I just read the last few lines of Mindblind by Jennifer Roy. Mindblind is
an amazing book about four-teen year old Nathaniel a profoundly gifted young man with Asperger's Syndrome. Nathaniel loves formulas because they make sense to him-unlike the real world where he's forced to live in when he comes out of his "Aspie" world. Formulas are his friends but along the way he learns that they are not his only friends. He is beyond smart- though not quite a genius-a fact that irks him despite his 182 IQ. At 14. he's already gone to college and is taking a year off to decide where he wants to go to graduate school. He plays keyboard methodically in a band with three other "normal" kids, loves "The Amazing Race", and would rather be alone at home where he lives with his lovely mother-in the controlled environment of his own room, rather than spend his weekends with his egotistic father-even if his little brother makes him laugh.
This book is told from Nathaniel's perspective in a very well done first person that gives an amazing glance into the mind of a child with Asperger's syndrome where he understands that he his "mindblind" (has a hard time understanding what other people think or mean) but tries to work through it even if he'd rather go off into his own mind and world where he's the normal one and everything makes sense. Despite his mindblindness Nathaniel is able to care and love and develop meaningful friendships and relationships with friends and family members. I highly recommend this book for his wonderful dialogue, quirky characters, and unique way the story is told.
Mindblind was recommended to me by literary agent Mark McVeigh during a webinar about perfecting the first chapter called "Nailing Your First Chapter" if you're a writer or aspire to be one, I highly recommend this webinar.
