Marcelo seldom uses pronouns, referring to himself and others by name. It is a profound experience of a different point of view, of the strengths and handicaps of autism. This unique perspective never varies as Marcelo tries to process figures of speech, grasp the real intent of a statement, deal with multiple stimuli, understand a discussion about girls and sexual attraction. Literary elements at work in the story: Marcelo is a rich, multi-layered novel told in the first person. The result of this action makes public high school mandatory and compels Marcelo to deal with suffering and God’s will for his life. The discovery of an injured girl’s picture in one of his father’s files jolts him into an action that may destroy his father’s law firm. And so Marcelo learns-to work with Jasmine in the mail room, to read the faces and intentions of co-workers, to find his way around Boston, to tell the social lie, to be aware of sex. The real world requires Marcelo to make “small talk,” learn to distinguish sarcasm, adapt to new situations, and follow a competitive law firm’s rules.
If Marcello works successfully there, he can return to Patterson for his senior year if not, he must go to public high school. Marcello’s father, a driven, successful lawyer, has other plans: Marcello is to work in the “real world,” the mail room of his father’s law firm.
He has a job for the summer caring for the ponies in the Patterson stable. Marcello is a practicing Catholic who meets regularly with a Jewish rabbi and names his dog from a Buddhist prayer. His autism has not been accurately identified but it is marked by an inner music Marcelo hears, a lack of social skills, a need for an inflexible schedule, and an intense interest in God.
Summary: Marcelo Sandoval, an autistic seventeen-year old, has come to the end of his junior year at Patterson, the special education school he has attended since kindergarten.
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