Vada: and the boy next door

by Amber Davis, Jaye Pratt

210 pages, Hardcover

Published June 23, 2026

Reviews

[Lilly Fischer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book just felt like it was written very poorly. I’m not an author or expert but I like to think I have fairly decent writing skills and can tell good book writing from bad. I noticed that there was a large lack of contractions (can’t, don’t, haven’t, won’t, etc.). At first I dismissed it, because since Vada is on the autism spectrum, maybe it’s easier for her to understand sentences without them, but I noticed that none of the characters used contractions even when not conversing with vada. It also felt a little fast paced. Each scene was only about 2 pages, and the descriptiveness and depth was just not there. It felt like basic dialogue with a little description that you would find in a story written by a middle schooler. I did, however, like the story concept and thought the representation was decent.

[Swati · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️

But five stars for the autism rep! Five stars for the advocacy. Five stars for the most inclusive and kind group of friends/ found family. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️