Tag: autism

REVIEW: Blind Search by Paula Munier

REVIEW: Blind Search by Paula Munier

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

It starts with Henry, a nine year old autistic boy who slips away from the adults who are supposed to be watching him and wanders off into the woods. He sees something he shouldn’t. And a woman dies.

Mercy Carr and her dog, Elvis, get caught up in a hunting party their rich neighbor is having. While they’re all rambling on about a bear that got away, Elvis finds the body. An architect, in town to pitch ideas on a project the hunting party is working on. She had been dating Henry’s father. They had argued recently. He’s arrested for her murder.

Mercy and Elvis, along with game warden Troy and his search and rescue dog, Susie Bear, find Henry hiding deep in the woods. He’s possibly seen something that could help with the case, but he’s not talking. Immediately, Henry connects with Elvis and Susie Bear, and by extension, Mercy and Troy. If they can keep him safe and comfortable, maybe he will open up to them, and they can solve the murder.

But when Henry leads them to another body, kicking off a string of trouble that includes a blizzard, it seems keeping Henry safe and solving these murders might be more complicated than Mercy anticipated.

Review

This was a BUSY story! There’s a lot of Henry stuff, plus the murders. There’s also criminal activity in the woods that may or may not connect to the murders. You also have the interesting dynamics at work within the hunting party. And on top of that you have the will-they-or-won’t-they thread between Mercy and Troy. I feel like I got my time’s worth out of this twisty mystery!

Many times I have said I love a story with great kid characters and/or great animal characters. This book qualifies. Henry’s a fascinating kid. I loved his D&D-like references to Mercy, Troy, and the dogs. The author did a great job with the adults who were closest to Henry accepting him as he is. The dogs, who I loved in the first book, were exceptionally written here, especially in their care for Henry.

This series is a must-read for me. If you loved the first book, A Borrowing of Bones, like I did, do NOT miss this one! I don’t know that you have to read these in order, but book 1 does give good backstory for the characters. I didn’t love the ending of this with Mercy, but it’s an interesting way to launch into book 3. The Hiding Place is currently scheduled to release next March.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read

REVIEW: You Lucky Dog by Julia London

REVIEW: You Lucky Dog by Julia London

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Berkley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Carly Kennedy is trying to build a PR business in Austin so she can get the money to move to New York City. She’s keeping her sister’s basset hound, Baxter (her mother’s fault – don’t ask), and she pays someone to walk him. Baxter is a quiet, sad, and anxious fella but Carly loves him.

Max Sheffington is a neuroscience professor studying dogs. He’s interested in how the reactions of neurotransmitters in dogs and dog lovers could be applied to the understanding of the autistic brain. Max’s brother, Jamie, is profoundly autistic. But Jamie really connects with dogs. That’s why Max got his basset hound, Hazel – to connect with Jamie.

When Baxter and Hazel’s dog walker gets into some trouble, someone else has to take the dogs home. And that person switches the two basset hounds. Carly and Max notice immediately that they have the wrong dogs, but it takes awhile to find each other. But once they do, they see what a difference Hazel makes in Baxter’s life.

Review

The core to this contemporary romance by Julia London is the relationship between Baxter and Hazel and the one between Max and Carly. And there’s a lot in those relationships to love. Unfortunately for Carly and Max, their relationship also has about three Hallmark movies’-worth of roadblocks and drama. The ending, thankfully, is a satisfying resolution to those roadblocks.

Along the way, though, this gets wordy. I’m not big on setting and wardrobe descriptions. I skim right by those in most books if they are more than a sentence or two long. Also, too much overthinking by the characters encourages me to skim. There was a good bit of that here. I felt like I did a fair amount of skimming, especially early on. If you enjoy the more detailed descriptions and inner processing, this may be a better fit for you in that way.

The characters in this were what kept me turning pages. First of all, Baxter and Hazel are excellent. The description of Baxter before he meets Hazel is endearing and sad. But the spark he finds in Hazel is darling. Carly and Max alone are okay on their own. She puts up with a lot of garbage from her wacky family and her clients. Max can get too in his own head. But together they are great. I liked them more as a couple than I did as individuals. I also loved Max’s brother, Jamie. I would have enjoyed even more scenes with Jamie in them. I think character-driven readers will like what they find in this book. (Language, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥= Fine/Solid/Good

REVIEW: Rookie of the Year by Phil Bildner

REVIEW: Rookie of the Year by Phil Bildner

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Rip and Red are back with basketball on their minds. They’re ready for another round of fall basketball. But things have changed since their last season.

First, there’s a new girl in Mr. Acevedo’s class. Tiki’s family has moved a LOT. She’s quirky and has a BIG personality. And she’s amazing on the basketball court. She stirs up a lot of competitive and jealous feelings in Rip.

Second, the kids are OVER the awful changes in the school cafeteria. They miss the Lunch Bunch, an awesome group of lunch ladies who truly loved the kids and made a difference throughout the school. And they miss having something edible to buy for lunch!

Third, Red is becoming more comfortable with his classmates. He copes better with physical contact, and even starts joking with the other kids.

All of these changes come together to make a great school story starring Rip and Red.

Review

I thoroughly enjoy the kids at the center of this series. Red is endearing. I think the author does a great job of portraying him in a kind and accurate way. And I love how cued in Rip is to Red’s habits and facial expressions. It feels realistic that sometimes he responds to those cues and sometimes he doesn’t. He’s still a kid.

The adults in the book – specifically Mr. Acevedo and Rip’s mom – work hard to teach when they correct kids. They don’t talk down to the kids; their expectations are reasonably high.

This would make a great family or classroom read aloud. Rip struggles with his place on the basketball team in this, and I think there are lots of things kids can learn as they read about Rip. There’s also lots to discuss about Red’s place in the group, and making accommodations to include everyone at school. There’s also lots to discuss about how to pursue change when you have a complaint. And the author uses tons of great examples of “show, don’t tell” for kids learning to write.

Book 3, Tournament of Champions, came out earlier this summer.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Chester and Gus by Cammie McGovern

REVIEW: Chester and Gus by Cammie McGovern

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Chester’s mom told all of her pups that the best thing in the world is to find your person and be a service dog to help your person.

But Chester gets SO scared by loud noises, he can’t be certified as a service dog. If he can’t do that, what sort of life can he have?

Then Chester is adopted by a family with an autistic son. While Gus initially doesn’t react well to Chester, in time they start to make small strides. Chester starts to understand his new person and the family and what they need. And then Chester is taken from his family.

Review

This was terrific! I enjoy stories that are told by the dog – like Magic Bone and Ellie’s Story – when authors do that style as well as McGovern did. Chester has a precious voice! He’s so bright (which the author explains in the story) and insightful.

The author uses her experience as a parent of an autistic child to craft a beautiful family for Chester. Gus’ parents are loving and earnest and desperate. They long to connect with Gus, and to see him make progress at school. They’re grasping at straws at times, looking for glimpses of recognition and understanding from Gus. And Chester helps all of them.

There’s a side plot with Chester’s trainer which felt… odd, to me. I felt like she took the story off in a weird direction. But she served to amp up the tension in the story, and Chester seems to help set her on a better path.

This was absolutely delightful. I highly recommend it!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥