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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
author doesn't know anything about autism. christopher is not only autistic, he's a sociopath. it's not even a proper murder mystery. 2nd half is tedious. aside from a few interesting and heartwarming moments, i was hoping the christopher dies in the end.
can't believe this is being compared to catcher in the rye.
can't believe this is being compared to catcher in the rye.
I thought this would be a light noir novel based on title alone. It's definitely not that. Inhabits a weird space between YA and adult literature as far as content goes. Written from the vantage of a headspace like Joyce Carol Oate's Zombie with computerized rationale instead of schizophrenic mania driving it. Maybe not the best look for autistic people, and their computational utility is too often the focus of these stories anyway, but it's at least interesting to consider.
The tension towards the back half is redeeming, and there isn't exactly a neat ethic to everything. It's a little tragic, a little bittersweet. Good enough for a teenager, but I wouldn't want them to think of autistic people in this light. Adults should probably respect themselves a little more than to bother with this anyway. Whatever. It's light and quick. Reading is reading.
The tension towards the back half is redeeming, and there isn't exactly a neat ethic to everything. It's a little tragic, a little bittersweet. Good enough for a teenager, but I wouldn't want them to think of autistic people in this light. Adults should probably respect themselves a little more than to bother with this anyway. Whatever. It's light and quick. Reading is reading.
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had forgotten how fun reading can be when a book is easy, but how unrewarding it is to read easy books. This one would have been more interesting if it hit you with all the autistic worldview at once, instead of spoonfeeding it and making it palatable to a neurotypical audience.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*3.5 stars* Was pretty enjoyable overall, and I actually really liked Christopher. However, I didn’t expect so many maths equations in a book, so I had to do a fair bit of skimming when necessary.
I enjoyed this book and getting an insight into how a person with autism might view the world. It was interesting to see how he processed very difficult things in his life, including the dog's murder which he is trying to solve. I briefly taught music lessons to a boy with autism, and I wish I had read this book when I still knew him. So many things he did would have made much more sense if I had been able to understand his perspective of the world more. I also liked the math aspects in this book and sometimes there were chapters about different math or logic problems.
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes