Marcelo in the Real World

Marcelo in the Real World
By Francisco X. Stork
Arthur A. Levine Books, 2009. 312 pgs. Fiction

Seventeen-year-old Marcelo loves working with the ponies at the school he attends for students with disabilities, but Marcelo’s father, Arturo, believes Marcelo is ready to attend a public high school in the fall. When Marcelo protests, he and Arturo make a deal—Marcelo will work in the mailroom at Arturo’s law firm over the summer and at the end of the summer, if Marcelo follows all the rules of the “real world” and successfully completes his job, he will be allowed to choose the school he attends in the fall.

Marcelo’s Asperger’s-like perspective is reminiscent of The Curious Incident in the Night-Time and his naivete lends itself well to the story’s examination of good and evil, love, and integrity—all concepts Marcelo is truly grappling with for the first time as he discovers hard truths about his father and the world at large.

MBC