The London Eye Mystery, by Siobhan Dowd

2012 Book 62 The London Eye Mystery, by Siobhan Dowd (4/16/2012)

Reason for Reading: Autism Awareness Month

My Review 3/5 stars

When Ted and Kat's cousin Salim mysteriously disappears while riding the London Eye they team up to find him. Ted and Kat never got along in the past because Ted has Asperger's Syndrome and is difficult to relate to; however, they discover that a combination of his rational thinking skills and her intuitive action makes them an ideal team. It may be because I've OD'd myself on Autism books this April, but I wasn't overly impressed by this story. I don't regret reading it--it was a cute story, and handled the issue of Ted's Asperger's symptoms well enough. But I didn't feel a strong attachment to the characters. I also felt that the mystery (and the way it was solved at the very, very end) lacked verisimilitude. I understand why the frantic parents didn't listen to what the kids had to say...but I felt that the cops should have given the kids a much more rigorous questioning, considering that the kids were the key witnesses to a rather suspicious event. I felt that the kids endangered themselves unnecessarily when trying to solve the mystery. I prefer it when books develop a plot such that the kids MUST do what they do, rather than it just being reckless behavior. But maybe that's because I didn't have that sort of fearless independence when I was a kid. I would have MADE the adults listen to me, instead. :) But like I said, I think I'm just OD'd on fantastic Autism books right now and so this one just wasn't what I needed at the moment. Final recommendation: read it if it's convenient, but don't rush out to get it.