SuitabookShow Us Who You Are
Elle McNicoll
- Reading
- Read alongside the child, pausing after major discoveries to separate Cora’s hopes from the Institute’s claims. Discuss whether a familiar voice or image would be the same person, without demanding one answer.
- Themes
- Neurodivergence and self-acceptance: Cora is autistic and Adrien has ADHD; their friendship helps Cora question pressure to mimic neurotypical interactions and find confidence in her identity. Neurodivergence is presented as part of the characters’ identities, while the pressure to appear normal is treated critically.
- Grief and digital immortality: After her mother’s death, Cora is drawn to a programme that recreates people as holograms and offers the possibility of continued contact. The longing behind the technology is treated sympathetically, but the Institute’s use of vulnerable people’s grief is portrayed critically.
- Power, persuasion and voice: Cora becomes involved with projects run by a powerful technology institute and must examine its motives while trying to make her voice heard. The Institute’s persuasive opportunities and darker secrets are framed as reasons for scrutiny, while Cora’s defence of her values is presented positively.
- Worth knowing
- The book may deserve thoughtful preparation around bereavement, bullying, patronising treatment, social exclusion, frightening discoveries and the possibility that powerful people exploit vulnerability. The ending is described as hopeful.