Marcelo in the Real World

Reader reviewed by The Library Lurker

I have to admit, I was a little bit unsure going into this book. It's
not something that I would normally pick up, but since it got so many
great reviews I thought that I would give it a shot. I'm really glad
that I did! I was a bit worried about how much I would be able to
tolerate Marcelo as the narrator, but I shouldn't have been. Marcelo was
great. I loved his character and how he worked things out in his head
and didn't understand some things. His development throughout the story
is amazing. I loved how he changed right before my eyes.



Jasmine is a great character also, and I liked learning about the law
firm from her. Marcelo learns a lot about himself from her also, and
that was nice. Wendell is amazingly despicable, but the conversations
between him and Marcelo are funny. The first half is great, but when
Marcelo finds a picture of a girl with half a face it gets even better.
He has to make decisions that could affect a lot of people in both good
and bad ways.



This book is great, even if you don't think you'll like it, you will. I
would recommend it to anybody.

Reader reviewed by Book Lady

Marcello narrates this coming of age story.  He is a high school aged student with Asperger's Syndrome.  He has gone to a school for students with special needs all of his life and is even planning to work at the school this summer by training the ponies. His father wants him to change his plans and work at the mail room in his law school over the summer and attend a regular high school in the fall.  They make a compromise that if Marcello successfully works at the law firm this summer, he'll be able to attend the school that he's always attended.  Marcello has to overcome many challenges during his time at the firm, but ends up befriending the women that he works with in the mail room.  During his time at the firm, he comes across a photograph of a girl that who was injured by a product made by one of his father's clients.  Marcello becomes obsessed with her case and decides that he wants to fight for what he believes in right.

Reader reviewed by Alex

Marcelo in the Real World is about the life of Marcelo, a boy who has some sort of autism that the doctors can't really identify. He's not stupid though- on the contrary, he's rather brilliant. He just thinks differently than others, and must concentrate on some things. His father, a brilliant lawyer and co-head of a law firm, doesn't believe that Marcelo is different than anyone else, and so forces him to work at the law firm for the summer.

There, Marcelo meets many different people, and learns a lot of what life is in the "real world". He meets Wendall, son of the other head at the law firm, a boy who loves women. And Jasmine. Jasmine is Marcelo's boss in the mail room, and she's gorgeous and surprising

Marcelo also finds a picture of a girl, a girl who's face is scarred. This picture intrigues him, and Marcelo decides to delve deeper into the workings and problems of the law firm. This brings up difficult questions for Marcelo, and he has to decide on many things.

It's a coming of age tale, where Marcelo learns a lot.

I have to say, I love Marcelo in the Real World soo much. It was so incredibly adorable and sweet to read. Marcelo is an amazing protagonist and character. I mean, yeah he's different since he has... a mental condition. I'm not too sure which term to use for him, since he himself, meaning Marcelo, is unsure how to explain it. But anyway, Marcelo thinks differently, he hears internal music, he doesn't have much of a sense of direction, he interacts differently than others, but really, compared to me or most readers, he's pretty much the same. But he is different- but different in all the best ways.

Some of Marcelo's naivity is so cute. At times I wanted to just give him a hug or pat him on the head. XD Just... gah. I cannot explain Marcelo's amazingness and his appeal to me. Being inside his mind is so interesting.

Throughout the novel, Marcelo is struggling about his future. He hopes to go to Patterson, a school meant for kids with disabilites, the school he has attended since first grade. Marcelo's 17 by the way, entering senior year after the summer. His father, Arturo, a succesful law firm co-owner, wants him to attend a public school however. Marcelo and his father make a deal: If Marcelo has a summer job at the law firm, and succeeds working in the "real world", he can decide on what school he goes to. If not, it's public school for him.

I had the book for a couple weeks before I actually started to read it. Partly because, I had a ton of other stuff to go through, also because well, the cover didn't interest me. It reminded me too much of two movie covers- Howl's Moving Castle and Monster House. I'm not too sure why I reacted that way, since I actually did like those two movies, and looking at the cover now, I actually do like it. So it's funny, and I don't really understand why I was initially turned off.

All the characters are great. I've talked about Marcelo, and obviously I love him. But Jasmine, his boss at the firm, Ixtel, the girl in the picture, Yolanda, who I seriously love for building the tree house for Marcelo (I mean, okay, how cool is that? She got her whole class to make Marcelo a fully functioning tree house with electricity and everything. I want a sister like Yolanda!), even if she didn't appear to much. Marcelo's parents, Arturo and Aurora, Wendall, the rabbi Marcelo visits to talk about religion... all were so interesting and different.

Speaking of religion. Usually, I tend to not like books that focus on religion, because I find they can get preachy and stuff. But Marcelo almost lives and breathes religion. It is, as he calls it, his special interest, the one thing he focuses most on. He doesn't just preach, but he reads all he can on religion, he talks and discusses about it, and thinks about religion. And... I think it's great. Although at this point, I'm pretty sure I'd love anything Marcelo does. XD

And since I feel like, a random quote that made me go "Aaaaw!"

" "It's half a kiss," she says, "but it's all I've got." "

This novel isn't so much like, romanceromancekisskisssex, sort of thing. It's more subtle feelings, and more of coming of age than anything. But I loved that quote and thought it was so sweet. You'll have to read the book though to figure out who says it! :D

Overall, such a great book; so, so, interesting.

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