the curious Incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon

Whenever I mention the book House Rules to people they ask if me I've read this book by Mark Haddon. So I decided to get it from the library. It is also a book about a boy with Asperger's Syndrome. It's another interesting look into the mind of an Autistic. Christopher seems to be lower functioning than Jacob in House Rules. He attends a special school and can't go further than the corner store by himself whereas Jacob functioned in a normal school setting and seemed somewhat more able to function in the world at large. However Christopher appears to have an even higher IQ than Jacob. His references to Science and Maths made no sense to me at all. Of course those are my worst subjects so even long division throws me *LOL* This book is written as if it is Christopher writing it. I found it a bit more difficult to read because Mark Haddon is British and it takes some time getting around the everyday words that Brits use as compared to what we use.

Christopher discovers the body of his neighbour's poodle stabbed - killed - with a garden fork and he is determined to play detective and figure out who killed the dog. His teacher suggests that he write a diary which will become a detective book. It's difficult for him because he wants to interview people, like the neighbour next door, but he doesn't know her and therefore she is a stranger and he has been told not to talk to strangers.

It's an interesting read because of the way he views the world, the way he organizes his thoughts and the way he interprets things. He comes to the conclusion that his father killed the dog and that frightens him. He thinks his father is a murderer and will murder him too. Therefore he decides to run away to London to live with his mother. His journey is frightening to him, when things get too overwhelming he closes his eyes and puts his head down and groans. I understand this. My son groans when he is nervous although he doesn't shut himself off like Christopher does.

Even though he is frightened he comes up with some unique ways to protect his psyche.. like hiding on a luggage rack to get away from a policeman and the crowds on the train. He does manage to ask the right questions and be able to deduce how to get to the right trains that will take him where he needs to go.

I found myself feeling very hyper while reading this book. It was better if I made sure I didn't read it right before bedtime. It was so well written that I really could identify with Christopher and that left me feeling anxious as well.

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

I loved this book. It was recommended to me by someone who knows that I have a son with Aspergers Syndrome. Jodi's portrayal of what her characters life is like seems very well researched.

Jacob is 18 years old and his obsession is forensic science. He has an extremely high IQ but his Aspergers makes life difficult for him. His favorite show is CrimeBusters and he watches it every day at 4:30. He writes notes as he watches, he knows which episode numbers relate to what case and everything that happened on the show. And yet he watches them over and over and takes notes each time. He doesn't quite grasp the fact that the show will always end the same way. 

When his tutor is murdered Jacob is arrested and put in jail. Anyone who knows anything about Aspergers knows that went over like a lead balloon and caused a reversion in his behaviours. 

This book was difficult to read. My son is not like Jacob. No two Asperger individuals will be alike. My son doesn't have a high IQ but unlike Jacob he does have a driver's license. Of course we had to wait until he was 20 before we felt it was safe for him to learn to drive. He has had his license for almost 10 years now and no accidents. In many ways he functions better day to day than Jacob but the similarities, the problems socially, misreading cues, etc. are all too familiar to me. 

It's my hope that people who don't know about this Syndrome will read the book and it will become better known. It's an "invisible disorder". People who meet my son think he is shy or eccentric but other than that "normal" in their view of normal. 

Keeping The House by Ellen Baker

This was a fun book with enough mystery to make it a page turner. The story spans 3 generations and two World Wars. The Michelson house sits high on a hill looking down on it's neighbours, as do the inhabitants of the house. The house is said to be cursed because it was built on the grave of an indian princess who had committed suicide by throwing herself into the Bear Creek River. 

When the main character, Dolly Magnuson, is introduced she has just moved to Pine Rapids with her new husband Byron. It is 1950 and I find the life of a 1950 housewife funny, she had an apron shower - she has 40 aprons and always wears one that matches her dress when she serves dinner. But at the same time, in today's terms, her husband is a total jerk like when he complains that there were no freshly ironed shirts in his closet for him to wear and that it's Dolly's job to make sure he always has freshly laundered and ironed shirts. They were in fact ironed, but Dolly had forgotten to bring them up from the basement which, in her eyes, was a failure to be a proper wife. 

When Dolly arrives in Pine Rapids the Mickleson house is empty and badly in need of TLC. Dolly believes that if she and Byron could buy that house and she could fix it up that it would improve their marriage and they would be happier than they are living in their small bungalow.

The ensuing story takes us back to the beginning when the house was built and through two generations of the experiences and losses of the Mickleson family. At the same time we follow Dolly to her women's meeting where she learns more about the house via the gossip mill. 

I love books with a twist and this book has one heck of a twist about 3/4 of the way through. 

This is Ellen Baker's first novel and if this is any indication of her writing ability she's going to be a force to be reckoned with by her fellow authors. 

It's up to the reader to ask themselves if the house really is cursed or if the inhabitants used the story of the curse to excuse their bad deeds and behaviours. 

Fatally Flakey by Diane Mott Davidson

This is Diane's 15th book in the Goldy the Caterer series. I really enjoyed this one. I've read all of her books now and was actually was kind of able to figure out what the mystery was that caused the death of old Dr. Finn and Goldy's godfather Jack when I was a little over half way through the book. The murderer, however, was a different story and a huge surprise. On the other hand it also answered a whole lot of questions that made mego "hmmm."  One thing about a series too is being able to see the characters grow. Goldy's son Arch who was only about 6 or 7 when the first book was written is now 16 and has his driver's license. It's like watching my own kids grow again. They say that Sarah Graves Home Repair Homicide Mysteries are like Diane Mott Davidson with a hammer. It's very true. Their writing styles are similar and both series are really enjoyable.

Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

I'm listing this book under the name it is published as in the Untied States. I don't find the Canadian name offensive because I am white and because the name of the book refers to an archival genealogy document, it is not meant to offend. Lawrence Hill lives in Manitoba and he is black. The Canadian name of the book is The Book of Negroes. For a first book it is absolutely amazing. My only disappointment was when I reached the end of the book only to discover that his main character was fictional. I grew very attached to her. I admired her courage, her intelligence, her choices and I cried with her disappointments and losses. Hopefully someone like her did actually exist even in a composite of different women.

She was kidnapped from her home in 1745 and sold in South Carolina. She eventually made her way to New York State. This was during the American Revolution. The English held Manhatten for many years before they surrendered. A part of the deal when they did surrender was that any blacks that had worked for the British for at least a year were given free passage, unmolested by previous owners, to Nova Scotia where they were promised land of their own. This is where the Book of Negroes comes into play. A list of names and descriptions was made of all those who were eligible to leave on ships going to Nova Scotia. The original document is in Kew, London, England and there are films available in archives in Canada and perhaps the US. Of course the promise of land never materialized in Nova Scotia however the people were free. They were then invited to colonize Sierra Leone in Africa. Again they were promised land... which never materialized but again they were free and they were back home where they belonged.

Our main character then travelled to Britain in 1802 to work with Abolitionists in London. This is where I so wanted her to be real. Her story was told to Parliament and in the book did make a difference. She was reunited with her daughter who had been taken from her many years earlier. It just was a very happy ending.

It was difficult to read this book because of the cruelty brought to light. But I believe it is good for us to read about these things, not in a straight history book, but in a novel where we can see how it affected an individual. It would be nice if a movie or series was one day made from the book similar to the Roots series.

Crawlspace - Sarah Graves

I read this book in about 4 days. Sarah Graves is just getting better and better when it comes to suspense. This was another kidnapping but the circumstances were completely different from the last book. And this book took place mostly on the water instead of on land. The water around Eastport Maine is treacherous for small boats, lots of whirlpools, undercurrents and rocks not to mention large (huge) ships. And, of course, fog in the Fall.

A Crime Author from "away" arrives at the island with her assistant only to be kidnapped before they even check into the hotel. Her assistant, Chip, notifies the police the next morning. Police Chief Bob Arnold is skeptical but when Jake finds that her son Sam is missing as well it begins to appear more and more that both of them were kidnapped by the same person. Jake for a change does what she's told, through most of the book anyway, and stays at home waiting for phone calls. Chip meanwhile "borrows" a boat to go looking for them without telling anyone where he's gone. With Chip not being a main character you know he can die at any point. This makes it more suspenseful when he's out on unknown waters in the fog, at night, with the engine broken down and nothing to paddle with cause the oars broke. He'd have no idea which way to paddle because he can't see any lights through the fog.

See why I couldn't put it down? And that was the latest book in her series! She's left me waiting with baited breath for her next one which probably won't come out until the Fall or early 2011 if she decides to write a next one. Please, please, please, Sarah. Keep writing.

A Face at the Window by Sarah Graves

This is Sarah Graves 12th book in her "Home Repair is Homicide" series. I have to say it's my very favorite of her books, so far. I'm sure I said that before about one of her other books cause I've really enjoyed all of them.

Jake has given a very simple written statement about what she remembers from the night her mother died. Seeing as she was only 3 years old she didn't remember much but one thing that she wrote down is enough to go a long way towards convicting Ozzie Campbell, the true killer of her mother. But Jake doesn't know that until she starts receiving threatening phone calls. The next day Ellie's daughter and her daycare provider are kidnapped. Jake has to find them and, naturally, this puts herself in danger as well.

This was a sit on the edge of your seat book. Sarah Graves obviously knows how to use the literary art of switching from one set of characters in trouble to another. So you finish a chapter with a suspensful thought only to find the next chapter is devoted to the other character who is elsewhere. This results in you carrying the book around reading and doing housework at the same time.