Mindblind

by Jennifer Roy

Overview

Fourteen-year-old Nathaniel Clark lives in two worlds—the outside world of his family and friends and his own, special, inside Aspie world, where he’s not forced to interact with people or worry about wearing his clothes right-side out. The world where he can solve mathematical problems that elude even the brightest graduate students. The world where he feels he can find his own inner truth. People say he’s a genius, but Nathaniel thinks differently. According to a book he once read, a true genius uses his talent to make a contribution to the world. Nathaniel takes the definition literally, and begins his quest for genius status. “I will start, right after I wash the chocolate off my face. If I want to be seen as a genius, I should not look like an idiot.” Nathaniel has a sky-high IQ and perfect SAT scores, but Jennifer Roy and her husband, Greg, have a remarkable 8-year-old son, Adam, who not only inspired the character of Nathaniel Clark, but also created the “Amazing Race” charts and the narrative at the back of MindBlind.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781477817124
Publisher:	Amazon Publishing
Publication date:	03/05/2013
Pages:	254
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Jennifer Roy and her husband, Greg, have a remarkable 8-year-old son, Adam, who not only inspired the character of Nathaniel Clark, but also created the “Amazing Race” charts and narrative at the back of MindBlind.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 6–10—Imagine you have a photographic memory but can't read everyday social cues; you can understand quantum physics, but cannot understand a mother's need to give you a hug. Imagine your happiest moments are spent in your room with your computer, but your mother and your therapist make you venture out into society on a daily basis. Nathaniel, a 14-year-old with Asperger's syndrome, faces these dilemmas and more. Mindblind is told in his voice, making use of memory flashbacks that he has coded much like files on a computer. He is homeschooled and has finished college, but has yet to learn how to handle tough social situations such as drinking at parties, negotiating boyfriend/girlfriend relationships, taking responsibility for friendships, and working through pitfalls in his interactions with his parents. Nathaniel is honest and funny, poignant and detached, driven to achieve his best, and is puzzled by the behaviors of others. Roy writes with a strong voice and the authenticity of one who knows children with Asperger's, yet Nathaniel's problems and concerns can and should reach a wider audience. The book is comparable in scope and effectiveness to Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Doubleday, 2003), yet contains its own unique character and story.—Wendy Smith-D'Arezzo, Loyola College, Baltimore, MD

School Library Journal

Lovable 14-year-old "Aspie" Nathaniel Clark stores his memories in computer-like files in his brain, loves formulas, plays keyboard in a rock band, has some trouble in social situations, likes to spend time in his own mental world and really, really wants to be a genius. Nathaniel's father, now divorced from his mother, does not believe in Asperger's syndrome; he insists that Nathaniel can simply be "normal" if he chooses to. To prove this, he forces Nathaniel to go to a party, where Nathaniel unknowingly ingests quite a bit of alcohol along with his fruit punch. The sickness that ensues, coupled with the fact that Nathaniel thinks he sees the girl he loves with another boy, nearly results in institutionalization. Luckily, he has a great therapist, a loving mother and some incredibly supportive friends/bandmates who get him through the rough patch. The band decides to video-record themselves singing Nathaniel's rocking math songs, and they quickly become famous. There is romance, grad school and a job at the grocery store just on the horizon. Overly optimistic? Maybe--but who cares? Readers will be happy to see Nathaniel succeed. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews