Marcelo in the Real World

'Marcelo in the Real World' is a beautiful, affecting novel about a teenager's coming of age and learning about `the real world'. Though it is categorised as a YA book, readers of all ages could enjoy and appreciate it, not least for the excellent writing and intriguing plot, which pulls you in and keeps you reading to the last page.Marcelo Sandoval is a teenager with an Asperger's-like condition, who has always attended a special school, where his differences have been understood and respected. However, his sheltered existence is thrown into disarray one summer when his father Arturo arranges for Marcelo to work in a law firm and experience `the real world'. Marcelo reluctantly agrees, and is drawn into a world he finds barely comprehensible: a world of frustration, envy, and lies, but also of friendship and hope.What surprises and impresses me most about this novel is the way in which Stork gets into Marcelo's head and makes him real and sympathetic. It never feels forced or unnatural, despite Marcelo's anomalies (he hears internal music, and is fascinated with religion, to the extent that he frequently meets with a Rabbi, despite not being Jewish). As the summer wears on, Marcelo is introduced to the real world in both its alluring and ugly aspects: he finds himself becoming attracted to his co-worker Jasmine, an experience which he cannot quite comprehend in conventional terms, and is also caught up in a moral dilemma which will have an effect on his own future happiness.The emotional stakes are raised considerably when Marcelo runs into this two-pronged ethical predicament. Firstly, he finds himself being effectively blackmailed by his co-worker Wendell, whose ugly attitude to women and sex shocks the innocent, gentle Marcelo. Then, he is shocked (as we are) to discover that his father's firm is engaged in a morally questionable lawsuit. Marcelo could take the path of least resistance and bury his head in the sand, or he could stick his neck out, risking his own future happiness, and do what he believes to be right.The writing is beautiful throughout, exquisitely evoking Marcelo's inner life and situation. Stork often hits the nail on the head in terms of describing an emotion: `In my chest, I feel a twang - a discordant note, like when the string on a guitar breaks in the middle of a song.' We watch Marcelo's progress through the real world and worry for him; however emotionally invested we feel in Marcelo as a character, we see clearly - as he occasionally does not - the consequences of the unfolding situation, and are desperate for everything to work out for him.The religious references may not be to everyone's taste, but they shouldn't put anyone off reading this lovely book. This is a journey into a world which is simultaneously unfamiliar and everyday, and is both entertaining and rewarding. Highly recommended.

3.5 StarsSeventeen year old Marcelo (pronounced "Marselo") is described as having an "autism-like" condition. That's as close as doctors can come to defining his unique gift of being able to hear music where no one else can. Unfortunately for Marcelo, his father doesn't see anything particularly rare or special about his son's gift. Instead, the father pushes Marcelo to take a job in the mailroom of his law firm --- dad's reasoning being that the position will teach Marcelo useful skills about "the real world" and put him on the path to success, rather than let his mind run away with creative dreamer fancies.Once in the mailroom environment, Marcelo meets and befriends the lovely Jasmine and Wendell, the son of one of the partners at the law firm. As his father anticipated, the first days were an experience for Marcelo, to say the least, as another "autism-like" trait that Marcelo displays is a struggle with interpreting facial expressions. But thanks to classes Marcelo attends to help him learn tips & tricks to help him out with this (instruction in voice inflection, speech patterns, and the like), it actually doesn't take him too long to find his way. It's a tough time for the reader though. We have to watch Marcelo navigate around co-workers who assume he's mentally incompetent, or those who try to bully or take advantage of him because he can't immediate recognize that he is being tricked. This is the "real world" his father so desperately wanted him to be a part of... thanks, dad!Marcelo develops a love for religious texts and often turns to reading or reciting scripture to himself to calm his nerves when the world starts to overwhelm him. At one point, he finds himself unexpectedly caught up in one of his father's most important legal cases, one that will push Marcelo to fight for what he believes in, regardless of what others around him might say.After being published in 2009, in 2010 this novel was awarded the Schneider Family Book Award for Teen Fiction, an award that recognizes fiction that focuses on characters with disabilities.I've come across pages of glowing reviews for this one, and while I did very much enjoy it, I can't comfortably join the 5 star crowd here. The story had some dents for me. I loved Marcelo, the way his mind worked and his unique style of interacting with others even if he didn't (admittedly) always understand all the unspoken social cues. Something in that I found myself relating to quite a bit. His friendship with Jasmine is sweet & lovely and I found myself wishing he and Wendell could get on a bit better. So the characters undeniably spoke to me on some level. My trouble was with the writing. Some of the characters came off just a little too weirdly staccato in their speech and mannerisms for my enjoyment. The flow of things just felt a shade off from natural. In Marcelo's case it's understandable and almost expected, given that he's been diagnosed with a "autism-like" condition, but that doesn't explain the other characters!Also, if I'm being honest with my reading experience... there was just something a little... lackluster maybe?... with the plot as a whole, as far as pace and plot action. I was all about this story in the early pages! Those first few chapters definitely had me hooked. But this was one of those books where I could feel my love and interest of it slowly trickling down instead of racing up. Reading pages on end and then realizing later, "you know, that was actually a whole lotta nothing going on"... and the book's not even that long! Still, I did quite like Stork's message here -- the way Marcelo finds his own voice in a sea of so many others telling him what he needs or what he should do --- it made me curious to try out some of Stork's other works just to compare, so I now have a couple on order. Even with the elements I myself found problematic, I would still solidly recommend this to anyone looking for YA reads featuring the theme of autism and enhanced abilities.

Buen libro y además en inglés...

Great read and an eye opener for autism

My book of th year

It's not that good as i expected but it's just ok!

かなり早く届いたので、読書会（ブッククラブ）の日まで余裕を持って読むことができました。感謝です。