This month's books have all been chosen with a focus on neurodiversity. With advancing medical knowledge and social awareness, we are learning to understand and celebrate the diversity within all of us and this is becoming more obvious in our bookish culture. The books we have chosen this month reflect this. From Wendy Mitchell's recently published second book which gives a unique insight into living with dementia to Isabelle Marinov's delightful picture book which uses the story of a child with Asperger's Syndrome to encourage empathy within younger readers and on to Kasuo Isiguro's masterfully written glimpse into the moral dilemmas we may all face in a future of genetic engineering and artificial intelligence.

Leo and the Octopus by Isabelle Marinov & Chris Nixon

This is a gentle picture book that deals with universal themes such as friendship, emotions and belonging whilst also giving an insight into the world of someone with Asperger’s Syndrome.

Meet Leo, a young boy who doesn’t always feel as though he fits in with the world with its confusion of colour and noise. In his own words, he feels like he ‘must be living on the wrong planet’ and the effect of this is that he often feels tired and lonely. All this starts to change when he meets Maya the octopus whose keeper piques his interest by recounting interesting facts about the sea creature. Leo identifies with Maya as she looks like an alien and, with encouragement from the keeper, he starts to bond with her.

Maya and Leo turn out to have many things in common and Leo can understand her easily due to the fact that she changes colour when she is stressed. In fact, Leo is able to help his new friend when she feels threatened by the crowds who have come to see her. Leo’s detailed knowledge of octopuses actually sparks a new friendship between himself and another boy leftover from the crowd who finds Maya just as interesting as he does.

The power of this story comes from its gentle simplicity. Using uncomplicated language, it communicates feelings and experiences sympathetically drawing on the things we have in common in order to tell a heart-warming tale of friendship for all.

£6.99 Paperback Templar Publishing ISBN 9781787416550

What I Wish People Knew About Dementia From Someone Who Knows by Wendy Mitchell

In her 2018 memoir, Wendy Mitchell offered a personal, heart-rending and yet hopeful insight into her experience of being diagnosed with early life Alzheimer’s Disease. What I Wish People Knew About Dementia moves on from this personal account and opens up a dialogue with others who all cope with the practicalities of living with the disease. Before her diagnosis at the age of 58, Mitchell, who lives in East Yorkshire, enjoyed a busy career as an NHS Manager and was a keen runner. She is now a campaigner for dementia awareness and wants to highlight that a diagnosis, devastating though it is, should not rob a person of their individuality.

Told with both wit and resilience, What I Wish People Knew About Dementia is an informative read that addresses often misunderstood aspects of the disease. Mitchell reveals her own thoughts, feelings and coping mechanisms such as setting reminders to eat and drink and maximising the potential of technology to enable her to continue to live independently. Her determination to live a full and independent life is truly inspiring and this book will give anyone who reads it a refreshing insight into the experience of a person who lives with dementia.

£14.99 Hardback Bloomsbury ISBN 9781526634481

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

In a world where humans can create intelligent machines that are almost indistinguishable from themselves, what does it mean to be human? This is the central question of Kazuo Ishiguro’s eighth novel and it invites us to consider our moral obligations to others.

The novel is set in near future America where, to gain advantage, children are ‘lifted’, an ambiguous term to describe a genetic procedure designed to enhance their intelligence but one that is not without risk. Josie is one of these teenagers whose sister has already died from this procedure and who is, herself, unwell. Josie’s best friend, Rick, has not been lifted and their relationship is already strained under the weight of their difference. The third ‘teenager’ is Josie’s AF, or ‘Artificial Friend’, Klara who was apparently bought to provide companionship for Josie but, as we learn later in the novel, she may also serve a more sinister purpose.

For a machine, Klara possesses extraordinary observational skills so that she can take note and copy human mannerisms. AIs are built this way in order to be as an authentic a companion as possible to their human friends but, where Klara is concerned, it soon becomes clear that she has exceptional observational skills which border on human emotions such as empathy, love and faith. The story is told from Klara’s perspective, therefore just as Klara is dependent on the humans in her world in order to become almost human, the reader is dependent on Klara to tell the story of this world. This is a masterful narrative stroke in which the reader can look in on the complexities of the modern world from an entirely naïve point of view.

Part of the appeal of Ishiguro’s writing is his literary shape-shifting. He writes over many genres, perhaps not quite conforming to the conventions of any and, with each new novel, he turns to new characters and settings. What connects all his writing, however, is his incisive exploration of human characteristics of love, loss, memory and hope. Klara and the Sun is yet another superb meditation on the depths of our moral life from a superlative contemporary writer.

£8.99 Paperback Faber & Faber ISBN 9780571364909

Animal Farm by George Orwell (Super Readable edition)

Barrington Stoke is a publishing house that specialises in creating books for children and teenagers who experience barriers to their reading. This may be due to a neurodiversity such as dyslexia or ADHD or it may be that they do not find reading pleasurable. Whatever the barrier may be, Barrington Stoke books are designed to overcome them to ‘help every child experience the joy of reading’.

There is a wealth of ‘super-readable’ and high calibre children’s and young adult fiction on offer from Barrington Stoke including novels by Michael Morpugo, Phil Earle and Anne Fine. However, there are also a number of classics for older readers to get their teeth into, including Animal Farm. George Orwell’s political allegory tells the story of a group of animals who, fed up with the oppressive and tyrannical regime of Farmer Jones, set out to claim the farm as their own. However, when their plan succeeds and the farm is theirs, it becomes clear that those who have led them in this revolution may not be all they seem. As it slowly dawns on the animals that their vision of a utopian farm will not be realised, the reader is left to reflect upon the injustices of society and the corrupting nature of power.

This completely unabridged version of Animal Farm is presented in a readable format which includes tinted paper, increased spacing and specially designed font in order to make the reading experience more comfortable. As a result, reluctant readers are given access to a modern classic that they may otherwise find out of their reach. If you know someone who just can’t get on with reading, these books are well worth a try.

£7.99 Paperback

Barrington Stoke - Dyslexia-friendly Classics ISBN 9781781129692