The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Mark Haddon

I could not put this book down. If you have not read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, you need to find yourself a copy ASAP. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is on Time’s Best 100 YA List, for good reason because this book is impressive.

Christopher has autism. He dislikes the colors yellow and brown for various reasons, doesn’t like to be touched, knows prime number up to 7057, might be a mathematics genius, loves animals and finds his neighbor’s dead dog with a garden fork sticking in it.

He becomes slightly obsessed with finding out who killed the dog. The deeper he digs, the more truths he discovers, all of which shake the foundation of Christopher’s life. Who can he trust? Certainly not his father…

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is written from the perspective of Christopher. We learn his struggles, how he views his family and those around him, and how he processes the world around him. I am sure it is not a perfect example of someone who has autism, but I think it is a pretty good one. More so, how his family and those around him react. Without giving away too much, Christopher’s family life is complicated. As more of the truth comes out, you can’t help but feel awful.

The chapters are number by prime numbers and often have drawings, graphs, or smiley faces explaining emotion. It is a personal touch that makes The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time feel as if Christopher wrote it himself.

Beyond recommending The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time purely for the plot, you should read it to get a peak of what it might be like to live with or live someone who has autism. One of my favorite things about this book is that Christopher didn’t “improve” or “change” as the story progressed, you get an ending that is happyish but not perfect. I cannot praise that enough.

I recommend this book for those who enjoy characters off the neurotypical map, family drama, and short chapters. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a YA book, I recommend it for 8th grade and above.

Have you read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time? Do you read novels about character off the neurotypical map?

You can borrow The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time from your local library, purchase from your local book store, or Amazon.

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