Born On a Blue Day

 Shirley J.    Adult Non-Fiction              Autistism,  Savant

Born On a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet

226 pages

Wow!  Daniel Tammet explains his thought processes in such a down to earth way that it is an intense and deeply personal visit inside the thought processes of an amazing mind.   Daniel explains that he sees things in his mental pictures as colors and numbers and he proceeds to break down just how that occurs.  It is an amazing story and he discusses his relationships with his family growing up, his school day and his life and work up to this day.   He is able to learn any language fluently within a week and how he does iit will astound you.   Things that are so far away from . most of us to grasp, Daniel is able to comprehend with ease, yet, simple concepts and behaviors are harder for him  to make sense of without really applying himself such as social behaviors, reactions and interactions that most people don't give a second thought to are ridiculously difficult for him and require much effort on his part.     A fascinating look into a beautiful mind.  He discovered his preference for men and after some dating over the years he is currently in a long term relationship with his partner who gives him the space he needs when he requires it and the affection and comfort of a supportive lover.  Daniel travels the world speaking on autism, being a savant and demonstrating his unique linguistic and mathematical abilities.  He is also a speaker in the TED Talk series.   

The Boy Who Drew Monsters

The Boy Who Drew Monsters by Keith Donohue
273 Pages

"Ever since he nearly drowned in the ocean three years earlier, ten-year-old Jack Peter Keenan has been deathly afraid to venture outdoors. Refusing to leave his home in a small coastal town in Maine, Jack Peter spends his time drawing monsters. When those drawings take on a life of their own, no one is safe from the terror they inspire. His mother, Holly, begins to hear strange sounds in the night coming from the ocean, and she seeks answers from the local Catholic priest and his Japanese housekeeper, who fill her head with stories of shipwrecks and ghosts. His father, Tim, wanders the beach, frantically searching for a strange apparition running wild in the dunes. And the boy's only friend, Nick, becomes helplessly entangled in the eerie power of the drawings. While those around Jack Peter are haunted by what they think they see, only he knows the truth behind the frightful occurrences as the outside world encroaches upon them all."

Donohue continues to write with a hint of the mystical and the book while not as strong as his first book "The Stolen Child"  examines family life when a child is autistic. The book was reminiscent of a Stephen King book.

Rain Reign

Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin, 226 pages

This is the story of a girl, Rose, and her dog, Rain.  She named her Rain because her dad found the dog in the rain and because the word rain has two homonyms, reign and rein.  Rose likes homonyms and keeps a list of them.  Rose also likes prime numbers and rules of any kind.  She gets very upset when people don’t follow the rules.  Rose lives with her father and Rain.  One night there is a terrible hurricane that actually moves far enough inland to affect their home.  Early that morning Rose’s dad let Rain out while the storm was still going on.  When Rose woke up an hour later, Rain was gone and she wasn’t wearing her collar.  Her dad is unconcerned but her uncle, Weldon tries to help her find Rain.  This is a very good story for kids who like realistic fiction.

Almost Perfect

Almost Perfect by Diane Daniels Manning     321 pages

     I know I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I do. If the cover looks like something I would like, or the title intrigues me, then I try it. Usually I’ve made up my mind long before I read the back cover. There is no way I could resist the cute poodle puppy on the cover of what appeared to be an enchanting read. 

 

     At the center of this novel are two flawed individuals: Seventy-year-old Bess and teenage Benny. I’m not sure that the author ever revealed his age, but if he’s over fourteen, he’s an extremely immature fourteen. 

 

     Bess is a bitter woman. For decades she enjoyed a distinguished career as one of the nation’s top Standard Poodle breeders. She dreamed of winning the Westminster Dog Show all her life, and even had the dog, McCreery, to do, too. Yet, she always held herself, and McCreery, back. A psychologist would say that she was afraid of success.  Maybe, maybe there were other reasons. Now she’s in the process of tearing down the famous Umpawang kennels. She’s gotten rid of all the dogs except McCreery and his puppy-son Breaker, who is the spitting image of his daddy. 

 

     Enter Benny. He’s new to the neighborhood. After a messy divorce, Benny is forced to go live with his father and new stepmother. He attends a nearby therapeutic school for his autism. The one thing Benny wants more in the world---besides his mother to love and pay attention to him---is a dog. Dad says no, but Benny wants what Benny wants. 

 

     As he walks home from school one night, he hears a dog crying. Sure the dog is the perfect one for him, he tries to locate the source. There he winds up in Bess’s kennel. 

 

     The story that follows is an often hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking story of two people and two dogs who teach other that life has more to offer than what’s happening at the moment.

 

     I highly recommend this book; I give it 5 stars.

 

 

 

 

Almost Perfect

Almost Perfect by Diane Daniels Manning     321 pages

 I know I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I do. If the cover looks like something I would like, or the title intrigues me, then I try it. Usually I’ve made up my mind long before I read the back cover. There is no way I could resist the cute poodle puppy on the cover of this novel without bothering to read the synopsis.

 At the center of this novel are two flawed individuals: Seventy-year-old Bess and teenage Benny. I’m not sure that the author ever revealed his age, but if he’s over fourteen, he’s an extremely immature fourteen.

Bess is a bitter woman. For decades she enjoyed a distinguished career as one of the nation’s top Standard Poodle breeders. She dreamed of winning the Westminster Dog Show all her life, and even had the dog, McCreery, to do, too. Yet, she always held herself, and McCreery, back. A psychologist would say that she was afraid of success.  Maybe, maybe there were other reasons. Now she’s in the process of tearing down the famous Umpawang kennels. She’s gotten rid of all the dogs except McCreery and his puppy-son Breaker, who is the spitting image of his daddy.

Enter Benny. He’s new to the neighborhood. After a messy divorce, Benny is forced to go live with his father and new stepmother. He attends a nearby therapeutic school for his autism. The one thing Benny wants more in the world---besides his mother's and attention---is a dog. Dad says no, but Benny wants what Benny wants.  it has to be a real dog, too, not some poodle.

As he walks home from school one night, he hears a dog crying. Sure the dog is the perfect one for him, he tries to locate the source. There he winds up in Bess’s kennel.

The story that follows is an often hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking story of two people and two dogs who teach other that life has more to offer than what’s happening at the moment.

I highly recommend this book; I give it 5 stars.

The Reason I Jump

The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida, translated by KA Yoshida and David Mitchell, 135 pages

Naoki was diagnosed with autism at the age of five and wrote The Reason I Jump at 13. David Mitchell (author of Cloud Atlas) and his wife, KA Yoshida, worked to translate Naoki’s work and Mitchell includes an introduction how helpful he found the book as a parent to a child with autism. The book is structured as a series of questions posed to Naoki about why he behaves the way he does; questions range from "Why do you hum all the time?" to "Why do we have to ask you 50 times before you do something?"

The Reason I Jump was a quick read and provided insights and a point-of-view I'd not previously heard.  I had some issues with the fact that Naoki almost always uses first person plural pronouns to describe his experience, I'm sure that not every person with autism has feelings and experiences identical to his; but I can imagine what a welcome book this would be to readers who have a loved one with autism.