I’ve had an interest in Asperger’s (sp?) syndrome since seeing a newsmag segment on it last year. He’s taken a very mundane plot and given a powerful twist by filtering it through a narrator who is afflicted with this form of autism. But instead of just making him a freak, he completely humanizes him, making us see the world through his eyes in a way that I’ve never seen another writer do as well for an autistic narrator. It was at once both alien and familiar. A remarkable book.

Geeks and other marginal Asperger’s cases can relate to the character. The ending is a bit open, but that’s to be expected from the concept.

Funny, but never cute view into the alien mind of a 15-year-old autistic savant who is searching for the killer of a neighbor’s dog. The discoveries he makes while on the case would almost be cliched if this were a normal kid. He’s NOT a normal kid.