Excellent novel from the point of view of an autistic individual as he struggles to understand the world around him. Great balance of internal reflection and action that engages the reader. The author truly pulls you into Marcelo's world in a unique and powerful way. ( )

This book was very sweet, written in a style closer to classic children's literature than YA. I don't mean that it's more appropriate for a middle-grade audience, but that larger than life characters and the sense of an authorial voice behind Marcelo's remind me more of, say, Louis Sachar than John Green.

Marcelo's voice is very likable and engaging, and his journey into the world of corporate law makes for a story with more genuine moral ambiguity than a lot of young adult literature. Most of the other characters are not as complex and their dialogue is frankly unbelievable, but Stork is so masterful a writer that I was able to read past the lack of realism (which is rare for me!)

As for depicting a person on the autism spectrum, I thought Stork did a good job making Marcelo identifiable as a person with Asperger's but more than the sum of his symptoms. He does sort of fit into the "morally outstanding person with a disability" cliche, but I think Stork did a good job showing that this is just Marcelo's personality and not an inevitable result of his disability. However, I'll leave it to other readers to decide if this book had issues that I'm overlooking. ( )

I really liked this story. A liked it a great deal. The characters were interesting and inspirational. Excellent ending as well. Bravo! Marcelo! ( )

Incredibly brisk read, and it was quite enjoyable.
I think I have a thing for characters with Asperger's. (I liked The Curious Incident of The Dog, and the film: Adam). After knowing that much about them, maybe my rating isn't fair. Maybe it deserves more, who knows? It was a fluff read, nonetheless. Nothing serious, which was exactly what I needed. I believe it is an EXCELLENT book for young adults, and they all should read it. There are lessons there.
I didn't like the excessive referencing from holy books though. Okay, it is not excessive. But I wished that the part was omitted. Just to make it more universal.
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Reread this book and loved it as much the second time through. ( )