Kids Like Us

Kids Like Us by: Hilary Reyl      Pages: 282

"Martin is an American teen on the autism spectrum living in France with his mom and sister for the summer. He falls for a French girl who he thinks is a real-life incarnation of a character in his favorite book . Over time Martin comes to realize she is a real person and not a character in a novel while at the same time learning that love is not out of his reach just because he is autistic."

Kids Like Us is a good representation of a teenage boy who has high functioning autism. His family is kind of all over the map, with a famous movie producer mom, a brainiac older sister, a supportive dad in jail, and a best friend who is a music prodigy. I recommend this book for children who may feel out of place, kids who are interested in French culture, or kids who feel bullied. I think a lot of teens could relate to the characters in the story.

The Rosie Project

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, 295 pages

Don Tillman is a brilliant geneticist who would love to be married. And on paper he's quite a catch: intelligent, attractive, one heck of a good cook, and he's certainly no slob. But as someone who defines himself as socially awkward (the rest of us are fairly sure he's somewhere on the autism spectrum), Don doesn't exactly know the best way about getting himself a wife. To solve his problem, he creates The Wife Project, a detailed questionnaire designed to find the perfect candidate for a future mate. Enter Rosie, a wild card thrown in by Don's best (and almost only) friend Gene, who wants some help finding her biological father. Don agrees to help and, well, you can see where this is going.

And that's the thing about this book... it's obvious fairly early on exactly how Don's story will end. But what's great about this book is the charming way in which it reaches that destination. While I knew where I'd end up, I enjoyed every step of the journey. Don and Rosie, in particular, are well-realized characters, and while some of the situations they end up in seem ripped from a chick flick, they're at least ripped from a good chick flick. This was a lot of fun. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a light, quick friendly read.

The Rosie Project

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, 2013. 292 pp 

A screwball romantic comedy in print,  this hilariously-narrated novel takes place in Australia and  NYC in the not-too-distant past and is full of pop culture references Americans will get. The title "project" begins when the hero, a brilliant geneticist with Aspergers-like personality traits and a dismal romantic history, develops an internet questionnaire to help him find the perfect woman. I don’t know how accurately the book reflects the thoughts and emotions of autism-spetrum persons and their loved-ones, but anyone who’s ever wished for better social and empathic skills, or who enjoys the Big Bang theory, could probably relate to this book.  All characters are likable in their ways and we end up rooting for them and for a happy ending. A quick and enjoyable read.