Keith Stuart (1)

This is a nice easy to read book about Alex and his 8 year old son Sam who has Autism.
Set in Bristol Main character is Alex is now separated from Jody, Sam's Mum she kicked him out the family home. Alex used to avoid bringing Sam up as he had issues coping with his moods and tantrums.

Alex moves into his old friend Dan's flat, Alex has issues of his own he has just been made redundant from a job he hated and he has never came to terms with the death of his older brother George when he was younger.
Alex bonds with Sam over Minecraft.
Emma who is Alex absent sister who went travelling returns to the UK, Dan likes her and has for years.
Alex and Emma's Mum has a stroke just before Sam enters a Mine craft competition in London.
They make it to the competition in the nick of time. Sam has come along way and Minecraft and Alex's patience has really helped him.
Alex wants to get back with Jody and also buy a Cafe they used to visit that has now shut. Good easy to read book.… (plus d'informations)

This book was a little unusual for my tastes, but somehow I started reading it, and got involved. It's pretty slow starting out with no apparent promise to get better. The main character, Alex, was not a very likable guy, and his wife asked him to leave for a while, so he left his wife and autistic son to move in with his best friend.

His son, Sam, has always been a problem for them, being unpredictable, uncommunicative, and complaining about seemingly minor things. So, Alex coped by working too much and letting Jody, his wife, take care of the problems with Sam. His excuse was that he was too busy making the money needed to support them. But when he lost his job, he had no more excuse although he still tried to avoid any responsibility for Sam. He simply did not know how.

But I could tell that he was a good guy underneath it all, so I was interested in what was going to happen to him. And the writing made it fun reading, with some good ol' British humour mixed in to keep it interesting until it got interesting on its own. A lot happens in this book; some of it is sad, some of it is happy, some is fun, some is not. It's all pretty emotional, so leave your macho-ness at the door if you have any - I don't, so I was able to appreciate it.

It's funny, but the mother of Alex and his sister Emma was considered a problem by them; however, she was one of my favorite characters. Her outlook and sense of humor was very refreshing and honest to me. Fortunately, they all seemed to reconcile near the end.

This was a feel-good book, which is not for everyone, but perhaps it should be. It's a nice change from some of the dark mysteries I've read, and I'd recommend it to anyone.… (plus d'informations)

This is a book that is very hard to categorise. Both sad and joyful, it has elements of romance and science fiction which are all set in a very familiar world, that causes you to ponder the effects of choices we make in life, and the nature of love in relation to past, present, and future. It is a beautiful story with well drawn characters, who have flaws that we can identify with, that remains with you long after you have finished the last page. Definitely recommended, but with the caution that you should suspend disbelief and allow the story to take you where it wants to go. Don’t try to work everything out.… (plus d'informations)