Role Model

About this book

Navigating teenage life is hard enough, but Aeriel Sharpe must also do so in the public eye, as her mother has just been elected Britain’s prime minister. 

Aeriel feels like a performer forced into a role she never asked for – like an elephant in a circus ring. She’s autistic, and when her mum’s PR team decide to brand this a “superpower” and use it to manipulate the media spotlight, photographers start to appear everywhere, strangers tell her she’s “inspirational”, and clips of her go viral.

Elle McNicoll writes with raw honesty, drawing on her own experiences. Living in Downing Street may be fictional, but Aeriel’s struggle to fit in with the cool-but-cruel crowd at school rings universal and true. Her pain is palpable as she also tries to please her parents and society, serving as a reluctant poster child for autism. 

However, with the support of new (and genuine) friendships in the school SEN space, Aeriel gradually learns a crucial truth – she can’t represent all autistic children. She can only be herself. And anyone who really cared about her would want that too.

This short, accessible novel isn’t about denying autism – far from it. It’s about owning it, accepting it, and finding the courage to live authentically. 

Moving and empowering, it reminds us that freedom comes not from meeting others’ expectations, but from embracing who we really are.