Product Description
A murder mystery like no other, this novel features Christopher Boone, a 15 year-old who suffers from Asperger's syndrome. When he finds a neighbour's dog murdered, he sets out on a terrifying journey destined to turn his whole world upside down.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 3 reviews)

Good audio book for kids with mild high functioning autism asberger syndrome

This was bought for my 10 year old Grandson, to listen to a kids version of "mild high functioning autism" and how they related to life as a result. It did this and more. The whole family listened to it, then my Grandson, then my Granddaughter, his 8-year old sister will listen to it this week. It was incredibily effective to help the 10-year old see himself, where is he, how he's progressed positively, and relate to the person in the story, and not feel so different from other kids.

I recommend this highly for anyone with a mildly autistic (high functioning diagnosis) child in the 8-14 year range, or family dealing with an Asberger's Symdrome child. Mostly it makes the child feel better about themselves, and the story is told from a similar view by a similar child. The adults might find it kind of off the beaten path, and wandering too far too long into some subjects. But it can help bond with the kids too --one experience for all, and they can talk about it in a fun way. 6 hours of listening, 6 CDs as I recall. Fiction.
May 14, 2007

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Part One

Autism is a tendency to view life in terms of one's own needs and desires. Christopher Boone is the perfect example of someone who is cursed and blessed with Autism. The first thing you notice about Christopher is the he is very smart.
"My memory is like a film."(76)
The second thing you know about him is that he doesn't like it when people touch him or talk to him to show emotion. Which is how Christopher got in trouble in the first chapter.
Wellington, Mrs. Shears poodle, was found dead in her front yard, stabbed with a pitchfork. Christopher was at the wrong place at the wrong time and was quickly accused of killing the dog. When the police came they tried to touch Christopher and then he hit the officer. From that point on he made it his personal goal to find out Who Killed Wellington and to write a book about it, this book. It is written very well, like it came straight from Christopher's mind and his logical way of thinking things through. Christopher lives with his dad because his mother had died not very long ago. He wasn't told anything about his mothers' death and he wasn't allowed to go to the funeral.
Christopher was not allowed to ask any questions about his mother or who might have killed Wellington, but that didn't make sense to him.
Page 2
"I decided I was going to find out who killed Wellington even though Father told me to stay out of other people's business...And this is because when people tell you what to do it is usually confusing and does not make sense."(28)
I can only imagine how hard it is for Chris to get through everyday life with the weird concepts he has. For example, the fact that seeing 4 red cars in a row makes that day a "good day", and 4 yellow cars in a row make it a "bad day". Chris obviously has a lot of drive to do things that people don't expect from him. He is going to be the only person in his school to attempt an A-level math test, and solve the mystery of who killed Wellington.
At first I felt bad for Christopher's father. He apparently had just lost his wife to a heart attack and now he is raising an autistic teen-age son by himself. But he is never truly open with Christopher about the loss of his wife or why he wants Chris to leave Wellington's murder alone.

Part Two

Christopher has started investigating Mrs. Shears neighbors and herself for any information on Wellington's murder. One of the first people he runs into is Mrs. Alexander, who lives across the way from Mrs. Shears. This is when Christopher learns that his mom and Mr. Shears were more then just good friends. They actually had an affair and this is why Father did not like Christopher talking to Mrs. Shears, or mentioning Mr. Shears name.

Page 3
"But I don't feel sad about it. Because mother is dead. And because Mr. Shears isn't around anymore. So I would be feeling sad about something that isn't real, or doesn't exist. And that would be stupid."(75)
Some times I think Christopher is really sad about things that are happening to him but he uses logic to make him think that he is not. He is sort of depriving himself of feeling emotion because he doesn't know how to respond to it. Then he can use his maths and numbers to feel calm in a bad situation.
Christopher kept working on his investigations though until his father found the rough draft of his book on the counter. Again, his father yelled at him for continuing to investigate Wellington's murder and he took Christopher's book and hid it from him. Curiosity got to Christopher though and he found his book hidden in a box in his father's bedroom along with letters that were addressed to Christopher.
"I looked at the front of the envelope and I saw that there was a postmark and there was a date on the postmark. It was quite difficult to read but it was posted 16 October 1997, which was 18 months after mother had died."(98)
This was wrong. I knew immediately that Christopher's dad must have been lying to him about his mother's death. I don't think he knew how seriously this could affect Chris's emotional well being. When Chris went back to get the rest of the letters, his reality was confirmed. His mother was still alive, in London at 451 Chapter Rd. and he must go visit her. Because when Father found out Chris had the letters, he admitted to killing Wellington and that his mom was still alive, only married to Mr. Shears. And Christopher didn't fell safe anymore with his Father.

Page 4
Part Three

So that very next day Christopher packed up and took his fathers bank card and left to get on a train to London to find his mother. This took tons of courage on Chris's part because the train is a large crowded place and lots of strangers make him very anxious. It may seem juvenile to not be able to get on a train all by yourself and not be afraid, but it took tons of strength for Chris to do that; even though he hid in the luggage compartment.
Once he got to London and met his mom I couldn't imagine the pain and relief she felt to see her son again.
"I kept thinking something dreadful had happened to you, or that you'd moved away and I'd never find out where you were."(193)
Christopher stayed with his mother until she took him back home to Swindon. He had to face his father and learn that he must trust his dad again, even after all the lies.
"You have to learn to trust me... And I don't care how long it takes... If it's a minute a day and it takes years, I don't care. This is more important then anything else."(218)
And Christopher started to trust again. He knew it would take a long time to get to the same point he was at with his dad before Wellington's murder.

Page 5
I read this book in lots of places, mainly after work or in the car. Basically, whenever I found a spare minute to get a few pages read. My summer gets so busy that I mainly picked this book because it was one of the shorter ones on the list. But I am very glad I read it nonetheless.
I rate this book as an eight. It was written very well. It puts you in the same mind set as Christopher so you could really understand the way he felt in situations. I think the theme of this book was very inspirational. Even though Christopher had his share of emotional and mental set backs, he still beat the odds.
"...I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery of Who Killed Wellington? and I found my mother and I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything."(221)
And that made him feel very :-)

September 05, 2006

A book that gives you different point of view

This book is written in the point of view of Christopher, a boy with Asperger's Syndrome--a kind of autism. What is inside this book is really different than those fiction books I've ever read. Don't be surprised with the grammar and vocabulary used in this book as they are so simple and too detail. It is what on Christopher's mind. His left brain is dominant while his right brain, where the emotions are, is not well developed. As a result, he loves math, logic, and everything that is organized and in order. Meanwhile, he doesn't like being touched, can't understand facial expression, and emotionally numb.

It is fun to read this book as it gives you different point of view of this world. After reading this book, you will know how the information around us are being absorbed differently by the mind of an autism boy. You will also know better why they don't like mixing up with people, don't like visiting new places, and sometimes being cruel to ordinary people.

Overall, this is a good book to read on your spare time.
September 17, 2005

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