Thursday, June 17, 2010

Saving Max

Van Heugten, Antoinette.  Saving Max.

An ARC (will be released this fall) about a mother and her son with Asperger's.  I'm always interested in stories about autism and Asperger's.  Our neighbor's son (before we moved in Dec.) is autistic, and my closest friend teaches students with Asperger's.

However, nothing in this book really worked for me.   Danielle, Max's mother, was the focus and seemed to be much weirder than Max.  I liked the little that was actually revealed about Max, but he was reduced to the inciting force, while Danielle became the protagonist.

The one-night-stand that immediately morphed into a deep relationship bothered me.  The callousness and high-handedness of the institution felt false.  The villain was suspected early, but the development of the "reason" (trying not to reveal any spoilers) would certainly be one of the most extreme cases I've heard of.  The villain was certainly a psychopath even if the other explanation fits.  I had problems with the writing, the plot, and the characters.

Fiction.  Mystery.  2010.  375 pages.
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5 comments:

  1. NanJune 19, 2010 8:19 AM

    I am fascinated by this subject as well. But I prefer nonfiction rather than fiction. I read a very good book called George and Sam. More here if you are interested, Jenclair:

    http://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.
    com/2009/05/george-sam-by
    -charlotte-moore.html

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  2. jenclairJune 19, 2010 9:21 AM

    Thanks, Nan, for reminding me about this book. When I read Nick Hornby's Polysyllabic Spree, one of the essays was about his own autistic son. He recommended George and Sam, and I jotted down the title, but some how have never gotten around to it. Now, maybe I will!

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  3. pussrebootsJuly 10, 2010 1:07 AM

    Thank you for this review. I'm struggling right now to read the book. Before your review I felt like I was the only one having problems with the characterization and plot.

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  4. jenclairJuly 10, 2010 7:05 AM

    :) I found just about everything lacking in this one. So now we are two!

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  5. JudiDecember 11, 2010 9:20 AM

    I'm about halfway through "Saving Max." It's held my interest to the point of skipping knitting group so I can read. However, I'm beginning to dislike Danielle. I have an idea of whodunit and why. Hoping I can restrain myself from turning to the end!

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