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From the Bookshelf of What's the Name of That Book???…
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What Members Thought
first, some blathering. it is, after all, me...
i understand why writers like carl hiaasen and james patterson and them are now writing books for younger readers, after having already established themselves as writers of adult fiction with considerable staying power. get 'em while they are young and then when they grow into the adult section, they already have the name-recognition. friends for life, paying their electricity bills...
but why do authors like this one and suzanne collins write exclu ...more
i understand why writers like carl hiaasen and james patterson and them are now writing books for younger readers, after having already established themselves as writers of adult fiction with considerable staying power. get 'em while they are young and then when they grow into the adult section, they already have the name-recognition. friends for life, paying their electricity bills...
but why do authors like this one and suzanne collins write exclu ...more
This was an interesting novel told from the point of view of a 17-year-old with Asperger's. Marcelo is on the high-functioning end of the spectrum and has to deal with people who think he's retarded as well as trying to understand how he can fit into the "real world" - he's gone to special schools all his life. This summer, however, his dad wants him to work at his law firm to prove that he can succeed in the real world and doesn't need to go to public school for his senior year. Marcelo is relu
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Very beautiful story. Marcelo is the epitome of naivety and innocence that I almost hated that he had to be brought into the real world, and learn about the suffering man can bring upon man. I spent most of the book marvelling at his integrity and hoping he wouldn't sacrifice it in order to complete in "the real world."
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This reads like a good follow-up to both The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and The Speed of Dark - a character on the autism spectrum (here, Marcelo is high-functioning Aspergers), a mystery of sorts (I kept waiting for DennyCrane to appear), and the emergence into the world of the "normal" people.
Marcelo's awareness of his differences from others comes more from his school's training than from anything else, and his "special interests" are, to him, not obsessions. What's sad is ...more
Marcelo's awareness of his differences from others comes more from his school's training than from anything else, and his "special interests" are, to him, not obsessions. What's sad is ...more
Marcelo is a teenager on the autistic spectrum who has to spend a summer working in the "real world" of his dad's law firm. I really liked several of the characters, including Marcelo, and the plot is involving regardless of whether it follows Marcelo's mundane interactions with his family and coworkers or the more exciting complications that his life develops over the course of the book.
I'm pretty sure that I'd enjoy this book even more on a reread; it can be intensely uncomfortable watching Ma ...more
I'm pretty sure that I'd enjoy this book even more on a reread; it can be intensely uncomfortable watching Ma ...more
This is a book narrated by a young man with Asperger's Syndrome. It was an interesting point of view; however, this book has too much adult content for my middle school library.
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What started off a very engaging and careful work at about halfway through got safer and blander until the bland ending. All the characters speak to Marcelo in the exact same, expository way, which makes them seem oddly like they share one brain, even though a large point of the book is Marcelo figuring out that people can be good, evil, and a mixture of both (and here the evil people are ridiculously evil). Marcelo's dilemmas, though weighty with consequence, are no-brainers for the reader, who
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I thought the VT subplot was unnecessary and why the crude language from the stereotypical farmers? It left a bad taste in my mouth.
forget the music no one hears, Marcelo hears the people around him. Whose world is really real anyhow? Wow!
This was fantastic. Also, can we say that it's a win at covers in a literature category that goes out of its way to have the worst covers ever? Also, did I mention I thought this book was really great, and I loved it?
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What a charming book. I loved Marcelo and his unique view of the world. His coming of age story is so different from many, but also shows how universal growing pains can be.
I really, really wanted to like this, but I was bored stiff...maybe it's the audio narrator
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Sep 03, 2009
Chelle
marked it as to-read
Nov 03, 2009
CLM
marked it as to-read
Mar 22, 2010
Lisa
marked it as to-read
Jun 16, 2010
Erin
marked it as to-read
Apr 22, 2011
martha
marked it as to-read
Jul 21, 2011
Liz
marked it as to-read
Oct 25, 2011
katie
marked it as to-read
Feb 02, 2013
Nicola
marked it as to-read
