Review Detail

I tried starting COLIN FISCHER twice before it actually stuck. Once I got into it, though, I couldn't put it down and am eager to recommend it to my friend's eighth grade class. Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz have crafted a teenage detective with Asperger's, a character full of hope and heart.

Each chapter starts with a page from Colin's ever-present notebook, which was what originally deterred me. The scientific facts in these entries eventually become pertinent to the plot, but may make young readers hesitate to continue. Urge them to do so, because the mystery is engaging and the characters are well-developed. Even better, the ending sets the reader up for a sequel.

There are some mature innuendos in the novel, which is why I won't be putting it on the shelf in my sixth grade class. Older readers are lucky to have such a sensitive and interesting novel available to them.