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alissa417's review against another edition
4.0
Dark but thoughtful tale of a neighborhood full of characters as described by an unreliable teenage narrator. Learned a bit about a condition I knew little of, compelling plot, slow to start as you get inside kid's head, but not hard to stick with once there. Ending far more depressing than anticipated, hence only 4 stars - 3.5 seems closer to my mind. Thanks for the arc, Netgalley.
andrew_j_r's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very interesting book. It is not one that I would have found without help - it was the inaugural monthly read of a new reading group in my home town. It’s one of the reasons I love reading groups - I have been a member of some online groups before and always enjoying something that I would personally never have selected.
This is a story about a thirteen year called Jasper. Jasper has prosopagnosia, which is a condition that makes him unable to recognise faces. On top of that, he also has synaesthesia, which (in his case) means that whenever he hears a sound, he sees a colour. Because he cannot recognise faces, he knows people through the colour of their voice, although this can cause problem if, say, someone has a cold, which changes the tone and therefore the colour.
Of course, knowing the above, the title starts to make sense. I had assumed that this book was a murder-mystery, and it kind of is. Jasper is a very credulous young man, he comes across as autistic and as a result when he gets close to someone who is subsequently murdered, the clues to what happened are in his head but even he cannot see or understand them. It is very easy for other people to persuade him to believe things, and as a result, when you’re reading the book you can never be sure what you are being told is fact or a fact skewed by his interpretation of it. At the start, I was not even totally sure that Bee Larkham had in fact been killed, and that the whole thing was not an interpretational error made by the protagonist.
This book is highly enjoyable. Even though Jasper sometimes comes across like Sheldon Cooper on steroids, you to want things to be okay for him. There are lots of shades of grey in all of the characters (pun intended) which keeps you guessing about what is going on until, quite well into the book, some hard facts are presented and it does become about what happened to Bee Larkham and why.
A great read, thoroughly recommended.
This is a story about a thirteen year called Jasper. Jasper has prosopagnosia, which is a condition that makes him unable to recognise faces. On top of that, he also has synaesthesia, which (in his case) means that whenever he hears a sound, he sees a colour. Because he cannot recognise faces, he knows people through the colour of their voice, although this can cause problem if, say, someone has a cold, which changes the tone and therefore the colour.
Of course, knowing the above, the title starts to make sense. I had assumed that this book was a murder-mystery, and it kind of is. Jasper is a very credulous young man, he comes across as autistic and as a result when he gets close to someone who is subsequently murdered, the clues to what happened are in his head but even he cannot see or understand them. It is very easy for other people to persuade him to believe things, and as a result, when you’re reading the book you can never be sure what you are being told is fact or a fact skewed by his interpretation of it. At the start, I was not even totally sure that Bee Larkham had in fact been killed, and that the whole thing was not an interpretational error made by the protagonist.
This book is highly enjoyable. Even though Jasper sometimes comes across like Sheldon Cooper on steroids, you to want things to be okay for him. There are lots of shades of grey in all of the characters (pun intended) which keeps you guessing about what is going on until, quite well into the book, some hard facts are presented and it does become about what happened to Bee Larkham and why.
A great read, thoroughly recommended.
rhalfie29's review
4.0
A really interesting concept, kind of a riff on Curious Incident but exploring 2 separate neurodiversities of the protagonist, namely face blindness and synesthesia. It's clearly a trend of the past few years to explore neurodiverse perspectives and while this can take a while to get into (the specificity of Jasper's colours and shapes can be a bit mind-boggling to process), it's a worthwhile and fresh take on a murder mystery. The book was a little slow to get going but I found once the real 'whodunnit' aspect was in gear, I was fully engaged and keen to find the answer. I didn't predict the twist and the ending was satisfying. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read.
yanagicha's review against another edition
5.0
The last chapter or so felt a bit rushed, but I really enjoyed the rest of it!
tomstbr's review against another edition
5.0
A murder mystery with a seriously colourful hook. In the vein of Curious Incident but I enjoyed it a lot more.
lexxa's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
kimblefairy1989's review
5.0
I read a myriad of mixed reviews about this novel before I read it - some people seemed to love it and others hated it. I was definitely in the love it camp.
The plot centres around Jasper, a young teenager with autism, synesthesia and face blindness. We follow Jasper as he comes to terms with a murder he thinks he committed and watch as he, in his own way, tries to make sense of events and work out what actually happened.
The only thing I struggled with in this book was the way Jasper was so clearly taken advantage of in so many ways. I had also expected, based on the reviews to be sick of parakeets by 100 pages in but I actually didn't find them that trying as I found they added to Jaspers character.
Overall, this is a very solid 5 stars from me and one I'll definitely be recommending.
The plot centres around Jasper, a young teenager with autism, synesthesia and face blindness. We follow Jasper as he comes to terms with a murder he thinks he committed and watch as he, in his own way, tries to make sense of events and work out what actually happened.
The only thing I struggled with in this book was the way Jasper was so clearly taken advantage of in so many ways. I had also expected, based on the reviews to be sick of parakeets by 100 pages in but I actually didn't find them that trying as I found they added to Jaspers character.
Overall, this is a very solid 5 stars from me and one I'll definitely be recommending.
cheekylaydee's review
4.0
This is the story of Jasper, a severely autistic boy who witnesses a murder. He has real trouble recognising faces, but has the extraordinary ability to see voices in colour, creating breathtaking abstract art from the sounds he sees. Across the road lives Bee Larkham who is the process of clearing out her deceased mother's house ready for sale, and she has wild parakeets nesting in the tree outside her house. Jasper becomes fixated with these birds and the colours of their songs, and Bee doesn't seem to mind if he watches them with his binoculars from her bedroom window......as long as he does something for her. Especially as the noise of the parakeets is driving the rest of the street mad, andit is up to Jasper and Bee to protect them at all costs....
There is so much more to this book than I seem to be able to write in a review. To start with, the explanations of Jasper's bursts of colour when he hears sound were difficult to get my head around, but once I did, his way of seeing the world was fascinating and frightening all at the same time. His inability to see things from others' point of view made this character vulnerable and susepitable to manipulation, and you see this happen with other characters around him that use this to their advantage. As a reader, you're in that unique position of being able to see the people around Jasper in their true colours before he does so to speak which makes this a fascinating read. Anyone interested in autism, much like 'The Incident of the dog in the night time' it has to be read.
There is so much more to this book than I seem to be able to write in a review. To start with, the explanations of Jasper's bursts of colour when he hears sound were difficult to get my head around, but once I did, his way of seeing the world was fascinating and frightening all at the same time. His inability to see things from others' point of view made this character vulnerable and susepitable to manipulation, and you see this happen with other characters around him that use this to their advantage. As a reader, you're in that unique position of being able to see the people around Jasper in their true colours before he does so to speak which makes this a fascinating read. Anyone interested in autism, much like 'The Incident of the dog in the night time' it has to be read.
qu33nofbookz's review against another edition
1.0
This should really be titled the primary color of Bee Larkham's Murder because despite the thousands of colors and shades out there the author sticks to mainly a limited shade of the primary colors the most prevalent being blue. I did not enjoy this book.
This story is told in the POV of Jasper, a thirteen-year-old autistic boy who also suffers from prosopagnosia (face-blindness), to combat this so we know who the boy is speaking to or looking at or knowing anybody/thing the author also gave him synaesthesia (seeing sounds as colors). This might sound intriguing but it's actually very frustrating. I applaud the author for trying to give a very unique and not often used perspective (an autistic person) but she went too far and it's just annoying and frustrating here. The autism means that Jasper can get super focused on one thing while ignoring or not understanding others. This also leads to a lot of repetitive sentences and information (you could cut about 60-70 pages because of repeated stuff. In this case it's parakeets, which unless you like parakeets becomes very old very fast. Since we only see the world through his eyes and he doesn't like anyone, we the reader don't connect or find the other characters likable either. Also it's appalling that no one in this boy's life seems fit to help him or know how to interact with him given all his issues. They all ignore that he needs a little extra care and help. They all also ignore the glaringly obvious manipulation of him by an asshole, pedophile neighbor. The author also seems to write like having/knowing about a pedophile neighbor who is having a sexual relationship with a minor is nothing to be concerned about.
As the story starts we know that Bee Larkham is murdered. As the story unfolds via Jasper's increasingly frustrating POV and unreliable narrative we learn what lead up to her murder. The who is given right off the bat but the why takes a bit longer and it wasn't pleasant. But again as time goes on we learn more and then finally the author gives background on why Bee did what she did/became the way she was (an ass who hates everyone, manipulates people to get what she wants, cares about no one but herself and thinks nothing of having sex with minors) and it felt like it was a bit of an excuse/cop out to mask her bad behavior.
This story is told in the POV of Jasper, a thirteen-year-old autistic boy who also suffers from prosopagnosia (face-blindness), to combat this so we know who the boy is speaking to or looking at or knowing anybody/thing the author also gave him synaesthesia (seeing sounds as colors). This might sound intriguing but it's actually very frustrating. I applaud the author for trying to give a very unique and not often used perspective (an autistic person) but she went too far and it's just annoying and frustrating here. The autism means that Jasper can get super focused on one thing while ignoring or not understanding others. This also leads to a lot of repetitive sentences and information (you could cut about 60-70 pages because of repeated stuff. In this case it's parakeets, which unless you like parakeets becomes very old very fast. Since we only see the world through his eyes and he doesn't like anyone, we the reader don't connect or find the other characters likable either. Also it's appalling that no one in this boy's life seems fit to help him or know how to interact with him given all his issues. They all ignore that he needs a little extra care and help. They all also ignore the glaringly obvious manipulation of him by an asshole, pedophile neighbor. The author also seems to write like having/knowing about a pedophile neighbor who is having a sexual relationship with a minor is nothing to be concerned about.
As the story starts we know that Bee Larkham is murdered. As the story unfolds via Jasper's increasingly frustrating POV and unreliable narrative we learn what lead up to her murder. The who is given right off the bat but the why takes a bit longer and it wasn't pleasant. But again as time goes on we learn more and then finally the author gives background on why Bee did what she did/became the way she was (an ass who hates everyone, manipulates people to get what she wants, cares about no one but herself and thinks nothing of having sex with minors) and it felt like it was a bit of an excuse/cop out to mask her bad behavior.
Spoiler
Bee was abused when younger so she becomes a pedophile (who becomes pregnant with her minor lover's child) and the author made it sound as if this was somewhat okay because of her past and it was what she knew. They never consider/do anything for/about the minor she abused. No, it is not okay. It is never okay.andjelaa's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a brilliant composition of many lives interwined in one small street. The characters are very well portraited, especially the ones pivotal to the plot. The book is an easy read,but it is captivating and detailed. The thing I loved the most was that we had an opportunity to see the world through Jasper's eyes. He sees colors when he hears sounds, and it really got me thinking about what color my favourite sounds would be. The book also portrays how people take advantage of other people's disabilities. One character in particular is a clear example how childhood traumas shape the person we will, later in life, become.
All in all, a great book.
All in all, a great book.