The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon

Haddon, Mark (2003). The Curious incident of the dog in the night-time. New York: Vintage Contemporaries.

ISBN: 1400032717

Summary:  A murder mystery told by Christopher John Francis Boone, a 15-year-old autistic boy. When Christopher discovers his neighbor's dog dead in her yard with a pitchfork sticking out of him, he decides to track clues and solve the mystery, in direct defiance of his father's objections.  While uncovering the mystery, Christopher learns much more than just the incidences surrounding the dog's death as he unravels family secrets. 

Additional comments:  Haddon's insightful first-person narration gets the reader inside the mind of someone who is highly intelligent, obsessive, compulsive, irrational, devoid of emotions, and resistant to being touched.  After adjusting to Christopher's point of view, readers adjust to his abnormal behavior and logic, such as counting cars of each color to determine whether it is a Black Day (when he doesn't eat or speak with anyone) or a Super Good Day.  Despite the heavy and sad content of the novel, there is light humor in Christopher's efforts to process idiomatic expressions and solving problems.  Readers will be drawn in by the intriguing character and the unusual turn of events.