Review: Smart by Kim Slater

There's been a murder, but the police don't care. It was only a homeless old man after all.

Kieran cares. He's made a promise, and when you say something out loud, that means you're going to do it, for real. He's going to find out what really happened. To Colin. And to his grandma, who just stopped coming round one day. It's a good job Kieran's a master of observation, and knows all the detective tricks of the trade.

But being a detective is difficult when you're Kieran Woods. When you're amazing at drawing but terrible at fitting in. And when there are dangerous secrets everywhere, not just outside, but under your own roof.

Kieran is different from most of the other children at his school. He struggles to fit in and the other children call him names because of his learning difficulties. However, his brain is capable of storing all kinds of facts (especially when they are related to CSI, his favourite TV programme) and he is an incredibly gifted artist. Kieran's father dies many years earlier, and his mother has now moved them both in with Tony, a violent and bigoted thug, and his son Ryan, who seems destined to take after his dad. Both of them treat Kieran as if he were little more than a piece of dirt and Kieran's only escape is the diary and his his artwork, that he keeps carefully hidden away in his bedroom.

One day, whilst walking along the riverside, Kieran comes across Jean, a homeless woman who he has occasionally spoken with. Jean is in floods of tears, and Kieran quickly discovers that the source of her grief is a body that is floating in the river. The corpse was Colin, one of Jean's few friends, and so Kieran decides he is going to solve the mystery of who murdered Colin, especially as the police do not appear at all interested in investigating. Colin's investigations will lead to the uncovering of all kinds of secrets, some of which could impact very close to home.

When a copy of Smart arrived out of the blue from the fab people at Macmillan and I read their publicity blurb my heart sank a little. Although it is never mentioned explicitly, it is obvious that the main character is autistic, and I couldn't help but wonder whether the world really needed another book with a story that features a young autistic boy trying to solve a crime? The answer to this question is simple: if such books are as well written and wonderful to read as Smart then yes, there is room in the world for many more of these.

Anyone who has read Mark Haddon's brilliant The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time will find it impossible not to compare the two books, because if their similarities, and this is something that must have played a little on the mind of author Kim Slater as she was writing the book, and publisher Macmillan when they decided to publish it. However, I personally think Smart manages to hold its own quite comfortably, and I think I actually enjoyed reading Smart more. This might be due to it being written for a younger audience - Macmillan suggest that it is aimed at 12+ readers and I would agree with this, although I know that some will disagree with me. The reason for this is that Smart is quite dark in places, as a result of some of the themes it explores: domestic violence, drug dealing, discrimination, homelessness, and of course, Kieran's autism. However, in my opinion Kim Slater covers every one of these themes with sensitivity and uses them to craft a heartwarming tale that could have readers laughing and crying in equal measure. 

Children should not be shielded from these aspects of our society. Most secondary school children will have shared a classroom with at least one autistic child, and I think may adults would be surprised at the tolerance and understanding that the vast majority of these young people show to their classmates who have Special Educational Needs. Similarly, although it is very sad to say so, many children will come across instances of neglect, domestic violence, etc. and if their awareness of these issues is raised through wonderful stories like this then it is only for the better. As such, Smart is one of those books that would make a great class reader for a Year 8 or Year 9 English group.

One should never judge a book by its cover, which is obviously the book's most important message, but this is one of those times when the cover is just as wonderful as the story within and I can't finish this review without mentioning it. Illustrated by Helen Crawford-White, the wrap-around cover of this ahrdback edition rather cleverly reflects the work of Kieran's favourite artist, L.S. Lowry, and is definitely one of my favourite of the year so far.

 

Review: Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz

Colin Fischer cannot stand to be touched. He does not like the colour blue. He needs index cards to recognize facial expressions.

But when a gun is found in the school cafeteria, interrupting a female classmate's birthday celebration, Colin is the only for the investigation. It's up to him to prove that Wayne Connelly, the school bully and Colin's frequent tormenter, didn't bring the gun to school. After all, Wayne didn't have frosting on his hands, and there was white chocolate frosting found on the grip of the smoking gun...

I count myself to be incredibly fortunate to work in a mixed comprehensive school which has a fantastic resource unit. For those of you who are not 'in the know', this means that disabled students are able to experience a mainstream education alongside students without disabilities. One of our ex-students, of whom we are incredibly proud, is a multi-Paralympic gold medal winner. As well as students with physical disabilities we also teach students who are autistic and/or have Asperger Syndrome, and whilst it can occasionally be challenging it is also very rewarding to see these students grow up through the school and leave us with GCSEs and A-Levels before they move on into higher education or jobs. I tell you this because the eponymous main character of Colin Fischer by Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz reminds me so much of some of the young people I have had the pleasure of teaching during my career.

Colin has Asperger Syndrome. He hates to be touched, he avoids eye contact with people wherever possible, and he really, really hates loud noises. In fact, he finds it so difficult to cope with loud noises that he starts to bark like a dog. Like many people with Asperger's he also finds it very difficult to 'read' other people, and as such he carries around with him a series of flash cards, each with a small pictogram of a different facial expression drawn on it, which he uses to gauge the emotions shown by his peers and the other people he comes into contact with. 

However, Colin also has some very special talents: he is a genius at maths and he notices things and can make connections. Just like his hero, Sherlock Holmes. Thus, when a gun goes off in the school canteen, and the school bully (who also happens to be a long time tormentor of Colin) is wrongly accused, Colin feels compelled to solve the mystery of who fired the gun, even if it means lying to his parents for the first time in his life, and potentially putting himself into a grave danger.

Colin Fischer is being billed by Puffin as this year's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, and whilst there are some similarities, particularly in the medical condition experienced by the main character, this book is not as deep, and is much, much funnier. In fact, this book is laugh out loud funny in many places, and I loved it. In particular, Colin's approach to physical education, and the scenes on the basketball court with the school's coach are to die for. In fact, said coach reminds me of a number of staff I have the pleasure of working with in the way that he approaches Colin and his special needs and abilities.

As the story progresses we are treated to excerpts from Colin's notebook. Colin has a compulsion to write down a lot of what he observes in his day-to-day life, and the conclusions he draws from the behaviour of others. And when put in Colin's very logical and matter-of-fact way, his peers often seem far more strange than he is. After all, what is the definition of normal, and can anyone really be described as such?

For me, as well as the humour, the other stand out element of Colin Fischer is the characters. Colin's long-suffering but very loving parents just don't know how to react when his investigations lead to what most parents would call poor behaviour  Should they be angry, or relieved that he is acting like a 'normal' teenager? His younger brother seems to take delight out of teasing Colin, but also suffers from jealousy as a result of the attention Colin gets from their parents.Wayne Connelly, the aforementioned bully, really does not know what to think when Colin declares his wish to help prove his innocence. This story is really more about Colin and the other characters than it is about the mystery plot itself.

This book would make a superb class reader for young teens, although there are elements of its US High School setting that may need further explaining to students in other countries. However, dealing with issues of bullying, gun culture, disability, etc. it could generate a great deal of class discussion. The book's plot comes to a natural conclusion, but also leaves things open for a sequel. I really hope we get that next instalment, as Colin is one of my favourite book characters of the past few months and I would love to read more stories featuring him.

Colin Fischer was published in paperback in the UK at the beginning of February. My thanks go to the lovely people at Puffin for sending me a copy to review.