Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork


"I want you to work in the real world."
This is a total surprise. It takes me a while to find words, any words. When I do, I say: "I have a summer job at Paterson."
"You'll help in the mailroom." He doesn't hear or chooses not to hear what I say.
"I have a job already," I repeat.
"Sit down, please." He points to the chair. I sit. (19)

In Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork, seventeen-year-old Marcelo Sandoval has an autism-like condition that causes him to hear music in his head and have trouble interacting with people. His condition has led him to work and go to school at Paterson's, which provides therepeautic horse back riding and classes such as Social Interaction. So when his father forces him to experience the "real world" by working in the mailroom at his father's law office, it definitely takes some transitioning. His conversations with his coworker Jasmine and his father's partner's son Wendell make him rethink whether he wants to truly become part of the real world, especially when they expose what's really going on behind closed court room doors.

AMY

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