I imagine anyone who knows someone who is autistic would find this a compelling read. I actually don't have this connection in my life, and I still thought this was an amazing book. She did a great job addressing autistic issues while presenting a really good story. My only criticism is that not all of the plot twists really worked, it was almost a case of trying to do too much. I got through this rather quickly, and despite some of the flaws in plot, I still couldn't help but keep reading to find out what really happened.

Share/Like this Review?

this book was on the table at the domicile for $1 for cancer awareness fundraising. it was worth a TON more. it is definitely in my top 10 favorite books. a beautiful, sad, horrifying story of an autistic boy who witnesses the murder of a schoolmate. half of the characters in the story are children/adults with special needs. the story reads from different perspectives and the murderer isnt revealed into far into the book. the story is not so much about the murderer, but about trying to figure out how to communicate with those who dont have language or a limited ability, and how we all struggle through life with our different demons. there was so much i could relate to, as my niece has special needs and my sister is raising her on her own, as was the mother in this story. the author of the novel has a son with autism so it reads as non-fiction. she is extremely educated on dealing with a child with autism and the story is so believable. the characters struggles, her sons struggles, and the struggles of everyone in the novel are so real. a great great read.

Share/Like this Review?

I'm not a fast reader by any means and I read this in one weekend. I work with developmentally delayed children and the idea of a book centered on an autistic boy who witnessed a murder intrigued me. The author is the mother of an autistic child and so accurately portrays the ins and outs of autism and the effects it has on the family. All characters are very well developed, secondary storylines converge just at the right time, and well, everything about this book just works. Am so much looking forward to reading another novel by this author.

Share/Like this Review?

Great book for those who have had any experience with autism. This book keeps you guessing 'til the very end. I loved it. Quick and easy read

Share/Like this Review?

Having an autistic step son and being a retired special education teacher, I was very anxious to read this book. I loved it. It is very realistic in its description of autism. The characters are true to life and the plot is very interesting. It is hard to put down and keeps the reader very interested in the mystery as it unravels.

Share/Like this Review?

The students of Woodside Elementary School often spend their recesses playing games as children will do. As the innocent youngsters spend their time waging mock battles on the playground, they are blissfully unaware that soon the real world will intrude into their sheltered world and shatter their childhood happiness forever. And the consequences of such a vicious crime will shake this tiny, close knit community to its very core.

During one particular recess, a little girl and boy - two students - seem to vanish without a trace. Upon further investigation, it soon comes to light that both children were last seen heading across the soccer field toward the woods behind the school. They were last seen together, but witnesses claim not to know what could have happened to them.

Hours pass before only one of them, a nine-year-old autistic boy named Adam, is found alive. Discovered several yards away from the little girl's body, hiding in the sheltering undergrowth, Adam is apparently the sole witness to an incomprehensible killing. Barely verbal on the best of days, Adam has since retreated into his own silent world, unable to tell anyone else what he witnessed.

Adam's mother Cara has an intimate knowledge of her son's mannerisms and attitude, and she knows of Adam's secret, silent, insulated world only too well. With her community still reeling from the shock and her son unable to help the police in their investigation, it falls to Cara to become Adam's voice as she tries to decode the puzzling events. Yet in her desperate desire to protect her son from the various cruelties of life - both inadvertent and deliberate - has Cara somehow made his world a much more dangerous place?

When another child suddenly goes missing, Adam's mother redoubles her efforts to interpret the potential clues. Cara realizes that only she can unlock her son's silence to provide the police with the clues that they need to catch a killer. She knows that when she is finally able to interpret the changes in Adam's behavior, she will not only understand how to better help him deal with the trauma of having witnessed his best friend's murder, she will also have helped the police to solve an horrendous crime. Yet as Cara moves closer to exposing the truth of what happened, her own unsettling past begins to emerge from the shadows.

I thought this was really an excellent book. In my opinion, this was an intriguing and well-written story with a well-developed and fast-paced plot. I found that there was a vibrant poignancy to Ms. McGovern's writing, and I found myself learning and understanding more about the hardships and struggles faced by the parents of autistic children. I could really empathize with Cara and the various difficulties that she had raising her son. I would certainly give this book an A! and definitely will be on the lookout for more books by Cammie McGovern.

Share/Like this Review?

Pretty interesting book especially about the Autism aspects

Share/Like this Review?

Nice story about an autistic boy who witnesses the murder of a classmate.

Share/Like this Review?

I started this one but it just did not grab me, a real disappointment I am sorry to say!

Share/Like this Review?

I really liked this book...until I was about 2/3 of the way through. The beginning was very engrossing, and I wanted to find out what would happen. Then, about 2/3 of the way through, it seemed like the writing just crumbled. In the conversation with the author following the book, she writes that she kept changing and rewriting the book, including who ended up being the killer...and it felt that way when reading the ending. It felt like she kept changing her mind. So, overall, a nice book, but the ending was disappointing.

Share/Like this Review?

I loved this book! The story was well written and I was drawn to the characters from the first chapter. It was interesting not only because it is a murder mystery but also because the relationship between the mother and son is so moving. I highly reccomend this book!

Share/Like this Review?