Both [Don't Tell, Don't Tell, Don't Tell and Everyday Hero by Kathleen Cherry] are heavily character-driven, focusing on teens and the friendships they make, and both see their protagonists drawn into tenuous, even dangerous, situations. But the real commonality is the message: the peril of labelling and trying to make everyone fit one definition of normal. These two books evocatively give middle-schoolers and young adults the opportunity to open their minds to other possibilities.
A character-driven novel, Don’t Tell, Don’t Tell, Don’t Tell is a compelling read because of Frederick and Angel’s unique sense of companionship, and their ability to be just what the other needs.
The National Reading Campaign
A consistently compelling novel by an imaginative and skilled storyteller, 'Don't Tell, Don't Tell, Don't Tell' is an especially recommended addition to high school and community library YA Fiction collections.
Liane Shaw shines a spotlight on what living with Asperger's looks and feels like.... While this book tackles a number of teen issues including sexual assault and bullying, the story of Frederick and Angel is ultimately one of acceptance, a universal theme to which all students will be able to relate to.
The story of Frederick and Angel’s relationship is one of two misfits who find each other, tolerate each other, and even like each other. Their friendship is quite captivating... Frederick is anxious and relies on unambiguous routine; Angel is a delightful mixture of the in-your-face, self-reliant teenage girl and the lonely, ostracized, and insecure-about-her-body girl. Both teens experience bullying by a group of kids Frederick calls “Despisers”, and both find comfort in their unusual and even sometimes awkward friendship.
This compelling read explores the nuances of Asperger’s Syndrome through 16-year-old Frederick, whose odd behaviour makes him an easy target and renders him friendless at high school.
It was a fascinating look into someone else’s mind, and Frederick’s way of thinking gave me things to think about. The end. It was amazing.
Inside Toronto - Lisa Day
Shaw has ably captured two distinct voices... Despite [Frederick and Angel's] occasional irritation with each other, the two develop a genuine friendship that meets each one's separate needs and plays to each one's strengths. This could encourage a more sensitive approach to outsiders in school environments—or just shed light on the sometimes complicated dynamics of friendship.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Frederick’s character is developed with maximum attention to the nuances of Asperger’s Syndrome, and he is both likeable and complex.
CM: Canadian Review of Materials
Shaw does an excellent job of giving us two lost and somewhat lonely individuals who benefit from their unusual companionship.... [Frederick and Angel] provide much-needed balance for each other and, in doing so, rewrite some of the rules around friendship, normality and acceptance.
Canadian Children's Book News
09/01/2016 Gr 9 Up—Sophomores Angel and Frederick eat lunch together in the Reject Room. Both find it hard to make friends; overweight Angel has been in a half-dozen schools, and Frederick has Asperger's syndrome. The unlikely pair form a friendship where Angel helps Frederick with his social skills and Frederick becomes Angel's confidant. While Frederick has resigned himself to bullying by the "Despisers," Angel decides that her best option is to return to the previous town she lived in. When Frederick is called in by the police for questioning, he learns that Angel's plan to run away and stay with her friend has gone awry. Sworn to secrecy, he is confronted with the choice of breaking his promise or setting out to track down Angel on his own. The friendship between Frederick and Angel is sweet. Teens will recognize the social structure of a high school in which students with disabilities and insecurities are marginalized and at times pushed to the point of drastic, self-destructive actions. However, the plot moves slowly and Frederick's internal monologue, designed to reflect a teen with his disability, ultimately becomes predictable and tedious. VERDICT This title will require some handselling and may resonate with teens who identify as misfits.—Lynn Rashid, Marriotts Ridge High School, Marriottsville, MD
2016-07-20 In her fifth novel, Shaw tackles friendship, trust, and difference.Sixteen-year-old Frederick, a white boy with Asperger’s, is regularly bullied by the “Despisers.” Loathing doctors’ labels and finding the majority of social interactions more difficult than they are rewarding, Frederick prefers a life of solitude. But then Angel Martinez, a “moderately” fat Latina who is “different from most girls,” pushes her way into Frederick’s life, becoming his friend and turning his world upside down. After an alcohol-infused night of misplaced trust, Angel wakes up in a field unsure how she got there and what may have happened to her. Ashamed and self-blaming, she manipulates Frederick into keeping her plan to run away a secret, but when Angel is officially reported missing, Frederick must decide whether to share what he knows or keep his titular promise and “don’t tell, don’t tell, don’t tell.” A speedy conclusion feels abrupt and leaves questions about the consequences of their actions dangling. Frederick narrates the first half of the book, and Angel the second. While both voices feel forced at times, Angel’s falls flat, and beyond her self-loathing and weight, it is unclear who she really is. Problematic tropes, including the unexplored conflation of disability with asexuality, are disappointingly present. While the book’s not a total miss, better mystery and better representation can be found elsewhere. (Fiction. 14-18)