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Tilly in Technicolor

Written by alamancelibraries on . Posted in Book Reviews.

Cover of Tilly in Technicolor - room with a lot of sunlight. Boy lying on bed, girl standing on bed over him, with a camera in her hand, shooting a picture of him, him extending his arm up in mock protest

Eddings, Mazey. Tilly in Technicolor. New York : Wednesday Books, 2023.

I absolutely loved this neurodivergent romance! I would categorize it as YA/New Adult. The spice level is low, with most of the action happening off the page.

Tilly has ADHD, making her a larger-than-life cosmic mess. Her perfect older sister graduated from Yale and now has her own company, and their mother can’t stop comparing them. Tilly has just graduated from high school and has no interest in going to college. Her mother isn’t listening to her and insists that at the end of the summer, she apply for spring semester somewhere.

Tilly’s older sister Mona has offered her an unpaid internship for the summer. Tilly will travel with Mona and her business partner Amina around Europe. Mona and Amina’s company sells ethical nail polish and Tilly will be their hand model and helper.

On the plane, Tilly meets Oliver. Oliver is British and has autism. He has a very successful Instagram account about color and design, and describes things through Pantone color numbers. He’s going to be a student at the University of the Arts in London in the fall. Their first encounter is horrible, so horrible that both of them are shocked to find out that Oliver is an intern for Mona and Amina’s company as well, and they’ll be working and sharing room together all summer.

Both hide their neurodivergence from each other to begin with, which leads to many misunderstandings and snafus. But they both secretly admire the other, and become close as they start to open up and share their worlds with each other.

There’s also other couples, including some queer ones, mentioned in the story. While the ending is a bit implausible, it is satisfying and wraps up the story really well.

Being neurodivergent myself, I applaud Mazey Eddings for publishing such a wonderful book that illuminates how it feels to be just a little different from everyone else. She created two characters who have different “issues” who have to survive in this over-stimulating world. I hope others can read this book and have a better understanding of how hard it can be to be neurodivergent. I hope parents read this book and understand how to communicate with their child in a way that celebrates their differences rather than pointing out their failures. And I hope all of the quirky, differently wired, ND kids read this and know that they, too, one day can find someone to love who gets them.

Mary Beth Adams is the Community Engagement Librarian for Alamance County Public Libraries. You can reach her at madams@alamancelibraries.org or 336-570-6981.