Hey there! We are LiLeFee, and this week we read the book „Ways to be me“ by Libby Scott.
In our BookTok, you can find our detailed opinion and recommendation; check it out!
On the right you can find the transcription for the whole video.
Unfortunately, there is no license for certain songs, so grab your phone and play „I Knew You Were Trouble“ by Taylor Swift while watching the book scenes that we included in the end. 🙂
License used:
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 LILEFEE
Transcript – Booktok by LiLeFee
Welcome to another book recommendation. The novel “Ways to be me” by Libby Scott is a heartwarming, honest story about friendship, school, and discovering who you are. The novel features an autistic girl and was co-written by Libby Scott, who is autistic herself. So, if you’re looking for a book about neurodivergence, this might be exactly what you’re looking for. So, “Ways to be me” with me follows Tally, an 11-year-old autistic girl, who gives readers an authentic insight into how she experiences the world, including her thoughts, emotions, and the challenges she faces in everyday situations. Throughout year 6 Tally navigates friendships, family relationships, and the pressures of school. A major focus of the story is the school play, which seems very important to Tally; she’s given a role that she doesn’t really like, but due to unpredictable things happening, the rehearsals and the whole plan of the theater changes. So, at school, Tally tries really hard to fit in and build friendships, but her sensory sensitivities, anxiety, and difficulties interpreting some social situations often leave her feeling isolated or even misunderstood, but fortunately she has her best friend—Layla—who accepts her for who she really is and provides important emotional support for our story. At home Tally faces difficulties as well; she often clashes with her older sister, and although her parents care deeply about her, they do not always understand her experiences or know how to best support her. As a result, Tally frequently fears that nobody truly understands her, not even herself. Fortunately, Tally has an escape, which is Taylor Swift. She really loves listening to her music, dancing, and just feels like she can be really herself when listening to her music. So now let’s talk about the representation of disabilities in this book. One of the book’s greatest strengths is its authentic representation of autism. Instead of portraying autism as something that needs to be fixed, the novel presents it as a natural part of human diversity so the reader experiences the world from Tally’s perspective, which helps them to understand sensory overload, anxiety, and social misunderstandings. Because one of the authors is autistic, Tally’s voice feels genuine and respectful rather than stereotypical. Now on to our opinions, the novel has a relatable and lovable main character; it also has an easy and engaging writing style. It features realistic friendships and family relationships, which makes it really relatable and fun to read. It furthermore encourages empathy and understanding, and some of our negative points are that some conflicts are resolved rather quickly, so there could be a little bit more tension, and some readers are looking for lots of action and might find it too slow, but overall, we really liked the book. Yeah, we did enjoy it. So, we would recommend this book especially to readers ages 10 to 14, teachers, parents, and really anyone who’s interested in inclusive literature. So as for EFL, this book would be suitable for level A2 English students, and “Ways to be me” helps readers better understand autism by reminding us that everyone experiences the world differently, so yeah. Overall, we highly recommend it because it promotes empathy, acceptance, and the importance of being yourself. If you’re looking for a thoughtful and uplifting read, this book is definitely worth picking up.
Filmed book scenes:
- Tally putting in her earbuds in her room, as Taylor Swift music starts playing.
- Tally walking towards the school.
- Miles coming to congratulate Tally on her birthday.
- Tally running through a grass field to cope with her emotions.
- Tally and her friend preparing for their role as the technical crew in the play.
- Tally petting a horse named Peaches and preparing for her first horseback riding lesson.