In the Underdogs books, the characters are all very different to each other, as well as to anyone in the neurotypical world. Bonnello doesn’t shy away from showing them struggle, but he doesn’t allow them to become defined by their diagnoses either. Or even defined by the fact that they’re also teenagers; swimming in hormones, developing crushes and dealing with a world that is most definitely set against them. This fight against the odds provides a useful metaphor for the constant battles that neurodiverse people face, while Grant’s dystopian armies are a foil for their rage.
