'breathless...' I like your use of the word for this review.

When I reread it, I'll see if I think it's still valid. ;-)

Wow! That sounds really GOOD! Great review!

Shawn, having finished rereading it, I think "breathless" still applies.

Thanks, Sunny. It's a YA book, so a pretty quick read, but certainly an enlightening and enjoyable one too. It is also quite funny, which is not something reflected very well in my review. Maybe I'll have to amend it again.

Great review. I have heard lots of interesting things about this book and that made me more determined to get into it some time soon.

Thanks. It really doesn't take long to get into, or even finish, because it was written for the YA market. (After its initial success, it was reissued and remarketed for an adult audience.)

Well certainly any great novel should be applicable for all ages I believe. That is the great success of movie companies like Pixar - they created animated art that was for all people.

Very true. And far more fail than succeed, imo.

Oh of course. But at least they tried to create something great rather than settled for an ordinary piece of work as some authors do.

(I meant novels, films... all art, really, not just Pixar.)

I meant to take it as that whoops... I meant to indicate that at least where the majority fail they try to create great novels. My fault...

Did you know in an interview with the author, the author stated he was irritated by the use of this book as a tool for Asperger's Syndrome info? He never meant for it to be that, and he wasn't writing the character with Asperger's Syndrome at all, only some sort of syndrome that wasn't specifically named. Nowhere in the book it actually says Asperger's Syndrome. I found that interesting. I loved this book!

Yes, I realise that, and some people with the condition, or who have family members with it, dislike aspects of his portrayal - but there are others who say it's uncanny how realistic it is.

Ultimately, the label is a useful shorthand, but whether it's strictly true may not matter very much: it's a story told by an outsider. The nature of his difference is fundamental to the story and how it is told, and yet it would be entirely possible to write a version in the voice of someone with Down's Syndrome, short-term memory problems or all sorts of other conditions.

Well thanks to your reminder of a review I picked it up from my university library to join my multiple other books to read over the next three weeks of holidays.

I've wanted to read this for a long time. I've heard very few bad things about it. Working with special needs students this will be right up my alley ( with the comments- I wonder what I will think of it and the boy's portrayal?). Thanks for the interesting and great review!

I look forward to reading your review if or when you do read it, Autumn.

Asperger's Syndrome is not the same thing as High-Functioning Autism although they are both on the Autism Spectrum.

Thanks, Donna. Until now, I thought thought Asperger's and High-Functioning Autism were more or less the same, and certainly the two terms are bandied about as if they're interchangeable.

Looking it up now, it seems there are still some grey areas, but for those who don't want to look it up themselves, the consensus clusters around the idea that those with Asperger's develop language fairly normally as toddlers, whereas those with HFA don't (even if they acquire langage later).

The news earlier this year (or last year) that psychiatrists wanted to drop the Asperger's label in favour of a autism-related diagnosis may lead to further confusion.

I've amended my review, I don't think though as Christopher's language acquisition is mentioned, I've left it vague.

The library just pulled this off the shelf for me. It was your comments about the math puzzles in the book that pushed me over the edge... :)

I hope I haven't overstated the maths puzzle element and that you enjoy it. It's quite a quick read.

I keep seeing this one at the book store at school and I really want to read it especially after reading your review and seeing that the main character likes Sherlock Holmes!