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Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott's Ways to Be Me is a warm, honest family story for 11 year olds about a girl who feels like everything goes wrong when she's involved.
Tally is ten and in Year 6. She hates seams in socks, loud noises and being told what to do. She loves Taylor Swift (a LOT), horses, and the words "I don't see why not".
Her days are exhausting in ways the grown-ups can't see. A dinner she ate happily a few weeks ago suddenly isn't right, and it ends up on the floor. The school hall is too noisy to think. Her best friend Layla wants to play Dodge when they'd agreed on their horse game, and once Tally's set on something it's impossible to shift.
The one thing she knows she's brilliant at is acting. So she's absolutely certain the lead in the Year 6 play will be hers.
Tally's own lists and quizzes sit between the chapters, and they're the best bit. A love/hate list. A coping-with-school quiz where the honest answer is usually D. A homework factfile about her mum that will probably make you a bit teary.
There's a riding lesson with a gruff instructor called Ginny who says there's nothing wrong with being fiery. She talks about the difference between a horse that can't do something and one that won't. Tally knows exactly what can't feels like, and so, by then, will your reader.
Her parents are about to talk to her about autism, and that's where this story is heading. It's a really kind way in for a child who might be working out the same things, or for anyone who wants to understand a friend a bit better.
Tally's meltdowns are shown honestly and they aren't tidied up. She throws her dinner on the floor, and in one fight she pulls out a chunk of her big sister Nell's hair. She mentions punching a hole in a wall. A younger or more sensitive reader might find that upsetting. Others will feel really seen.
Tally's story carries on when she's eleven and about to start at big sister Nell's secondary school, in Can You See Me?
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