Fireflies, S'mores, and that Time I Might Have Accidentally Kinda Started a Faerie War

by Alex Nonymous

It takes a special kind of evil to be a mean girl at an autistic summer camp, but Faith Harris has been excelling at that ever since she first arrived.

Whenever that was. Despite her obsession with Faith, Lots and the rest of her cabinmates can never seem to pinpoint exactly how long they’ve known her.

Still, Lots is going to enjoy this summer. She only has a couple of years left until she’ll have to leave camp and the friendships she’s made there behind, so she’s determined to make the most of it.

Even with camp attendance dwindling. And her best friend signing up to spend a lot more time away from Lots than they’d previous discussed. And the entirety of Faerie declaring war against her cabin after Lots accidentally annoys Faith into revealing her true nature.

Yup, this summer is going to be perfect.

Genres: Queer, Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Disability, Autistic Spectrum Disorder

331 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 12, 2023

About the author

Alex published 18 books in 18 months in their early 20s as part of a personal writing challenge which is apparently not a great longevity idea but they're slowly trying to get back into writing.

He uses any pronouns so its incredibly easy to talk about Alex behind her back (just please stop adding me to 'women writers' lists oh my god) and they're still trying to figure out how to present themself as a professional a full year into publishing.

If you want to join their email list for updates on book release dates, early reader copies, and to vote on genre polls to control the next book they write, email them at alexnonymouswrites@gmail.com to let her know!

Alex also writes books for queer teenagers and recognizes that a lot of the people who need those kinds of stories the most can't safely be purchasing them, shoot them an email for free discrete ecopies of anything he's written!

Reviews

[El · Rating 5 out of 5]

once again i am blown the fuck away by alex’s ability to create two characters who dislike each other and that i believe dislike each other and then have those two characters gradually come to not dislike each other anymore and in fact come to like each other very very much all with me still believing in their relationship as presented to me every single step along the way. that is not an easy thing to do! and he’s done it AGAIN!!

this book has a VERY cool throughline about how there is no such thing as not being disabled enough to make use of accommodations or aids. if something will make your life easier then you don’t need official permission to use it. get the noise cancelling headphones. use the fidget toys. you’re not taking resources away from hypothetical people who are more disabled than you. they exist for people who need them, and it’s more than okay to need them

this book also opens with an author’s note reminding the reader that, no matter how much the narrator may position herself as an expert on things, she is still a kid who is not in fact an expert on anything and so shouldn’t be treated as such. i can’t blame alex for including this in the slightest, i too have witnessed the media literacy downward spiral of recent years and if i wrote a book i’d be tempted to include something like that too just to be safe, but man it sucks that that was even necessary

anyway. talk at you soon <3

[Jake Callum · Rating 5 out of 5]

You guys don't know how exciting it is to finally have a new Alex Nonymus book... AND IT'S SO GOODD I've been doing a countdown all week and then when I finally got to read it I kept sending my friends quotes... I won't shut up about this book ever I fear

[Alex Nonymous · Rating 5 out of 5]

:)

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me so long to finish this book because I didn't want it to end. This was the exact perfect book I wanted for the enitre like three weeks I stretched it out for. I think this might have been the first Alex book I saw in the wild (instagram), and I liked the cover and the title and I am glad that I finally read it.
My favorite character was Faith because she was sad and alone and upset. She had to prioritize being mean over whatever she might actually want, and Lots was doing her best to try and figure that out. I liked their relationship and also the notes to the sister. Faith also has pretty hair and I also thought the magic thing was very creative. Additionally I've wondered before whether the not being able to tell lies thing applies only to literal lies or to when the person thinks they're lying when they're not because faeries are all about loopholes but what if a hypothetically autistic faerie feels like they're lying by not giving every single detail and then they can't use the loophole. I think about that sometimes. Hypothetically though

[The Elven Oracle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow. /pos
Finishing this book felt like a break up. I loved every minute of reading this, and was genuinely a bit sad when I finished it. I will DEFINITELY be re-reading again at some point.
It was so cool to read about a character so similar to me. Being queer, auDHD, and afab, I always assumed my existence was too “niche” and specific to be the main character in any story, let alone a love story, but this proved me wrong in the best way possible.
I don’t even know where to begin when talking about this book. So many parts of this book hit so hard, but I related especially to the whole discussion around having low support needs. About how theoretically, you should be able to do everything you should and be successful and being a “good” disabled person, and still not living up to that. And the LINE, “People like me can only ever grow up to be tragedies or success stories”??? Just… ouch, I FELT that.
And I really loved the whole plotline of Faith being a changeling, and how that parallels with being autistic. I’ve identified with some form of nonhumanity for a while now (Voidpunk specifically, it’s a really fascinating identity to read up about!), so I related a LOT to that too.
Overall, this book was incredible. I even made the S0ry bracelet that Faith makes Lots, and it’s one of my favorite bracelets. I will definitely be thinking about this book for a LONG time. I watched a tiktok about this book a WHILE ago, and every day I will be so very grateful I saved it.
(Also, “talk at you soon” is definitely going to be entering my vocabulary)

[Alice Lorentino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Omg, how do I even review this? I'm not officially diagnosed with autism (although that might change sooner rather than later), but I feel like this book was written for me specifically. When I wasn't finding things relatable about Lots (I highlighted SO many lines about her perspective on her disability), I was getting invested in Faith and the fae lore surrounding changelings. The characters, in classic Alex Nonymous fashion, are plenty messy, but chaotic in a way that feels real and earned. I went from wanting to yell at Faith through the screen to completely understanding why her changeling identity made her she behave the way she did. This book's take on Faerie was so unique, I've basically never seen a take on fae like this in a book, and I loved it!

Speaking of Faith, I love how Faith and Lots' chemistry made them both grow into better people, with Lots learning how to be more proactive, responsible, and vocal, and Faith learning to trust people and reforming her old mean girl ways. (That ending? So cute!)

And let's not forget about Lots' relationship with the rest of the Caribou Crew and her two soulmates. I kind of wish Morgan got more of spotlight because I absolutely adore her and Lots' friendship, it was one of the things that drew me to the book in the first place. Her relationship with Morgan and the Crew reminded me a lot of some of my own friendships with neurodivergent and disabled people, which really makes this book stand out in my mind.

All in all, this book was chicken soup for my neurodivergent soul <3

[Firebrand · Rating 5 out of 5]

AAAAAAAAA okay so I have SO much to say about this book but firstly how engaging it is, I literally only put it down after started reading for like necessities and the characters are SO well written!! (Very relatable too) The plot flows so seamlessly and there's not a moment where it feels boring or difficult to get through. The build-up to moments of tension are done so artfully because you can see it slowly building up but not so much that it feels jarring / over the top.

I loved the variety of autistic representation and how many different presentations of autism we see through the main characters but also almost every single supporting character as well.

I think one thing that made this book stand out so much though was it's portrayal of the MCs friendship. I rarely ever see platonic friendships this deep and well thought out and not sidelined for the love interest.

I'm absolutely obsessed with the way that Alex Nonymous books blend magic into their worlds and this is no exception. It's the perfect blend of remaining magical and giving explanations for things without dropping pages and pages on lore and mechanisms.

I've been in a reading slump when it comes to new fiction, especially fantasy, for a while and this book was exactly what I wanted and needed right now. 10/10 would recommend!!!

[Yana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had so much fun with this book. It’s so cute and sweet while also talking about some pretty heavy topics surrounding autism while also having a super interesting magic character and it was just generally awesome all around. This book was good enough to make me want to return to my girlscout days, which says A LOT. Once again Alex has proven himself an absolute genius, and I enjoyed this book immensely

[Alyssa Audet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought for the anime-esque title, stayed for the silly Sapphic shenanigans.

A fun read about the frustrations of a know it all teen who finds out just how much she has yet to learn about her fellow campers, and how they grow through their respective challenges. Also an excellent reminder to always examine our assumptions (whether about ourselves or others).

[Patricia Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel seen.

there is so much representation in this book that reading it I truly felt seen
it is such a fun read. the characters are sweet and solid and real. it truly reads like a well written young adult story.

[Alexandra Mbiba · Rating 5 out of 5]

🥹unmasked, honest, accommodating, love. It's changed my whole perspective on what relationships are supposed to look like. I can't wait to forget it and reread it. The main character is Audhd and she's perfectly written.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice fun book to read over the week! But I would have preferred more imagery in the book.

[R · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

Cute and awkward but cute. Minus stars for having typos in a published book (not talking about in the emails I know those were intentional there were other typos throughout the book)

[Phoebe Monsour · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best in terms of how the main character intellectualizes her auDHD. She's basically me. But slightly more annoying. Cuz she's a teenager. And thankfully I am no longer one of us. Also, Faith is an icon, the moment. Love them both.