Wanted everyone I know to read (listen to) this. Jeff Woodman is AMAZING!. ( )

I do my best not to be an armchair psychiatrist because invariably such endeavors show my utter ignorance in the realm of psychiatry and the workings of the human brain, but I wonder what my extreme love of the spare style used to write this book says about me. The trope of the book is that Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old autistic savant, discovered a neighbor’s dead dog, stabbed to death with a pitchfork, and decided to write a book about his attempts to solve the dog’s murder. As he writes his book, Christopher uncovers a shocking family secret and is forced to crawl outside the extreme limits his autism place upon him. Of course, I won’t spoil the ending but the plot, while at times a little obvious, is overshadowed by the experience of spending time in Christopher’s head, a time that is nerve-wracking, saddening, frustrating and amazing. Read the rest of the review here: http://ireadeverything.com/?p=64 ( )

When he discovers his neighbor's dead dog, autistic teenager Christopher John Francis Boone decides to solve the murder. He likes to read mystery novels and decides to write his own book as he investigates the death. The adults in his life discourage him from looking into the dog's death, especially his father, but Christopher has made up his mind and forges ahead. What Christopher doesn't realize is that there are more mysteries in his life than just a murdered dog and he begins to uncover truths that would be hard for anyone, autistic or not, to take. These truths will lead Christopher on one of the most frightening journeys in his young life.

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" is a brilliantly written, at times heart-breaking novel. Written in the first person, author Mark Haddon does an excellent job of getting into Christopher's mind, to the point where it seems as if Christopher is a real person. The footnotes that pop up throughout the book also make it seem as if a real person is telling a real story. There are many excellent moments in the novel that show how an autistic person thinks, starting with the fact that each chapter begins with a prime number and including Christopher's need to tell the time, down to the last second, that something happened, and his belief that the color of cars that he sees can make it a good day or a bad day. The book has several humorous moments, but never at Christopher's expense. While the plot may seem simple, it uncovers many layers of Christopher's life. Although the book is written from Christopher's limited point of view, Haddon is a gifted writer and we still learn much about the people in his life, especially his parents, long before Christopher himself does and in fact, readers learn more than Christopher ever can.

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" was so good that I hated to see it end. Well done. ( )

This is a hard book to review. It's unlike anything else I have ever read but it's a compelling read despite the simplistic way it's written. I loved the story and its twists and turns and I loved the insight into the way an asbergers mind might work. ( )

Overall I enjoyed the book. I was very captivated by the boys thinking and process for daily activities that would not seem very difficult or intense. Everything he did was an adventure and sometimes made me nervous. His character was sometimes a ticking time bomb. He never touched things that were yellow and he never liked to be touched by people. Reading this story gave me a better understanding about autistic children. i think this is a great book for everyone to read, especially teachers.  ( )