Marcelo in the Real World by Fancisco X. Stork

 

Summary from goodreads.com:

Marcelo Sandoval hears music no one else can hear--part of the autism-like impairment no doctor has been able to identify--and he's always attended a special school where his differences have been protected. But the summer after his junior year, his father demands that Marcelo work in his law firm's mailroom in order to experience "the real world." There Marcelo meets Jasmine, his beautiful and surprising coworker, and Wendell, the son of another partner in the firm.

He learns about competition and jealousy, anger and desire. But it's a picture he finds in a file -- a picture of a girl with half a face -- that truly connects him with the real world: its suffering, its injustice, and what he can do to fight.

Reminiscent of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" in the intensity and purity of its voice, this extraordinary novel is a love story, a legal drama, and a celebration of the music each of us hears inside.

 

 

I have to admit, I was a little bit unsure going into this book. It's not something that I would normally pick up, but since it got so many great reviews I thought that I would give it a shot. I'm really glad that I did! I was a bit worried about how much I would be able to tolerate Marcelo as the narrator, but I shouldn't have been. Marcelo was great. I loved his character and how he worked things out in his head and didn't understand some things. His development throughout the story is amazing. I loved how he changed right before my eyes.

Jasmine is a great character also, and I liked learning about the law firm from her. Marcelo learns a lot about himself from her also, and that was nice. Wendell is amazingly despicable, but the conversations between him and Marcelo are funny. The first half is great, but when Marcelo finds a picture of a girl with half a face it gets even better. He has to make decisions that could affect a lot of people in both good and bad ways.

This book is great, even if you don't think you'll like it, you will. I would recommend it to anybody.

Characters: 10/10
Plot: 10/10
Originality: 10/10
Writing: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Overall: 48/50 A
Cover: 5/5 This cover fits the story really well. I like the little flashes of orange.