Any book that opens with fork-stabbed poodle-death is story that must be read, if only to give the author the chance to redeem himself, which Haddon does, and much, much more.  With the creation of 15-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone—self-proclaimed poodle murder-solver, who uses an emoji chart to translate human emotion and quadratic equations to stave off panic attacks—Haddon provides his audience that quintessential reading experience of viewing the world through someone else’s eyes.   It’s Christopher, however, who insists he’s writing the book—a murder mystery to be exact—complete with illustrations of the Get-Well card his mother received two weeks before she died, a sketch of a cloud (because his therapist told him “when you are writing a book, you have to include some descriptions of things”), and book chapters numbered in prime numbers.  Prime numbers make more sense, you see, since “prime numbers are all you have left when you have taken all the patterns away.”  Christopher believes prime numbers are very much like life.

Read this one to fall in love with a character who would have no idea what to do with such an emotion.  Read this one to maybe feel a bit closer to a special person you might have in your own life.  Read this one because Christopher writes a heck of an intriguing mystery novel.  (Yes!  Satisfying justice for Wellington is served, but you’ll have to find out how for yourself.)

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