WARNING: This story contains the use of the ‘r’ word, guns, and sexual innuendos
Colin Fischer cannot stand to be touched. He does not like the color blue. He needs index cards to recognize facial expressions.
But when a gun is found in the school cafeteria, interrupting a female classmate’s birthday celebration, Colin is the only for the investigation. It’s up to him to prove that Wayne Connelly, the school bully, and Colin’s frequent tormenter, didn’t bring the gun to school. After all, Wayne didn’t have frosting on his hands, and white chocolate frosting was found on the grip of the smoking gun.
The story starts with Colin getting his head forced into a toilet by Wayne Connelly, the school bully. This is an act of assault. You could seriously hurt or even kill someone doing this.
While I love Colin’s character, he isn’t the best representation of an autistic person. Not everyone on the spectrum is a genius. I don’t think the authors have any real-life experience with the condition.
Colin does have a few of the classic autistic traits:
- Had to be taught how to interact with others
- Not great with facial expressions
- Thinks differently than others
- Doesn’t like being touched
- Info dumping about subjects he likes
I like reading from the point of view of someone so intelligent. They make compelling observations about the world around them. I found Colin’s observations of his peers particularly fascinating. He observed them like animals in the wild, taking detailed notes in his notebook.
About 25% of this book is Colin spouting trivial facts. Each chapter starts with a passage from his notebook describing various subjects like mathematical studies, psychological studies, and sharks. Along with footnotes, adding additional information, I learned many new things. Like the origins of the term ‘peanut gallery,’ the ancient people of the American Southwest, and fractal geometry.
The P.E. teacher, Mr. Turrentine, was one of my favorite characters. At first, he seems like he was going to be the stereotypical loud, no-sympathy gym teacher. He doesn’t cut Colin any slack and pushes him to participate. He even teaches him how to throw a basketball. It was refreshing to see a gym teacher who actually teaches his students.
This story was written in 2012, and sadly, there is no sequel, which is a shame because it has the potential to be a series.