Smart by Kim Slater

Smart
by Kim Slater

Kieran Woods is a bit different. He is brilliant at drawing, but his special teacher at school tells him he must try to think before he speaks so as not to upset people. He also proves to be a brilliant detective. A homeless man is found dead in the river, and Kieran takes it upon himself to find out who killed him. But it's not easy, especially when you have Tony as a stepfather and Ryan as a stepbrother. They are both physically and mentally abusive towards Kieran and his mother. Kieran is not allowed to watch the television with him, he must eat his meals at different times (and not have the same food - only beans on toast for Kieran), and whenever there are visitors to the house Kieran must go to his room. These visitors usually come at night, and Tony hands over little bags and receives a large amount of cash in exchange.

As if this isn't enough unhappiness in poor Kieran's life, he has been banned from seeing his Grandma, who tried to stand up to Tony and his bullying ways, but lost the right to see her grandson in the process. But now Grandma could be the only comfort in Kieran's life, so he sets out to try to find her again.

This is such a sad and tragic story. You just want to take Kieran by the hand and drag him out of his current life and take care of him. His mother works all hours of the day, puts up with the abuse from Tony, doesn't report him out of fear, and does not stand up for Kieran when Tony picks on him. They live in a street of crime, and Tony's pet Rottweiler Tyson has been locked in the shed and just left there for days on end. It is all just so pitiful, you long for some happiness in Kieran's life. Even though Kieran's schoolteacher sounds caring and loving, even she does not investigate Kieran's home life when he comes into school with bumps and bruises.

Kieran is very brave, in fact he is the bravest of everyone in the whole story, even though he is the one with special needs and does not fully understand the way people work. He is also smart -he knows how to make use of his talents, he knows when something is wrong and he tells the right people. Good always overcomes evil.

A rather harrowing story but written brilliantly. If you like this then read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, or Colin Fischer

Dandelion Clocks by Rebecca Westcott

Dandelion Clocks
by Rebecca Westcott

Olivia and her autistic brother, Isaac, live with their mum and dad. They live a normal life. Olivia has her best friend Alice, and a boy at school she fancies, Ben. She loves photography and likes to capture everyday moments. Suddenly though they are not a normal family, and there are no normal everyday moments. Her mum falls seriously ill, and even though the word is not mentioned in the book, we deduce it is cancer. Olivia struggles to come to terms with the illness, and the fact that soon her mother will no longer be around. It is not made easier with Isaac and his inability to understand emotions in other people and himself. How will Olivia turn denial into acceptance?

This is a very moving book, but it would be good to recommend to young ones in a similar situation, or suffering from a recent bereavement and finding it hard to understand the turmoil of emotions they are going through.

Suitable for around age 10/11.

The Case of the Pistol-Packing Widows by Caroline Lawrence

The Case of the Pistol-Packing Widows
by Caroline Lawrence

The third in the brilliant P.K Pinkerton Mysteries, this story finds P.K. travelling from Virginia City to Carson City on an undercover job paid for by Opal Blossom, but concerning someone he is uncomfortable to follow - his friend Poker Face Jace. As is to be expected, his mission is not an easy one, and P.K. has to introduce more disguises to get where and what he wants. New friendships are made, foes are fought, secrets are uncovered, Mulligrubs are overcome, but above all a great adventure is had - by P.K. and the reader!

This is one of my favourite series, and I really look forward to the next installment!

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Mockingbird
by Kathryn Erskine


Caitlin suffers from Asperger's. She and her father are trying to come to terms with the loss of Devon, Caitlin's brother, who was killed at a school shooting. They both find a way of getting 'closure'.

Written by a lady who has a sufferer of Asperger's in her family, so can relate closely to it. However, I found I had little empathy for the characters. The father didn't seem to be very close to Caitlin, but that could've been the grieving process. Also, Caitlin has no friends - her classmates think she's a 'weirdo'. Surely she would've made friends during junior school in real life.

If Aspergers or autism interests you in a storyline, then also try The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon, The Case of the Deadly Desperados by Caroline Lawrence, and Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller (reviewed below).

Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz

Colin Fischer
by Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz


Colin has Asperger's and as such doesn't have many friends in school as they see him as some sort of freak to taunt. Because of his inability to detect emotion in other people's faces, he carries around a cheat sheet with drawings of faces with different expressions with the emotion written underneath. However, Colin has a great aptitude for maths and deduction of facts. When a gun goes off in the school cafeteria, he immediately becomes like one of his ultimate superheroes, Sherlock Holmes, and processes the evidence and facts to deduce who the real culprit is.

A great story of acceptance, family and friendship. If you like this, you may also like Wonder by R.J. Palacio and The Case of the Deadly Desperados by Caroline Lawrence.

The Case of the Good-Looking Corpse by Caroline Lawrence

The Case of the Good-Looking Corpse
by Caroline Lawrence


The follow-up to The Case of the Deadly Desperadoes, P.K. Pinkerton has set up a detective agency and his first case is the murder of Sally, one of the 'saloon girls'. P.K. battles with enemies old and new, and has the help of friends old and new to help solve the mystery.

I just love this series set in the Wild West of the 1860s.