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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
I really loved this book. Deftly handling notions of ethical responsibility, coming-of-age, all in the beautiful metaphors of a highly-functioning autistic boy narrator.
CATEGORIES SATISFIED: REQUIRED READING
I absolutely loved this book! I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. It is beautiful in an understated way, and the narrator's voice has a way of pulling you in throughout the novel. It is about Marcelo, a 17 year old boy with a difficult to define autism of some sort. Marcelo has gone to school at Patterson's a school for kids with autism, but over the summer his father wants him to experience the "real world" and so forces him to work at his law firm in the mail room. There he meets a girl named Jasmine who becomes his friend, and maybe more, and he meets a boy named Wendell. Marcelo discovers some morally questionable things about his father's law firm and has to decide whether to protect his father or help a young girl in need.
Marcelo has to learn how to tell right from wrong and how to stand up for what is right. He also becomes willing to sacrifice his own well being to help those in need. The story is incredibly well written, and provides a clear look into Marcelo's mind and the way he thinks. It is really an incredible read.
I absolutely loved this book! I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. It is beautiful in an understated way, and the narrator's voice has a way of pulling you in throughout the novel. It is about Marcelo, a 17 year old boy with a difficult to define autism of some sort. Marcelo has gone to school at Patterson's a school for kids with autism, but over the summer his father wants him to experience the "real world" and so forces him to work at his law firm in the mail room. There he meets a girl named Jasmine who becomes his friend, and maybe more, and he meets a boy named Wendell. Marcelo discovers some morally questionable things about his father's law firm and has to decide whether to protect his father or help a young girl in need.
Marcelo has to learn how to tell right from wrong and how to stand up for what is right. He also becomes willing to sacrifice his own well being to help those in need. The story is incredibly well written, and provides a clear look into Marcelo's mind and the way he thinks. It is really an incredible read.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
A better than average, but not outstanding, YA novel. The main character falls somewhere on the autism spectrum, pretty close to Aspergers. On that note I liked this book much, much better than A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. The insights on God and religion were often my favorite parts
A wonderful and very important read. The author's dedication to character is astounding: we are firmly inside Marcelo's head for the entire book and have no choice but to experience the world through his eyes. Not that it's a struggle. Hearing as Marcelo hears, seeing as Marcelo sees, feeling as Marcelo feels, is easy as humming. This really comes through in dialogue sections where Marcelo takes the time to pick apart each nuance. When I reached a scene with multiple characters speaking at once, I felt more overwhelmed than Marcelo did. I also liked how the other characters' reactions to Marcelo brought out extra sides of them: even Wendell, who mostly figures as the villain, is not textbook evil since he speaks to Marcelo as he would anybody else.
So, overall, a solid reading choice, and I definitely recommend to any YA fans out there.
So, overall, a solid reading choice, and I definitely recommend to any YA fans out there.
This is a lovely story told from the perspective of a young man who is on the autism spectrum. He is forced to spend a summer working at his father's law firm, and he makes some discoveries about the Real World that change him forever.
This title was a recommendation from the Well Read site.
This title was a recommendation from the Well Read site.
This was an incredibly interesting book. It was full of questions on life the often fine line between right and wrong and one boy (Who has Aspergers) attempt to find his place in it.
Marcelo is the Real World is about a 17 year old boy with what is described in the book as high functioning Autism or Asperger's Syndrome. Both are used. He is from a wealthier family where there father is lawyer. The father sets Marcelo the task of working at his law firm for the summer to see if he can follow the rules of the "real world". This premise alone made me annoyed with the father. And the annoyance just kept coming. There are people who look down on Marcelo and take advantage of him. He has to make a few dire decisions and then deal with the consequences. The question of right and wrong is woven throughout. However, even though I spent 75% on my reading time with this book being mad or annoyed by the characters, it was a very enjoyable reading experience. Marcelo learns more about himself and is more optimistic about his place in the world by the end.