Stunning portrayal of autism

I was absolutely mesmerized by Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin.  The story is told from the point of view of Jason, a 12-year-old boy who is autistic.  He struggles with social interactions and making friends, but he's an excellent writer.  Through Storyboard, the online forum where he posts his creative writing, he makes a connection with another writer named Rebecca.  When he learns that he may actually meet her in person at a Storyboard convention, he starts to panic: he's terrified that she'll only "see" his autism and not who he really is.  Reading how one autistic child views the world, his family, and even himself was both fascinating and enlightening, and his self-acceptance at the end of the book (hinted at in the story he's been writing) was beautiful.  An excellent book, especially for anyone affected by or interested in autism.

Life on this island isn't quite what you'd imagine

I didn't know what to expect when I saw the title of this book, Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko.  Al Capone the gangster and laundry?? Well, yes.  The year is 1935, and Moose and his family have just moved to Alcatraz Island, where Al Capone is serving time.  Moose's dad took a job there so they could be close to San Francisco and a special school for Moose's sister Natalie, who's autistic.  Moose ends up meeting several other kids who live on the island, including Piper, the warden's cute but very scheming daughter (and the source of the Al Capone and laundry connection).  As Moose gets used to his unusual living arrangements, the story includes interesting facts about Alcatraz, Piper's crazy ideas for making money, and Moose's devotion to his sister.  It may sound like an odd combination of ideas, but it works!  A funny, touching, and fascinating story.

Vanished into thin air

A snow day from school?  What a great time to curl up with a blanket and a good book like The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd.  The story is told by Ted, a 12-year-old who is very bright and probably autistic, or as he describes it, "having a...brain that runs on a different operating system."  Ted and his sister Kate take their cousin Salim to ride the London Eye, an enormous Ferris wheel.  They watch Salim get into one of the pods, but he doesn't get off.  He's vanished!  Ted has a special way of looking at things, and it takes his special brain and hard work to figure out what happened.  Not only is this a good mystery (looking back, I noticed some of the clues), but the realistic insight into how Ted thinks - very literally and logically - was equally fascinating.