The Buzz...About Books

The Rosie Project by Graeme C. Simsion is the story of Don Tillman, a  thirty-nine year old professor of genetics and his quest to find a wife.  Don is not great at dating.  In fact, he's not really good at personal interactions in general (he may have undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome).    When a chance encounter gives him the idea to design a
questionnaire (sixteen-pages in length!), he figures that if he uses science, he should find the perfect match.  

Soon after beginning The Wife Project, Don meets Rosie.  Rosie Jarman does not meet any of Don's Wife Project criteria.  She's a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, she does not like math and she is chronically late.  While not a suitable candidate for the Wife Project, she is interesting, fiesty, intelligent and in need of  his help.  She's looking for her biological father, which is something that he can help her with, as he is an expert on DNA.   So, with The Wife Project on hold, Don and Rosie set off on The Father Project together.  This takes them to places that neither one of them ever expected.   A delightful and heart-warming story that will have you chuckling through the twists and turns of Don and Rosie's relationship. The Rosie Project is also available in  eBook.

The Rosie Project has been compared to Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time as both books feature characters who have Autism Spectrum Disorder.  When Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old autistic math genius,  discovers the dead body of his neighbor's poodle, Wellington,  he decides to find the killer.   This is not the only mystery Christopher needs to solve.  While Christopher has been told that his mother died two years
ago, Siobhan, his social worker, reacts with
surprise when Christopher mentions her death.   As he begins to solve the mystery
of Wellington's death he also begins to unveil the answers to questions in his
own life. 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is also available in:
• Large Print
• Audiobook
• eBook
• eAudiobook
• Talking Book (restricted to print disabled patrons)

Another book with an autistic main character is Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stor. Marcelo Sandoval is a seventeen-year-old boy on the high-functioning end
of the autistic spectrum.   So he can experience the 'real world', his father arranges for him to begin working in the mailroom of a
corporate law firm.  Here he meets Jasmine and Wendell, the son of another partner of the firm.  During the summer, Marcelo faces new challenges and learns about new things, such as love, jealous, romance and injustice.   Marcelo in the Real World is also available in Audiobook.