ABOUT
THE BOOK

Yasmin is special. An autistic teenager with high-performing Asperger’s, she has near magical abilities with regard to memory and mathematics but little understanding of how she has affected her older brother and sister, who suffered from emotional neglect as they were never given the time or attention that they also needed.
Lila has been competing for attention against her damaged, special little sister for almost as long as she can remember. She attributes almost every bad thing in her life to her sister’s existence: her debilitating stress-related eczema, her failing career, and her string of emotionally stunted relationships. Then she finally meets someone who can help her understand that many of her problems, however unpleasant they are, are only skin deep.
Asif; older and therefore, supposedly, wiser than his younger sisters is forced to take responsibility for Yasmin when their mother passes away. He can’t help thinking, with agonies of guilt, how much easier life would be if she had never been born. He wishes that he was special and gifted like Yasmin, he wishes that he was outrageous and alive like Lila – he wishes he was loved.