A 12-year-old Londoner with something like Asperger's syndrome narrates this page-turner, which grabs readers from the beginning and doesn't let go. As Ted and his older sister Katrina watch, their visiting cousin Salim boards a "pod" for a ride on the London Eye, a towering tourist attraction with a 360-degree view of the city-but unlike his fellow passengers, Salim never comes down. He has vanished. At the outset Ted explains that he has cracked the case: "Having a funny brain that runs on a different operating system from other people's helped me to figure out what happened." The tension lies in the implicit challenge to solve the mystery ahead of Ted, who turns his intense observational powers on the known facts, transforming his unnamed disability into an investigative tool while the adults' emotions engulf them. Dowd ratchets up the stakes repeatedly: is a boy in the morgue Salim? Has he drowned? Been kidnapped? Katrina and Ted work together to solve the puzzle, developing new respect for each other. The author wryly locates the humor as Ted wrangles with his symptoms (learning to lie represents progress) but also allows Ted an ample measure of grace. Comparisons to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time are inevitable-this release was delayed when Mark Haddon's book (from the same publisher) became a bestseller-but Dowd makes clearer overtures to younger readers. Just as impressive as Dowd's recent debut, A Swift Pure Cry , and fresh cause to mourn her premature death this year. Ages 8-12. (Feb.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
Gr 5-8- Ted and Kat lose their cousin Salim at the London Eye sightseeing attraction, "the largest observation wheel ever built." Given a free ticket by a stranger, Salim enters the ride, but he never emerges. Guilty about their part in the bungled outing, the siblings trace scraps of information that illuminate the boy's disappearance. Ted, who is something of an enigma himself, narrates the story. He has a neurological cross wiring that results in an encyclopedic brain and a literal view of the world. He finds it hard to read motivations and emotions, but excels at clue tracing and deduction. Kat, his older sister, deplores his odd behaviors but relies on his analytic brain while she does the legwork. The result is a dense mystery tied together with fully fleshed out characters and a unique narrator. Good mysteries for kids are rare, and this offering does the genre proud. London Eye is the best sort, throwing out scads of clues for discerning readers to solve the mystery themselves. Add to that Ted's literal translation of our world, his distanced view of an alien landscape of human interactions, and the ways he gains a better understanding of that world through the course of the novel, and the story is even more noteworthy. Suggest this as a read-alike to fans of Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer (Scholastic, 2004) or Lauren Tarshis's Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree (Dial, 2007).-Caitlin Augusta, The Darien Library, CT
Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
When Ted's cousin Salim visits London, he insists on riding "The London Eye," an immense observation wheel. A stranger gives Salim a free ticket; Salim enters a passenger capsule; 30 minutes later, when the capsule returns from its rotation, Salim has vanished. What follows is an intricate mystery, related from the unique point of view of 12-year-old Ted, who has Asperger's Syndrome. Ted is a brilliant but literal thinker who sees things in things in terms of mathematical probabilities. His brain, though differently wired, is as efficient as a computer. It is precisely the logical mind needed to solve the mystery, and it saves Salim's life. This is a well-constructed puzzle, and mystery lovers will delight in connecting the clues, but what makes this a riveting read is Ted's voice. He is bright, honest, brave and very funny about his "syndrome" (his teacher has given him a cartoon code for recognizing the five basic emotions). The message, grippingly delivered, is that kids, even differently abled ones, are worth paying attention to. (Fiction. 9-14)
Starred review, Publishers Weekly , December 3, 2007: "Grabs readers from the beginning and doesn't let go."Starred review, Booklist , January 1, 2008: “Everything rings true here, the family relationships, the quirky connections of Starred review, Kirkus Reviews , December 15, 2007: “This is a well-constructed puzzle, and mystery lovers will delight in connecting the clues.”Starred review, School Library Journal , February 2008: “A dense mystery tied together with fully fleshed out characters and a unique narrator.”Starred review, The Horn Book , May/June 2008: “The best mysteries have at their centers gifted but very human sleuths—their abilities balanced by equally significant flaws or idiosyncrasies. This one is no exception.
A disorder similar to Asperger’s syndrome renders 12-year-old Ted an unlikely but completely endearing sleuth in this engrossing story. When his cousin disappears at an amusement park, Ted's disability is turned to an advantage as he methodically sets out to find out what happened. With his stilted but appropriately robotic delivery, narrator Alex Kalajzic completely becomes Ted and just as skillfully handles Kat, Ted's brash teenage sister. He skillfully alternates between characters of different ages, accents, and social classes, and is competent with female voices. A compelling story with lots of red herrings combined with Kalajzic’s ability to create vivid characters immerses the listener in this exceptional listening experience. M.H.N. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
FEBRUARY 2009 - AudioFile
