Postcard For Reader

Marcelo In The Real World

Marcelo In The Real World
Author: Fransisco X. Stork
Series: ---
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
How Received: publisher ARC

Marcelo Sandoval hears music no one else can hear--part of the autism-like impairment no doctor has been able to identify--and he's always attended a special school where his differences have been protected. But the summer after his junior year, his father demands that Marcelo work in his law firm's mailroom in order to experience "the real world." There Marcelo meets Jasmine, his beautiful and surprising coworker, and Wendell, the son of another partner in the firm.

He learns about competition and jealousy, anger and desire. But it's a picture he finds in a file -- a picture of a girl with half a face -- that truly connects him with the real world: its suffering, its injustice, and what he can do to fight.
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Marcelo In The Real World was one of those books that I kept saying I would get around to reading and then pushed off because of other, shinier books that were lurking nearby. When you're repainting your room and have boxes of books that you can't go through, though, you tend to grab what's at the top; Marcelo's story was what I grabbed.

I'm sad I procrastinated reading this. It's a fantastic book with absolutely lovable characters - I didn't want to put it down. Marcelo is absolutely adorable; completely innocent and thoughtful and wonderful. Does he have a slight mental disorder? Sure. But I much prefer him to every other male in the book. (When you read the book, I'm sure you'll agree.)

I liked Jasmine a lot; when you discover how she (kind of) got her job, you headdesk a little, because you like and respect her enough as a character to have wanted something different. (That's all I can say without being spoilery.) But I loved her character and I love how everything with her and Marcelo and the other characters wrapped up at the end.

The writing is b-e-a-utiful. (Bruce Almighty reference? Anybody? Oh, okay.) Really, though; the writing IS beautiful. I love how Stork was able to show the way that Marcelo thought about the world without making him seem like a moron, like I feel a lot of writers could have.

Overall Rating & Final Comments: 10/10. A beautifully written book with beautiful characters that could change the way you see the world.
Cover Notes: Um, SO GORGEOUS! And it ties into the book fantastically.