In searching for something new to read I came across this book by Mark Haddon. I've read another book by him, a children's science fiction book called Boom! which I quite liked.
John, a 15 year old autistic, is writing this book for a school assignment. He describes everything in his life including his struggle to interpret emotions and situations, tune out noise, deal with new people and experiences, and understand his parent's choices and relationship. Numbers and science make perfect sense to him and he looks forward to being a scientist someday.
The book opens with him seeing his neighbor's dead dog and deciding that, like Sherlock Holmes, he will discover the murderer of the dog. This leads him to discover many things about his family that he did not know and he does not know how to process most of his discoveries. Even though his parents are divorced and have a rough relationship they try to help him, encourage him, and love him.
I didn't love this book, but I didn't hate it either. Sometimes characteristics of the main character seemed inconsistent and I didn't love the language of the adults which seemed to get in the way of the story. The author has worked with autistic individuals in his life and that experience has helped him to see into their world a little bit. I was inspired by John's father's love for him and his patience that he displayed even when John's behavior was very difficult. I would still recommend it, however, because there are not a lot of books that I have heard of that showcase autism as well as this does.
Recommend: yes
Young adult fiction, autism, parenting
