Last week when I flew to the West Coast I picked out the YA novel Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork as one of my designated "plane reads" for the six-hour flight. Or, so I thought before making the mistake of cracking it open the night before I left. Instead, I found myself putting off packing for hours to feverishly follow Marcelo's story until the words became too blurry to read.

Needless to say, I would highly recommend this book at any time of the year, but it seems especially appropriate for April as National Autism Awareness month. Really, I can't think of a better way to raise teens' (or, for that matter, anyone's) awareness about what it means to live with autism — particularly Asberger's Syndrome — than to introduce them to Marcelo Sandoval. Set in the summer before his senior year of high school, Marcelo's father Arturo has made a deal that requires Marcelo to leave the accommodating environment of Paterson, a special school for students with disabilities, and work in the mail room of his father's law firm, a.k.a. "the real world."

It's there Marcelo encounters his first love interest, ethical blurriness and a flawed side of his father that he had never seen before. If this sounds like a summary of most teenage years, therein lies the beauty of Stork's storytelling. Told through Marcelo's voice, you feel him at once hyper-conscious of his differences, and yet still struggling to overcome them to relate to his new friends and authority figures. Not too far a stretch from how most of us felt as teens trying to combat insecurities while navigating our way through high school, a.k.a. the real world. Yes, Marcelo's obstacles may be more formidable than most high schoolers', but still, the dilemmas he faces as a young adult and the frustration he experiences, are all too universal.

There are plenty of glowing reviews out there to reinforce my endorsement (Becky of Becky's books lists a few worth reading on her own review), but the most compelling case is made when Marcelo speaks for himself.

For more coverage of YA books and publishing, check out the Ypulse Books Channel sponsored by The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (LB Teens).

Categorized under: Books & Print

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