of a character in his favorite book. Over time Martin comes to realize she is a real person and not a character in a novel while at the same time learning that love is not out of his reach just because he is autistic.

If I had to describe Hilary Reyl's YA debut in three words, they would be: intense, unique, and delightful. I read this book based solely on a post from Paper Fury, and I'm so glad that Cait wrote about it, because otherwise I might have missed this utterly wonderful, special, #quietYA of 2017. There are so many things I liked about this book, so let me share a few of them with you:

• The French-ness. At first I was just going to say the French setting, since I do love that it's set near a French castle in a little French town, but so many things about this book are influenced by French culture that I decided to change this bullet point a little bit. I've read books about Americans traveling abroad, but none of them compare to this one in terms of going as in depth in the culture. This is a lot because of the premise of the book and because Martin's father is French, so he comes to the country already knowing a lot about French culture, including the language, literature, and food. I learned so much from Martin's narration, and he really immerses the reader in the culture of the French with his discussion of language and food. There were so many small details that I haven't found in other books about Americans abroad that really made this story come alive, and they all made the setting that much more vivid for me as a reader and I absolutely loved it. And someone get me a madeleine, please!!
• The discussion of literature. Obviously, French literature, particularly Martin's favorite book, Search, as he calls it, by Proust, is a major factor and plot point in this story. I loved seeing how literature, and this book in particular, were how Martin connected to the world. At first, the book Search is just a mirror to him as he falls for who he thinks is the book's heroine, but then it becomes a window that allows him to have deeper interactions with Gilberte/Alice as well as the other people around him.
• The relationships. Every relationship in this book was so nuanced and well-developed, even the one that took place off the page, that between Martin and his father, who is off-page for reasons that are not revealed until later. The way Martin processes interactions with each character is so unique and particular to each person that it makes each relationship a mini-story in itself, like a whole new world with each new character who is introduced. Of course, Martin's relationship with Alice is at the forefront in some ways, because he believes her to be an incarnation of the love interest in the Proust book, but it is also clear that him realizing that she is a real, original person influences his other relationships as well.
• Martin's voice. Martin's voice is probably the most unique writing I've read all year. His voice was very well-written. It was fascinating to be inside his head, and I found the way the story was written to be extremely addicting. I also liked how it certain aspects of his voice were explained throughout the story, making it that much more rich of a read.

All in all, Kids Like Us turned out to be one of my favorite reads of the year. I can't speak to how accurate the autism representation is because I don't have personal experience with it, but I did learn a lot about autism from reading this book. There was also a brief discussion of the neurodiversity movement, which I found very illuminating and interesting. In short though, this book is just amazing. Martin's voice is truly unique, the story is intricate on all levels, and it is not a book I will soon forget and is one I will be recommending to everyone I know.