Review Detail

Reader reviewed by mearley

17-year-old Marcelo has been attending a special school for students in the Autism spectrum; here he has found a niche for himself working with horses, and he is thriving.  However, his father wants Marcelo to be able to function in the "real world" and attend the public high school for his senior year.  As a compromise, Marcelo spends a summer working in the mail room at his father's law firm.  While there, he comes across a haunting picture of a disfigured girl.  As Marcelo tries to find out the story behind this picture, he realizes that there are difficult choices to make in the real world and that making the right decision can sometimes have negative consequences.

Marcelo is a character I immediately loved.  His condition (similar to Asperger's syndrome) makes it difficult for him to read emotions and body language, but we are given a glimpse into his mind as he reflects on what each person has said and what he has learned about the meanings behind words and gestures.  Although it takes him a while, he eventually (usually) comes to the right conclusion.

This is a wonderful coming of age book that I would recommend for high school students and adults.  Marcelo's adventures in the real world start him thinking about ethics and religion, love and sex.  Through musical examples, Marcelo learns that sometimes in life, it is necessary to improvise.  The language gets rough in a few places, but for the most part, it was important to the plot, especially given Marcelo's thinking processes.

The cover illustration is perfect for this novel, wonderfully capturing Marcelo's tentative steps away from his safety zone.

I'm giving this 4 1/2 stars just because I was disappointed in the way the minor characters (the employees of the law firm) were written.  They were all very one-dimensional, almost caricatures.  I found it hard to believe that every single person in the law firm would be so clueless when it comes to dealing with someone who is a little bit "different."  However, the rest of the novel is so wonderful, I wouldn't let this stop you from reading it.

Reprinted here with author's permission