Beyond the Spectrum – Unraveling the Magic of ‘Tilly in Technicolor’ by Mazey Eddings: A Book Review

Tilly in Technicolor is a charming coming-of-age story of two neurodiverse young adults who work together over a summer in Europe. I loved it!

Acknowledgments:

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of Tilly in Technicolor. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

From The Publisher:

Tilly Twomley is desperate for change. White-knuckling her way through high school with flawed executive functioning has left her burnt out and ready to start fresh. Working as an intern for her perfect older sister’s start up isn’t exactly how Tilly wants to spend her summer, but the required travel around Europe promises a much-needed change of scenery as she plans for her future. The problem is, Tilly has no idea what she wants.

Oliver Clark knows exactly what he wants. His autism has often made it hard for him to form relationships with others, but his love of color theory and design allows him to feel deeply connected to the world around him. Plus, he has everything he needs: a best friend that gets him, placement into a prestigious design program, and a summer internship to build his resume. Everything is going as planned. That is, of course, until he suffers through the most disastrous international flight of his life, all turmoil stemming from lively and exasperating Tilly. Oliver is forced to spend the summer with a girl that couldn’t be more his opposite—feeling things for her he can’t quite name—and starts to wonder if maybe he doesn’t have everything figured out after all.

As the duo’s neurodiverse connection grows, they learn that some of the best parts of life can’t be planned, and are forced to figure out what that means as their disastrously wonderful summer comes to an end.

My Thoughts:

Mazey Eddings has fast become an auto-read author for me. As a neurodiverse person herself, I love her ability to write characters through this lens. I’m generally not an avid reader in the Teen & YA genre, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Tilly Twomley has recently graduated high school and is leaving home for the first time to work for her older sister Mona’s startup in the U.K. She’s beyond excited and can’t wait to escape her mother who worries about and pressures her at times to make the decisions she feels is best for her. She constantly feels compared to Mona who is Ivy-League educated and does everything perfectly.

On her flight, she is sitting next to a young man who is returning home to the U.K. named Oliver Clark who tries to ignore Tilly’s excitement. But there is no ignoring Tilly – her love of ketchup and an ill child on the plane manifest an urgent situation for Tilly but Oliver is there to lend a hand. She’s attracted to Oliver and when the plane lands and they are departing the plane she asks him out. When he asks her to repeat the question, she freaks out and runs away from him.

The next day Tilly is having breakfast with Mona when she is introduced to Mona’s business partner and the fourth member of the team – Oliver! Oliver is a graphic artist fascinated with colour which works perfectly for this nail polish startup. The plan is to use Tilly as a model wearing the company’s product and Oliver photographing Tilly around various cities in the UK and Europe and Mona and her partner pitching different companies along the way.

Tilly and Oliver soon reveal to each other that they are both neurodiverse. For the first time, they realize that someone gets them. Their friendship turns into a sweet and respectful romance. Tilly’s penchant for writing about her feelings and experiences online has created interest and she soon has some difficult decisions to make.

I loved the depth of the character development and the likeability of Tilly and Oliver. I’m a sucker for personal growth and there is plenty of this in the book. The author relays the challenges that these two individuals have overcome as they grew up and provides great insight into what is like to be neurodiverse. I appreciate the opportunity to read books written by authors who experience neurodiversity so that I can learn more about how others view the world.

I highly recommend Tilly in Technicolor to readers who enjoy YA coming-of-age stories or romance.

Other Books I’ve Reviewed Written by Mazey Eddings:

A Brush With Love (A Brush With Love #1)

Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake ( A Brush With Love #2)

The Plus One (A Brush With Love #3)

This book contributed to the following challenges: