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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
Very insightful and touching. I enjoyed seeing the world from a more simplistic view; through a person who views the world as it is, not how it should be.
Cute but extremely simplistic and everything just got wrapped up a bit too neatly.
Marcelo is a 17 year old who has lived in a sheltered world, attending a special private school and learning to cope with his Asperger's syndrome. His father feels like he needs to 'live in the real world' and requires him to work at his law firm for the summer. It is here that Marcelo starts to understand more about the world and finds some uncomfortable truths about humanity. The book is a high school level and has some language in it. I really enjoyed the growth of Marcelo and how he views the world.
This was kind of an odd book, but I did enjoy it. It really gave me a sense of who Marcelo was and how it was to live like him. But, as a reader, I could never truly sink into his persona and see the world through his eyes. I was extremely uncomfortable in certain scenes when Marcelo was being exploited, or when he misunderstood social interactions, and those moments were perhaps the most powerful for me in the book.
I heard about this book during my book group's video chat with Gae Polisner- she said it was one of her favorite YA books, so I made a point of checking it out. I am very glad she mentioned it, as I don't know if I would have stumbled across it on my own. The story was told from a very interesting perspective, and I really enjoyed experiencing how Marcelo viewed the world. I listened to the audio version, as I could not find a physical copy, and thought the narrator did a good job. About halfway through, I felt like there were too many subplots going on, but the author managed to bring everything together in a way that felt natural by the end. As I was sorting books last night, I came across a book on my stack that I have had for a bit- and noticed that it was by this author- I will have to tackle that one soon.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Marcelo sees the world and people in ways that might be rewarding to all, if we saw, heard, and processed intersections in our routine, daily lives like Marcelo. Book interspersed with little jewels to ponder.
2020
I was so excited to reread this one because I couldn’t wait to get into Marcelo’s head again. He is such a fascinating character and I love learning about the world through his eyes. He’s a character that I love to root for. His experience at the law firm is fascinating: for the first time, his ideas are challenged and he experiences a loss of innocence. Every chapter is tense, but still filled with humorous and heart-warming lines. As I’ve said before, this book represents everything that YA is and should be, and I’ll forever love it.
2018
A fantastic, soul-touching read. One of my favorite books this year. I hope to write a book like this someday. The characters are so deep and real and this book is a fascinating study if mental health and relationships. The character growth throughout the novel is amazing, which is what I live for in a book. This book touched my heart and reaffirmed my love for contemporary YA. Love, love, love.
I was so excited to reread this one because I couldn’t wait to get into Marcelo’s head again. He is such a fascinating character and I love learning about the world through his eyes. He’s a character that I love to root for. His experience at the law firm is fascinating: for the first time, his ideas are challenged and he experiences a loss of innocence. Every chapter is tense, but still filled with humorous and heart-warming lines. As I’ve said before, this book represents everything that YA is and should be, and I’ll forever love it.
2018
A fantastic, soul-touching read. One of my favorite books this year. I hope to write a book like this someday. The characters are so deep and real and this book is a fascinating study if mental health and relationships. The character growth throughout the novel is amazing, which is what I live for in a book. This book touched my heart and reaffirmed my love for contemporary YA. Love, love, love.
Marcelo is a smart and engaging young man, who describes himself as having high functioning aspergers. Marcelo lives a relatively sheltered life, studying and helping to take care of the ponies and other students at Patterson special needs school. In the summer before his senior year, his father decides that he should work in the family law firm for the summer, to get some experience of "the real world". Over the summer, Marcelo makes new friends, and learns about enemies and deception, love and attraction. He also uncovers a secret and some uncomfortable truths, and finds someone who needs his help, but that help could cost him something very important. Marcelo gets a little more of the "real world" than he bargained for, but begins to realise he's more than a match for anything this world throws at him, more than anyone else had realised. A tender, funny and moving coming of age story.
I loved Fancisco Stork's other book, the one with light in the title which I can't be bothered to look up right now. But this one was the kind of book I would have adored two years ago. Maybe even one year ago. Growing up is rough, huh?
That's sort of the story of this book. Marcelo is realising that the world is not always what it appears, and sometimes it's utterly disappointing. I have seen other reviewers mention this, but it bears repeating: Marcelo is not a coherent book. There are plotlines about prayer/religion, about neurodivergence, about law/ethics, about relationships of various kinds, about promises.
I loved some of the discussions that this prompted. Marcelo's dealings with religion were especiall poignant, and contained some conversations about thep ower of prayer and the role of religion which I find are so often absent from YA. I thought the conversations about the objectification of women's bodies was really interesting, but STork didn't really pull the pieces together with connecting Jasmine and Juliet and Estelle, and Marcelo's reactions to them, so that was disappointing.
I also didn't like how the book ended. It felt very much like a tidy ending, rather than a genuinely satisfying one. I don't think Marcelo did think anything through, and these days I don't like YA books where the protagonist figures out what they want to do for the rest of their life because that! is! not! realistic! (and when I read fiction I love it to be as realistic as possible OKAY)
The real world is full of complications. That's one of the more effective messages of this book. I liked that Marcelo was learning what it meant to be sheltered and to take initiative. I liked the way his thought processes were rendered on the page He was definitely given ad three dimentsional character. The 'autism but not really!' thing ended up being nbd kinda? which is maybe problematic, I'm not sure. but there it is.
I think this novel had a lot of good things going on; a lot of healing, potentially. It had enough good stuff that I will 100% read another Francisco Stork book. But, like, a new one, not a backlist.
That's sort of the story of this book. Marcelo is realising that the world is not always what it appears, and sometimes it's utterly disappointing. I have seen other reviewers mention this, but it bears repeating: Marcelo is not a coherent book. There are plotlines about prayer/religion, about neurodivergence, about law/ethics, about relationships of various kinds, about promises.
I loved some of the discussions that this prompted. Marcelo's dealings with religion were especiall poignant, and contained some conversations about thep ower of prayer and the role of religion which I find are so often absent from YA. I thought the conversations about the objectification of women's bodies was really interesting, but STork didn't really pull the pieces together with connecting Jasmine and Juliet and Estelle, and Marcelo's reactions to them, so that was disappointing.
I also didn't like how the book ended. It felt very much like a tidy ending, rather than a genuinely satisfying one. I don't think Marcelo did think anything through, and these days I don't like YA books where the protagonist figures out what they want to do for the rest of their life because that! is! not! realistic! (and when I read fiction I love it to be as realistic as possible OKAY)
The real world is full of complications. That's one of the more effective messages of this book. I liked that Marcelo was learning what it meant to be sheltered and to take initiative. I liked the way his thought processes were rendered on the page He was definitely given ad three dimentsional character. The 'autism but not really!' thing ended up being nbd kinda? which is maybe problematic, I'm not sure. but there it is.
I think this novel had a lot of good things going on; a lot of healing, potentially. It had enough good stuff that I will 100% read another Francisco Stork book. But, like, a new one, not a backlist.
Some parts I really liked and some parts just didn't feel authentic? I have to think about this book more.