What do You think about Eye Contact (2007)?
This was one of the best books I have read this year! I literally could not put it down! Well, really, I put it down twice because, much to my chagrin, I had to go to bed. Aside from that, it never left my hands! The narration of this book is what makes it so interesting; it is told from several different characters’ points of view and they all seem to have something to hide. I found it very interesting to read the narration told from Adam’s P.O.V., as a nine year old autistic child. This story focused a lot on the struggles the parents of autistic children face, which was very insightful for me since I had very little knowledge of this subject. This book is full of surprises and unexpected twists; the great thing is everything is revealed in the end so you don’t feel like you have any unanswered questions. I just finished this book yesterday and I’ve recommended it to 4 people already! Must read!
—Kristen
(4.5 stars) I really enjoyed this one. At first I was reminded of Jodi Picoult's House Rules, which like this one, centers around a murder & an autistic child. But I actually found this more compelling. Not only did McGovern do a good job portraying the subject matter of autism & family members & friends living with it, but it also touched on several aspects of children with various special needs, both on & off the spectrum. Additionally, this was a story that kept me guessing up until near the end. My only criticism would maybe be that the author also tried to get into the brain of a fairly severe autistic child, and I'm not sure how accurate that may have been. It could have been spot-on, but who's to know? Regardless, I highly recommend this one & will look forward to more from this author.
—Coleen
Wow! Eye Contact was so much better than I anticipated. I wasn't exactly sure what I expected but knew it wasn't a typical genre I read. I thought I'd pick it up 4-5x before really getting into it. I was wrong. In the beginning I struggled as so many characters were introduced in both past and present time, but I pushed forward telling myself it's highly recommended and will be good. It didn't take me long to find myself drawn in. I read the first 100 pages before I went to bed (starting around 8:30 pm), part of me wanted to keep reading but I forced myself to put it on my nightstand and sleep. I picked it up again this afternoon and didn't put it down until I finished it this evening. It has so many twists, so suspenseful. The best part however was being drawn into the mind of this autistic little boy. To begin to have some kind of understanding to how he thinks and processes things differently than I do. It was really an amazing read and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a stand alone book. I'm big on reading series and often don't even look at books that don't have 3-8 books in the series. This one I am glad I had given to me to read because it was really a great book!
—Taryn
