purple_librarian's review against another edition

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adventurous informative reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This book made me very sad. 

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mermaidstears's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny informative reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

it was nice to read a book with an autistic main character and attempting to understand how they work and perceive the world. It was a good book with interesting views. 

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chrisljm's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

not a mystery, just mostly about how shitty christopher’s parents are 

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stories's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative inspiring tense medium-paced

4.0

Reread for the first time since highschool. It’s fascinating what I remembered
Spoiler eg who killed Wellington
and what I didn’t
Spoiler eg everything surrounding Mother


It is very much still well written - captures an autistic voice so clearly and is highly engaging. 

Swearing and family relations make it imo inappropriate for primary. Particularly
Spoiler Christopher’s father


Not my taste, but a solid novel. I’m struck, as I believe I was as a kid, primarily by the sheer, overwhelming bravery of Christopher. Definitely a theme to unpack, alongside truth/honesty and conflict/order.

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kateausten's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0


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lara_r's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Surprising plot twists

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sarahkinney's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

While in 2003, the book was praised for autistic representation - the author's claim that he did not research the topic while writing the book is apparent while reading. Despite this, the book is an easy read, with a unique writing style and the twist is presented excellently. 

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trippalli's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

An inspiring story narrated by an autistic teenager as he navigates large challenges and solves a mystery. Clever and respectful, this book pots you in that boys shoes and is a unique book narrator that is both eloquent and engaging.

The trigger warnings are from an autistic perspective so while still can be upsetting these have a uniquely informative perspective, less emotional upset and more logical analysis of situations and disgust at things that trigger the narrator, and there narrator's response to being upset.

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rucha_s's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The best thing about this book was the narration from the POV of a protagonist who is autistic. It made the reading challenging, confusing, frustrating but simultaneously rewarding. Mark Haddon has done a remarkable job of creating one of the most memorable protagonists I've come across and that singular point makes this a dazzling read. 

Now for what I didn't find appealing - That this book is classified as a murder mystery, however, the murderer is revealed at about the 50% mark which was way too soon! Once this reveal occurs, it is all about another subplot, which although in itself is rather interesting, it also kind of takes away the essence of the book being a murder mystery :/ 

Final words - Worth a read simply for the character of Christopher Boone. Also worth noting that the narration is lacking the usual sentence structure and punctuation - that is just to add to the authenticity of the experience, however, some readers might find this off putting. Do skip this book if you're looking for an easy feel good read. While it is feel good, it is certainly not an easy read. 

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jennalynn48's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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