I don't really have a lot of time to read novels but when I picked up this book and started reading it, I had a lot of trouble putting it down.
Jodi Picoult has a unique style of getting into the minds of her characters and using their thoughts and perceptions to tell her stories.
Emma Hunt is a single mother struggling to raise her two sons, Jacob and Theo. Jacob, the oldest has
Asperger's Syndrome while his younger brother Theo is a 'normal' boy, well, as normal as a teenage boy might be expected to be when much of his mother's energy and attention is on his Aspie sibling.
Jacob, like many Aspies, has an area of specialty which fascinates him and about which he's well-informed. It's CSI and whenever possible he visits local crime scenes and tries to participate in the investigations. He has a favorite TV show which he must watch every day when it airs. He hates the color orange and has a number of other quirks and preferences.
He also quotes lines from movies. Below are a few of them:
"What we got here is failure to communicate."---Jacob quotes from
Cool Hand Luke
"Love means never having to say you're sorry."---Jacob quotes from the movie
Love Story
"Hasta la vista, baby."---Jacob quotes from the movie
The Terminator.
Life in the Hunt household is quite complicated with Jacob's quirks and special needs. Their lives get even more challenging when Jacob is charged with murdering Jess, his social skills tutor.
This is a fascinating novel that offers the reader the opportunity to learn the challenges of a teenage boy with Asperger's Syndrome and the challenges of his family and those he encounters in his life. It illustrates with words the world of someone with Asperger's. I found it quite educational and insightful.
For those interested in seeing films about Autism or Asperger's Syndrome (which is a high-functioning form of Autism), check out my blogposts with reviews of
The Horse Boy and
Clay Marzo Just Add Water and
My Name is Khan.
