Adolescence is a confusing, difficult time - even more so when your brain is wired differently to other teens. Here are a collection of powerful stories, both fiction and non-fiction, about living with neurodiversity as a teenager that provide insights and empathy for the complexity, challenges, and joy of living neurodivergently.

Different, Not Less by Chloe Hayden

Growing up, Chloe Hayden felt like she’d crash-landed on an alien planet where nothing made sense. She moved between 10 schools in 8 years, struggling to become a person she believed society would accept, and was eventually diagnosed with autism and ADHD. When a life-changing group of allies showed her that different did not mean less, she learned to celebrate her true voice and find her happily ever after.

This is a moving, at times funny story of how it feels to be neurodivergent as well as a practical guide, with advice for living with meltdowns and shutdowns, tips for finding supportive communities and much more.

Social Queue by Kay Kerr

Zoe Kelly is starting a new phase of her life. High school was a mess of bullying and autistic masking that left her burnt out and shut down. Now, with an internship at an online media company - the first step on the road to her dream writing career - she is ready to reinvent herself. But she didn’t count on returning to her awkward and all-too-recent high-school experiences for her first writing assignment.

Social Queue is a funny and heart-warming autistic story about deciphering the confusing signals of attraction and navigating a path to love.

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Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty

This nature memoir chronicles the turning of 15-year-old Dara McAnulty’s world. Starting in spring, in his home patch in Northern Ireland, Dara spent a year writing through the seasons. These vivid, evocative and moving diary entries about his connection to wildlife and the way he sees the world are raw and beautiful in their telling.

Diary of a Young Naturalist portrays Dara’s intense connection to the natural world, and his perspective as an autistic teenager juggling exams and friendships, alongside a life of campaigning.

Peta Lyre's Rating Normal by Anna Whately

Peta Lyre is far from typical. The world she lives in isn’t designed for the way her mind works, but when she follows her therapist’s rules for ‘normal’ behaviour, she can almost fit in without attracting attention. When a new girl, Sam, starts at school, Peta’s carefully structured routines start to crack.

But on the school ski trip, with romance blooming and a newfound confidence, she starts to wonder if maybe she can have a normal life after all. When things fall apart, Peta must decide whether all the old rules still matter. Does she want a life less ordinary, or should she keep her rating normal?

When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds

Ali’s got enough going on, between school and boxing and helping out at home to not want any trouble. His best friend Noodles, though. Now there’s a dude looking for trouble - and, somehow, it’s always Ali around to pick up the pieces. But, it’s all small potatoes; it’s not like anyone’s getting hurt.

And then there’s Needles. Needles is Noodles’s brother. He’s got a syndrome, and gets these ticks and blurts out the wildest, craziest things. It’s cool, though: everyone on their street knows he doesn’t mean anything by it. Until one day when they find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.