I love a book full of neurodivergence. It is guaranteed to get my interest and this story did not disappoint. It is a classic celebrity meets ‘normal’ person with a side serving of autism.

This story centres around 3 main characters – Mel/Melanie ( a famous Hollywood actor), AJ a single mum and paramedic and Parker, AJ’s daughter. 

Parker is beautifully described as having sensory issues, processing issues and literal thinking – a very good characterisation of a child with autism that shows some meltdowns and misunderstandings, bouncing around like Tigger with excitement and a particular special issue in space and the stars. I liked this as it portrayed Parker as a positive character and not a burden. She was a child that people liked to spend time with.

A series of coincidences had AJ and Parker bumping (often quite literally) into Melanie.

 Melanie is also written as a character with a lot of sensory issues, misunderstanding people with he literal thinking etc but this isn’t mentioned as being anything other than her being cold, aloof and a bit weird until Parker asks her if she had considered she has autism towards the end of the story – excellent foreshadowing.

There is of course an abusive ex who keeps turning up.

There is humour – AJ compares the only 2 things that have taken her breath away – holding her new born child and looking at Mel’s backside!

A clever use of the names Mel/Melanie lets the reader know who is doing the talking/thinking about her. It is also clever when a news story involving them is published and then Mel is hiding in a cupboard – it then becomes clear that she is on set and therefore acting, not reacting badly to the story.

There is of course an epilogue – This involved a proposal – but this was strangely acceptable to me as it was conveyed in Parker’s constant questions.