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Prime Numbers & a Dog

The title is not far off as to what this novel is all about! Mark Haddon's national bestseller The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is anything but the usual murder mystery novel.  Focused around the everyday activities of young Christopher John Francis Boone, this novel introduces adventures of detective work, family dynamics, and travel. As I'm sure you could infer, the typical murder mystery crime wasn't a murder of a human being, but that of a dog, which I'm sure pulls at the heart-strings of many readers (just wait till you find out who the killer is). I'm not spreading any spoilers of this novel, it's simply one that is just going to either catch you or not. I'm currently taking a Young Adult Literature course at my University and I found a major distinction that this book holds from other young adult novels (i.e. The Catcher in the Rye, The Outsiders, Thirteen Reasons Why, and many more) is that this novel does not typically follow a scenario that most other young adults can relate to. It's never actually stated within the novel, but Christopher is an autistic narrator. There are certain characteristics that he holds that allude to his being autistic and the reader may or may not be able to recognize them, but I believe this key distinction is what makes the novel so appealing. A vast majority of readers may not comprehend that these characteristics aren't all that different from what other people do on a daily basis. Christopher Boone is extremely observant and tends to focus on things that people overlook, thus connecting him to well-known detectives, for instance Sherlock Holmes. Christopher also has a hard time displaying/identifying with emotions and this makes him differ from detectives who critique and thrive on others emotions within a case. Other characteristics are displayed by Christopher that allude to his autism, but the story overall doesn't have it be a main/obvious focus. This young boy is attempting to solve a murder, which in turn unwraps bigger family dynamics that ultimately force a rupture in Christopher's day-to-day life. Readers see this unfold and take it as it comes. Others may read this novel and find no point to the plot or overall story arc, but I find this different view of life and it's events told by Christopher to be enlightening and inspiring. A number of people tend to overlook those that are different, but it is with their unique mindset and outlook on life that makes them better than most.

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