Saving Max by Antoinette van Heugten

Here's a quick bit from the website: Single mother Danielle Parkman is at the end of her rope and she knows it. A successful attorney, Danielle works grueling hours for her clients, yet devotes every spare moment to her teenage son, Max, who has Asperger’s – high-functioning autism. Alarmingly, Max has become violent and suicidal. Danielle is frantic. None of the professionals have helped him. Desperate for guidance, Danielle brings Max to a psychiatric hospital in the hope that the best and the brightest will bring the son she loves back to her. The bizarre twists and turns that take place in the hospital force Danielle to consider the unimaginable -- that Max’s problems may be greater than anyone could have imagined.

And then the true horror begins. Danielle finds Max lying bloody and unconscious next to the bed of a murdered patient – a boy his own age. When Max becomes the prime suspect, Danielle is determined to find the killer and absolve her son. She risks everything in a race against time to find out the truth. Is her son a murderer?

My Take
 
Okay, can you say INTENSE?!  This book is the stuff my nightmares are made of.  While it's not a YA book, it was totally wicked awesome to be sure.  We're launched pretty quickly into the heart-wrenching choice of Danielle having to put her child into a psychiatric facility for diagnoses.  That in itself is difficult enough.  Then when she can't manage to get her child returned to her, scary.  Things just get worse from there. 

While I did find the fact that Danielle kept running off and taking all these crazy chances a tad on the frustrating side, I would have done the same for my child if possible.  This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.  Some of the details were a little gory, but nothing I couldn't take.

I love Doaks, the crusty old private investigator.  Every time he appeared in the book, I pictured Sam Elliott.  If they ever make a movie, I vote for him to play Doaks.

Having a child that has several diagnoses, I know that mental illness among adolescents is so misunderstood.  It was a tad scary how closely this book could have potentially mirrored reality as well.  I even found myself waking up at night, pondering how this was all going to work out in the end.

SAVING MAX is released in October 2010.  This book comes with four kisses from me!
 

Marcelo In the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

Here's a brief summary from Mr. Stork's website: Seventeen-year-old Marcelo Sandoval hears music no one else can hear, part of the autism-like impairment no doctor has been able to identify.

Marcelo is tagged with a "developmental disorder" because of his pervasive interest in God and all things religious and because he does not relate to others as expected. He's always attended a special school where his differences have been protected. But the summer after his junior year, his father demands that Marcelo work in his law firm's mailroom in order to experience "the real world." There Marcelo meets Jasmine, a beautiful and surprising coworker, and Wendell, the son of another partner in the firm. Marcelo learns about competition and jealousy, anger and desire. But it's a picture he finds in a file — a picture of a girl with half a face — that truly connects him with the real world: its suffering, its injustice, and what he can do to fight.
 
I realized while reading this book that there is a entire segment of our population, those with disabilities that are under represented in literature today.  So many young adults have ADHD, Autism spectrum disorders, OCD, etc.  Do they not deserve to read about characters who face those same challenges?  Characters who are portrayed as strong and capable, not broken and less than those without disabilities.
 

I loved Marcelo In the Real World!  He lives in a tree house and that in itself rocks.  He's thoughtful, smart, unique, naive in a beautiful sort of way.  He is pure of heart and just such a phenomenal person.  My son had his own disabilities that he grapples with and I know many other children who do as well.  It was wonderful to see a character with disabilties portrayed in such a capable, heartwarming manner.  There were times where I found myself laughing out loud at things Marcelo did or said.  I wanted to defend him against Wendell and his father.   Seeing his relationship develop with Jasmine is great. 
One of my favorites parts is when Marcelo is talking about his school, Paterson (not the real world) and says:  For all the pain I saw at Paterson, it is nothing compared to the pain people inflict upon each other in the real world....Only how is it possible to live without being numb to it or overwhelmed by it. 

I even think the cover is kinda' magical in its own way.  I enjoyed this book and give it four roses.