Lots of things are mysteries. But that doesn't mean there isn't an answer to them. It's just that scientists haven't found the answer yet.

Last night I finished #54, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon. I was really excited about reading it because it has gotten such high praise by almost everyone I know and even most critics. This post contains SPOILERS.

Things I liked:

1. I felt like I was reading a book written from the perspective of a person with Asperger's Syndrome. Haddon's voice for Christopher was spot on. I loved his way of deciding whether it would be a good day or a bad day because of how many yellow or red cars he saw. Just little things like that.

2. All of the pictures and diagrams. I liked that the author allowed us to visualize many things the way that Christopher did instead of the way I would see it.

3. His mother chose her child over Mr. Shears the second time around. I'm glad they ended up being able to work out a way to all live in the same town and even though his parents weren't together anymore, he still had both of them close.

4. The way they showed that they loved each other. Christopher didn't like to be touched, so instead of giving a hug, they would put out their hands and spread their fingers and then just touch fingertips. I thought that was really touching that even though he didn't want hugs or kisses from his parents, they found a way to show their affection.

5. All of the British slang and words that I kind of had to figure out what they meant as I was reading. A lot of them I knew, but it was still fun to decipher a little bit.

Things I didn't like:

1. I found it to be a little bit flat. The story was interesting, but the pacing was too slow for me. I got bored and sometimes went a couple of days without reading it, which is how I can tell that I don't LOVE a book.

2. The way his father handled just about everything. He hit Christopher, he took his "book" and hid it from him, he killed the neighbor's dog, and, oh yeah, he told him his mother was dead. Sorry Ed Boone, but don't expect any father of the year awards anytime soon. Now, his son does have special circumstances, but I'm just gonna put it out there that when your kid feels like they need to have an open Swiss Army knife in their pocket because they are afraid of you, you did something wrong.

Overall, I liked it OK. It wasn't one that I want to read again, but it was good. I don't know that I would recommend it because of it's HEAVY use of the Lord's name in vain and the F-bomb, but if you are interested in knowing how the mind of a child with Asperger's Syndrome works, you should definitely give it a read.