School Library Journal's Best Books 2008 includes Siobhan Dowd's The London Eye Mystery, so I decided to read it.
My interest in autism and Asperger's syndrome usually leads me to books in which this disorder plays some kind of role in the characters' lives, but I was surprised to find that one of the two main characters in this book is an aspie. Ted, who has Asperger's, and his sister, Kat, decide to solve the mystery of why their cousin, Salim, disappeared during a ride on the London Eye, which is a ride built like a giant bicycle wheel in which passengers ride to the top in pods in order to take in the view. One of the characteristics of Asperger's is an intense interest in one subject, and Ted's interest is weather. In the story, Ted's talking about weather sometimes annoys his family because he discusses it so often and in such detail, but his ability to focus so intensely plays an important role in the story. He describes having Asperger's this way:
" 'It's like the brain is a computer,' I said. 'But mine works on a different operating system from other people's. And my wiring's different, too' " (p. 37).
I really liked this description of Asperger's, not just because it seems accurate but also because it stresses that Asperger's is a difference, not a defect. I also like how the author portrays the the positive side of Asperger's: Ted's brain gives him important insights into the mystery of his cousin's disappearance that other people miss. Ted narrates the story, so we also hear about his struggles with social situations, his difficulty understanding idioms, and his tendency to flap his hands when he is stressed, but since it is his voice and his point of view, we are able to sympathize. I am always happy to see books that portray autism and Asperger's syndrome accurately and sympathetically, so of course I liked this book very much for that reason.
There is much more to like here, though. The clues that Ted and Kat discover kept the pages turning and I was eager to finish the book to discover what had happened to Salim. This is a darned good mystery!
Other books about autism that I like include Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko, Rules, by Cynthia Lord, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon.
I finally read the fourth book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan, The Battle of the Labyrinth. I just love this series. The stories are full of adventure and suspense, and they are very funny. What's more, kids will learn about Greek mythology as they read. It seems clear that Riordan plans a fifth book, so I'm happy to have another in this series to look forward to.
My friend Bekki recommended Avalon High, by Meg Cabot, 
and I'm glad she did. In this book the main characters are Avalon High School students Will, Lance, Jennifer, and Elaine, all of whom may be characters from the King Arthur legend reincarnated. Each chapter begins with a few lines from Tennyson's poem, "The Lady of Shalott," the idea being that Elaine, the book's narrator, is this lady reincarnated, doomed to look at the world only through a mirror and to weave what she sees into a tapestry. The story is actually very similar to the other Meg Cabot book I read, Jinx, because the main character falls in love with a young man who is unavailable to her, but I liked this story a lot better, probably because I find the Arthurian legend much more interesting than the witchcraft in Jinx. I liked that Cabot based her story on the legend but did not go overboard with it. Perhaps it's time now to re-read The Once and Future King!
