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Bridgett's Reviews > Magic Hour
Magic Hour
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I would have enjoyed this book so much more if Kristin Hannah had taken the time to do suitable research on autism, in all it's various forms. I took real issue with her use of the term, "an autistic."
She also made it seem as if autistic children never make eye contact and aren't capable of feeling empathy. This simply isn't true. They're not little robots.
Finally, it's RHETT'S SYNDROME, Ms. Hannah, not Ratt's Syndrome.
An extra hour of research and your book could have been so much better. I understand the book isn't about autism and that Alice/Brittany didn't actually have an autism diagnosis...but it was still a main theme in the first 1/3 of the book and it was bordering on offensive the way Julia discussed these children.
She also made it seem as if autistic children never make eye contact and aren't capable of feeling empathy. This simply isn't true. They're not little robots.
Finally, it's RHETT'S SYNDROME, Ms. Hannah, not Ratt's Syndrome.
An extra hour of research and your book could have been so much better. I understand the book isn't about autism and that Alice/Brittany didn't actually have an autism diagnosis...but it was still a main theme in the first 1/3 of the book and it was bordering on offensive the way Julia discussed these children.
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Reading Progress
April 9, 2013
– Shelved
February 3, 2015
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Started Reading
February 9, 2015
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Finished Reading
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Taina
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rated it 3 stars
Apr 25, 2020 06:19PM
Just finished this for Book Club. It was cringy to have Alice referred to as “an autistic.� I thought the premise was interesting but the constant references to relationships, failed, desired etc., cheapened the main plot. Julia was a pretty awful character. Selfish and unprofessional. Not a fan of KH’s earlier work. Also didn’t like Angel Falls.
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Taina wrote: "Just finished this for Book Club. It was cringy to have Alice referred to as “an autistic.� I thought the premise was interesting but the constant references to relationships, failed, desired etc.,..."Same. Her earlier work was awful. And clearly, little to no research was completed.
Ceecee wrote: "Inexcusable."It really is.
What a shame! Gosh the Autism spectrum is huge, and filled with so many different kinds of people! I think a lot of people ignorantly think of one type of Autism, but it varies so so much!
preoccupiedbybooks wrote: "What a shame! Gosh the Autism spectrum is huge, and filled with so many different kinds of people! I think a lot of people ignorantly think of one type of Autism, but it varies so so much!"I read this book eight years ago, so I don't remember specifics, but there is simply no excuse for the mistakes. My son was diagnosed in 2005 with severe autism. He's now almost nineteen, and with years of hard work, he's now considered mild to moderate. It bothers me when I see such blatant ignorance about the topic, especially from an author who usually researches her books too much.
Bridgett wrote: "preoccupiedbybooks wrote: "What a shame! Gosh the Autism spectrum is huge, and filled with so many different kinds of people! I think a lot of people ignorantly think of one type of Autism, but it ..."That's amazing Bridgett! Yeah no excuse at all for not doing research, also sensitivity readers can be used too, if they're writing about something they haven't personally experienced.
preoccupiedbybooks wrote: "Bridgett wrote: "preoccupiedbybooks wrote: "What a shame! Gosh the Autism spectrum is huge, and filled with so many different kinds of people! I think a lot of people ignorantly think of one type o..."Yes! Good call.
Sara wrote: "Agreed wholeheartedly"Ugh. This book just made me angry. :)
Just sloppy, and so unnecessary. very good points
Sharon wrote: "Just sloppy, and so unnecessary. very good points"Sloppy is a very good description. :)
Wow! This is just NOT acceptable to publish a book like this without proper research. I am shocked.
Another Hannah book to avoid. I had the misfortune of reading The Nightingale, which started out fine but went completely off the rails with an unbelievable ending. Autism is a spectrum! "An autistic" sounds nearly as offensive as using terms like "retarded" or "crippled." There are several wonderful books concerning autism; sounds like this isn't one.
BTW does anyone else cringe when they see tv ads for The Good Doctor? I tried to watch an episode and the central character's portrayal is stereotypical and embarrassing. I know people on the "Asperger's" end of the spectrum and have many friends with kids on the spectrum; Highmore fails miserably. (But then as a retired MD, I often yell at the tv during medical shows....)
Well thanks for spoiling the first third of the book for me. 🤷🏻♀�
They never established that she had autism.
Keep in mind that this was released in 2007 � almost 2 decades ago!
This book was written in 2006. The autism spectrum was barely known about back then. There have been great discoveries in almost 20 years, back off on her one comment of "an autistic". Think of 20 years from now and what we may know about diseases/conditions that are being studied today. Science is constantly advancing our knowledge.
As a licensed clinical social worker I too took issue with the lack of first person language in the book, HOWEVER, I then realized the book was published in 2006 and that they referenced the DSM 4 (for clarity we’re now on the DSM 5 with revisions, the biggest one being changes to autism diagnoses). For these reasons alone it helped me understand the lack of research and subject material out there so many years ago, and helped me focus on the story at hand, which I very much enjoyed.
Having taught and administered in public schools since 1976, and having a child on the spectrum sine 1996, I also found that the autism "diagnosis" changed remarkably over time. It went from severe and unteachable outside a specially designed classroom to having children "on the spectrum" which then eliminated the term Aspergers (my child's original diagnosis). It required reteaching, long discussions with doctors and therapists, and learning about each child who was diagnosed, much as it did with ADD, ADHD, OCD, and every other emerging identification and treatment. If a parent was fortunate enough to be around experts early on, then they were especially lucky. So, given that, it was a little easier for me to understand Kristin Hannah's approach, and there were certainly doctors wanting attention for THEIR discoveries and treatments verses the needs of the children. That being said, this certainly isn't the Kristin Hannah of The Women, The Great Beyond, or The Nightingale, but it certainly wasn't (in my opinion) awful or inexcusable.
Yes!!! I had a hard time with this too!! My husband is on the spectrum and I am a therapist so I know I’m sensitive to this BUT when she referenced the DSM4 I had to take a step back and recognize where psychology was at that point and how things were understood. It helped me a little to not be so frustrated with that aspect in the beginning
