Kim Reads Books About Things

When I first read this book, I thought it was a less-than-accurate and somewhat stereotyped portrait of a character with Asperger Syndrome. (Didn't stop me from loving the book, though.) Upon further recollection, it is far more accurate then I realized, and is just about the clearest, most truthful depiction of an individual with a higher-functioning disorder on the autism spectrum. Maybe for AS it's not as accurate, but Marcelo himself says that the label is merely the closest term there is for what's going on with him, and it does not entirely describe him. That explains a lot. More importantly, Marcelo is a three-dimensional character, not a saintly, naive creature like so many other fictional autistics. He isn't stupid and can function decently enough in society. He is able to feel emotions. He can't tell in some situations when people are being facetious, but he's not one-hundred percent clueless about others. More importantly, he is extremely interesting, and his story is well-told, if a bit long.

In short, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" has nothing on this whatsoever. It's probably got a really solid chance at getting some serious recognition by the Printz Award committee, and it is well deserved. One of the best books of the year, and probably the best fictional depiction of AS. (I have very high hopes for the upcoming "Mockingbird" and "Harmonic Feedback," though.)