Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Best Boy by Eli Gottlieb

Todd Aaron has been a resident of the Payton Living Center for almost forty years. Todd has autism and was brought to Payton as a teenager by his mother. Todd's only family now is his brother, Nate, who comes to visit a few times a year. Todd's life has recently become complicated by a new roommate, with whom he clashes, and a recent hire named Mike Hinton, who reminds Todd of his abusive father. How will Todd handle the changes in his life? Best Boy, with Todd as the narrator, takes the reader inside the mind of someone with autism.  A compelling read similar to Patricia Wood's Lottery.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

It's. Nice. Outside. by Jim Kokoris

John Nichols is on a road trip from Chicago to South Carolina to attend his oldest daughter Karen's wedding. Accompanying him is his nineteen-year-old son, Ethan, who has autism. Travelling with Ethan is so difficult that John feels they can only drive several hours each day. In fact, living with Ethan has put a strain on everyone in the family, and John and his wife, Mary, divorced after he had an affair. John also has a secret agenda for this trip, a spot has opened up at a group home in Maine for Ethan to live full time. Mary and John agreed a while ago that the place is perfect for Ethan. They just didn't expect an opening so soon. How will the family let Ethan go after he has been such a huge part of their lives for so many years? Kokoris has written a realistic, at times humorous, look at how each member of a family is affected by living with a special needs child.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Blood Relative by David Thomas

Peter Crookham runs a very successful architectural practice with his German-born wife, Mariana. One afternoon he arrives home from work to find Mariana covered in blood--it appears that she has murdered Peter's brother, Andy. Peter and Mariana are taken to the police station, but soon Peter is let go and Mariana is put in a psychiatric hospital, because it seems that she's suffered some type of psychotic breakdown. Peter realizes that if he can uncover the motive behind Andy's death he'll be able to find out if Mariana is guilty. Peter's investigation leads him to look into Mariana's youth in what was then East Germany. Blood Relative is a thriller in the style of Harlan Coben and keeps the reader guessing until the end.