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Please Don’t Hug Me

Please Don’t Hug Me

Kay Kerr

  • awardShortlisted, Book of the Year for Older Children, Australian Book Industry Awards, 2021
  • awardCommended, CBCA Notable Books: Older Readers, 2021
  • A funny-serious story about what happens when you stop trying to be the person other people expect you to be and give yourself a go.

    Erin is looking forward to Schoolies, at least she thinks she is. But things are not going to plan. Life is getting messy, and for Erin, who is autistic, that’s a big problem. She’s lost her job at Surf Zone after an incident that clearly was not her fault. Her driving test went badly even though she followed the instructions perfectly. Her boyfriend is not turning out to be the romantic type. And she’s missing her brother, Rudy, who left almost a year ago.

    But now that she’s writing letters to him, some things are beginning to make just a tiny bit of sense.

    INTERVIEWS and REVIEWS

    2SER: Tuesday Book Club   
    ABC News: Publishing more fiction by Australian authors with disability is crucial for disabled people's representation – and their wellbeing    
    ABC Radio Melbourne  
    ABC Radio Sydney: Afternoons (0:21:33)
    Autism Awareness Australia   
    Books + Publishing
    Books + Publishing   
    Booktopia blog: Kay Kerr answers our Ten Terrifying Questions!   
    Booktopia Good Reading magazine   
    Cass Moriarty   
    The First Time podcast  
    Kill Your Darlings: Shelf Reflection 
    Melbourne Writers Festival blog   
    OzAuthorsOnline  
    Paperbark  
    Readings: Kay Kerr reflects on autism & writing  
    Readings blog  
    Sydney Writers Festival podcast  

    Kay Kerr
    About the Author

    Kay Kerr is a former journalist and community newspaper editor from Brisbane, now living on the Sunshine Coast with her husband and daughter and working as a freelance writer. Kay was writing Please Don’t Hug Me, her debut novel, when she received her own autism-spectrum diagnosis.

    Read Moreright
    Extent:
    288pp
    Format:
    Paperback
    Text publication date:
    28 April 2020
    ISBN:
    9781922268051
    AU Price:
    $19.99
    NZ Price:
    $24.00
    Reading age:
    14+
    Australian
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    Praise for Kay Kerr
    andPlease Don’t Hug Me

    ‘This own-voices Australian debut about a young woman who is shaped—but not defined—by her autism, balances its funny and serious sides perfectly, and is a heartwarming read about self-acceptance and authenticity.’

    ‘This book is beautifully intimate, and so authentic. You’re going to love getting to know its central character, Erin. I’m so thrilled this book exists.’

    ‘A moving and insightful story about finding your place in the world.’

    ‘Kay Kerr is a skilful writer who deftly balances the serious and the light in this coming-of-age narrative…This is another exciting release in Australian young adult fiction that I can’t wait to recommend to a host of sharp and curious minds.’

    ‘Essential reading.’

    ‘Funny and serious.’

    ‘It’s intimate, raw and authentic … Watching Erin grow, accept herself, and find new friendships made my heart burst, in a way that is so much more intense than normal.’

    Please Don’t Hug Me is a great read for other neurodiverse readers looking to read a voice like theirs, or for neurotypical readers looking to explore life from a different perspective.’

    ‘It’s a fantastic young adult novel about grief, finding your way, autism, being different, families and emotions. It’s all the feels…Please Don’t Hug Me is a wonderful addition to Aussie YA literature and will resonate with so many adolescents searching for their identity, trying to fit in, and attempting to work out how they want to be, and to be seen, in the world. And it is a gentle and tender meditation on grief.’

    Other editions ofPlease Don’t Hug Me
    • Please Don’t Hug Me
      ebook
      ISBN: 9781925774825
      28 April 2020
      Buy ebook
    Other Titles byKay Kerr