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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
4 STARS
I read this for book club and could not put it down. It is a honest look at Asperger's with a mystery to keep things going. A single working at home mother (advice columnist) has two children and her attention is always on Jacob and his Asperger's. Jacob likes to visit crime scenes and Theo likes to break into homes and know what it feels like having things. When Jacob's tutor is found dead...Jacob is the first one they suspect.
I read this for book club and could not put it down. It is a honest look at Asperger's with a mystery to keep things going. A single working at home mother (advice columnist) has two children and her attention is always on Jacob and his Asperger's. Jacob likes to visit crime scenes and Theo likes to break into homes and know what it feels like having things. When Jacob's tutor is found dead...Jacob is the first one they suspect.
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
I couldn't read the full book because of some triggers (as an autistic person) still read over 300 pgs
I would also like to note: this is NOT a good introduction to autism. Especially if you or a family memeber just got diagnosed and want to learn about it. Some of the information is false.
You have to go into this book understanding that the mother herself also has abeliest views. She needs to be seen as a flawed character that thinks she knows everything but is wrong. The book doesnt make it obvious that her advice and commentary can be harmful, since she talks as if she's an expert.
The main character is also very sterotyped. I feel like the author just googled symptoms and decided to throw everything she could find in. As well as using outdated terms that most of the autistic community no longer supports. I dont think she talked to autistic people, it felt like her research was very clinical.
I would also like to note: this is NOT a good introduction to autism. Especially if you or a family memeber just got diagnosed and want to learn about it. Some of the information is false.
You have to go into this book understanding that the mother herself also has abeliest views. She needs to be seen as a flawed character that thinks she knows everything but is wrong. The book doesnt make it obvious that her advice and commentary can be harmful, since she talks as if she's an expert.
The main character is also very sterotyped. I feel like the author just googled symptoms and decided to throw everything she could find in. As well as using outdated terms that most of the autistic community no longer supports. I dont think she talked to autistic people, it felt like her research was very clinical.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Murder
I didnt see a tag for it, but if injustice(bad police and lawyers) is a trigger for you i wouldnt recommend the book
Rating: 3 stars
Oh come on! It is just going to end like that, after 600 pages or so of build up? A sequel wouldn't hurt! I does not have to be long, heck even a 30 page novella would suffice. AT LEAST AN EPILOGUE! Don't leave me like this, Jodi Picoult! Give me something!
Oh come on! It is just going to end like that, after 600 pages or so of build up? A sequel wouldn't hurt! I does not have to be long, heck even a 30 page novella would suffice. AT LEAST AN EPILOGUE! Don't leave me like this, Jodi Picoult! Give me something!
I think Picoult did a great job with researching Asperger's Syndrome for this novel. Unfortunately, I think the storyline suffered a bit. I had a really hard time believing that a mom who was so well researched in autism would simply run down the street to pick up a lawyer that had no criminal defense experience, let alone one that didn't know anything about autism or Asperger's. The behavior of both the mom and lawyer were completely off, and it contrasted too much with the sometimes painful accuracy of the experience of both brothers. The book followed Picoult's usual formula, which doesn't bother me - it is a winning formula, after all! This was a quick read and sucked me in the way Picoult's books usually do, I just found the execution somewhat flawed.
I liked the storyline, but the trial took ssssoooo long, and the ending was very predictable.
What a suspense book! Such a different style and plot than others Jodi has written and really kept me on the edge of my seat- couldn't put it down. A lot of research and time was put into portrayal of Jacob with Asperger's. Impressive :)
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
|| 2.5 ⭐️ ||
Okay. This novel was waaaaay more drawn out than it needed to be. I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if it had been shaved down a couple hundred pages.
The case was interesting, because the big reveal didn’t happen until the very end. In the meantime, there were many great opportunities for me to try to solve the mystery and ponder what would be just and right to do in this instance.
But also, it felt so repetitive. We heard long snippets of the case from several points of view, and then the trial started, and we heard it all over again from each person, and the trial went on FOREVER.
In addition to that downside, the story went into so much detail about what Asperger’s means and looks like that I sometimes wondered if I was reading a textbook about it instead of a novel. There were many moments throughout when I felt like shouting at the author, “SHOW, DON’T TELL!” (Which there was plenty of showing too, but the amount of lecturing still felt excessive).
And finally, Emma’s romance… it really was not needed. The moment I read that she was a single mom in the first few pages, I knew there would be a stupid romance occurring eventually… and there sure was. It didn’t even go anywhere, or play into the story much at all at the end. It was a sub-plot that had absolutely no purpose, but rather took away from the story.
Oh, also, ***spoiler alert: why didn’t Theo ever really get punished for the crimes HE committed?***
I didn’t mind the story and plot itself. As I said, it was interesting… just could’ve been executed in a much better way.
|| Content warnings ||
So many misuses of the Lord’s name. Quite a bit of profanity. Murder, blood, violence. Nudity, lust. Sexual references, and a sex scene that was not overly explicit, but explicit enough that I’d rather skip over it. Divorce. Prejudice against autism and name-calling, bullying.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I absolutely adore the way Jodi Picoult describes emotions so that you can actually visualize them. Very informative story about autism but… Why doesn’t anybody ask him the question “who killed her?” Why assume he did it just because he likes to clean up. I expected a MUCH better ending and I was ready to give it 5 stars until all I got was a word for word repetition of another chapter. I wish it was a glitch in the mobi file. The last chapter’s disappointment costed 1.5 stars.