Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays - Marcelo in the Real World

...The real world.
As vague and as broad as this term is, I have a sense of what it means and of the difficulties it entails. Following the rules of the real word means, for example, engaging in small talk with other people. It means refraining from talking about my special interest. It means looking people in the eye and shaking hands. It means doing things "on the hoof", as we say at Paterson, which means doing things that have not been scheduled in advance. It means walking or going to places I am not familiar with, city streets full of noise and confusion. Even though I am trying to look calm, a wave of terror comes over me as I imagine trying to walk the streets of Boston by myself." (page 20-21)

by Francisco X. Stork

This book is about a 17-year-old boy with an Asperger's-like condition who is trying out life in the "real world" with a summer job at his father's law firm. It reminds me, so far, of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

20 comments:

  1. Great teaser! I've heard of this book...it was nominated for best cover at Amazon. Not sure if it did win in the end. Sounds like a very interesting story and I do like that cover.

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  2. Oh wow, this was amazing to read! Sounds very promising. And the cover is gorgeous!

    Here's mine:
    http://cunninghamfan.blogspot.com/2010/02/teaser-tuesday-3.html

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  3. All of which are so hard for him to do. Great teaser.

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  4. Oooh, love the teaser! Hope you enjoy the rest of the book!

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  5. Oh, the love going around for this book. Just in the last day or two, I've become convinced this is one YA book that must be read in 2010.

    BTW, just finished Sarah's Key ten minutes ago.

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  6. This book has been on my radar for a while. I look forward to reading it even more now that I have read this teaser!

    I just had a student tell me about another book that she absolutely loved. It is called Rules by Cynthia Lord. I had not heard of it before, but she raved about it. It may be something you might enjoy as well.

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  7. I have heard of this one...did they make a televised movie about it?

    My teaser:

    http://laurel-rainsnowsreflections.blogspot.com/2010/02/teaser-tuesdays_09.html

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  8. That IS a great teaser. Here's mine, opening chapter of The Legend of Wolfboy - published anonymously by author in contract dispute w/ previous publisher. It begins publishing as it's written this week. http://LegendOfWolfboy.com/ Reviewers can contact the site for a review copy before it's public.
    —————————————

    Dusk was deepening toward another dark summer night and the chilly mountain air felt like frigid fingers running down their spines.

    A near-full moon began to peak through the majestic mountain pines that dominate the western slope of the California Sierra Nevada mountain range, adding to what was already an eerie atmosphere.

    “It was seven years ago today,” Ryan growled, his voice breaking the silence on this starless night, June 13, 1995. “The car radio said severe thunderstorms were threatening to hit the Sierras, but the Jacksons were set on going on their annual family vacation to Shaver Creek.”

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  9. Your teaser definitely grabbed my attention. My teaser: http://www.rundpinne.com/2010/02/teaser-tuesdays-lessons-in-french.html

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  10. Wow, it is a beautiful cover! Walking the streets of Boston can be terrorizing for anyone.

    I hope you are enjoying the book. My teaser is here

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  11. I really, really liked this book! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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  12. This is the first I heard of this book. It sounds really good.

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  13. The teaser was great! If it's anything like The Curious Incident, which I loved, I have to read it.

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  14. I've read Marcelo but haven't read Curious Incident of the Dog. I've been reading a lot of blogs that are comparing the two books. I loved Marcelo so I can't wait to read your thoughts on it.

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  15. I loved The Curious Incident of The Dog...and books written about people with special needs are quite piercing to me. I will never forget Flowers for Algernon, or Charlie, as it was later called. I'll have to gather my strength around me though, to read this, because we have so many children at our school with autism, etc.

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  16. Mrs B. - I first saw this book because of the amazon best cover contest... I even voted for it!

    Nikola - The cover was the first thing that drew me to the book.

    Nise' - Yes, he had to work very hard at all of those things.

    Dana - Just a few more pages, and I love it!

    Sandy - If you only read one YA book a year (which is just a few less than I do), this should be it! Just past the half-way point in Sarah's Key. Can't wait to see how it ends (hope my idea is wrong!)... I want to spend more time in the car with this one.

    Diane - It's really a good one!

    Molly - I haven't heard of Rules, but will look it up right now. Hope you get a chance to read this one!

    Laurel-Rain Snow - Oh, I haven't heard about a movie... will check into that one!

    Jennifer - I'm glad. This is such a good book.

    Kaye - I love the cover, too! I fist saw the book in amazon's best cover competition.

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  17. Stephanie - Glad to hear you liked it, too. I loved it!

    Chris - It's a great book!

    Hazra - If you liked The Curious Incident, I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy this one too.

    Vasilly - There are lots of comparisons to be drawn between Marcello and The Curious Incident. If you liked Marcelo, you should definitely try Curious Incident!

    Staci - It's an awesome book, too!

    Bellezza - I've been thinking of rereading Flowers for Algernon for several months now. I don't remember much about it from high school. When you feel like you're ready, Marcelo in the Real World is an amazing book.

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