Marcelo in the Real World, by Francisco X. Stork

2012 Book 58: Marcelo in the Real World, by Francisco X. Stork (4/5/2012)

Reason for Reading: Autism Awareness Month

My Review 5/5 stars

17-year-old Marcelo has an Asperser’s-like condition. He has lived a sheltered life until the summer before his senior year of high school, when he is pressured into working at his father’s law firm for a summer. Marcelo learns many “real world” lessons—some sad, some uplifting. This was a wonderful little book. Although I really felt bad for Marcelo when he had to learn some of his life lessons, I also felt that it was good for him to learn these lessons. These mixed feelings of compassion for Marcelo’s situation made this a memorable book. There was one fleeting moment in this book where I felt that Stork had packed perhaps a few too many lessons into too small a space…but other than that the book was perfect.