--Rachel Reid
I think because of that, which unfortunately is also common of people with autism, the things that Shane does and says get misunderstood, sometimes by characters in the book and sometimes by readers who are like, ‘Well, that was a terrible thing to say or do.’ And it’s like, well, he’s not great at reading social cues.
THIS IS FOREVER AND ALWAYS A SHANE HOLLANDER DEFENSE HOUSEHOLD. THAT MAN IS ON THE SPECTRUM AND THAT INFORMS A LOT OF THE THINGS HE DOES AND WHAT HE DOES/DOESN'T PICK UP ON. IT IS A CORE FACT ABOUT HIM.
Do his actions wind up hurting Ilya and other people he loves? Sure. And that pain is valid. But Shane isn't a careless person, he cares very deeply and his brain works a little differently from other people's and his anxieties are not baseless. Yeah, sure, he has a character arc to struggle through, but if it's not taken into context that he's autistic then that's not understanding Shane Hollander.