Julie Wilson, a bookseller at The Bookworm in Omaha, shares her enthusiasm for Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller and Zach Stentz, which Razorbill will release in November.
Colin Fischer likes facts and numbers. His world is so black and white that, as a high school freshman, he doesn’t even know how to tell a lie. He may have an IQ above 155, but he needs notecards to decipher facial expressions. He is, however, a great detective, because he observes everything going on around him in a completely dispassionate way. When a gun goes off in the cafeteria, it’s easy for school officials to assume Wayne, the school bully, is to blame. Colin thinks otherwise, even though it might be easier for him if Wayne weren’t around to torment him on a daily basis.
How Colin teams up with Wayne to solve the mystery is at the heart of this great YA novel. While Colin may have Asperger’s syndrome, that is only one part of what is going on here. This story is also about how all teens look for ways to fit in, and about how it is easier for some kids than for others. The novel is told with a combination of narrative, diary entries, and footnotes that give readers a glimpse into Colin’s way of looking at the world.
Gentle humor, the mystery, and an unlikely but believable friendship make Colin Fischer a book I will pull off the shelf to show anyone looking for a good mystery or just a quirky novel about the trials and tribulations of life as a teen. I think that fans of John Green and Sarah Dessen will like this book very much. And I think teachers and librarians will want to add it to their shelves as well.
Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller and Zach Stentz. Penguin/Razorbill, $17.99 Nov ISBN 978-1-59-514578-9
