#given that they then introduce the [this is my mother] segment which begins being 25

[duketectivecomics]

You might've answered this already and I just didn't find it, but one thing that always perplexed me about Duke was how old he was in comparison to the other Batkids. It's obvious he's younger than Dick and Babs, and I pretty sure he's younger than Jason and Cass, and older than Damian, but I cannot tell if he's meant to be Tim and Steph's ages, younger, or older. Could you help me?

You’re all kinds of good here, anon!!! I answered a similar ask abt the Order of Adoption but didn’t dive into specific ages on that post BECAUSE well they didn’t ask lmaooo but ALSO:

Comic ages are very fluid usually! While Years™️ might pass in the canon proper, or while time seems to slow to a crawl, having a character’s age outright stated is something that occurs very rarely for most characters, if at all!

Because it’s always much easier to have a floating age range to work and play around in! It’s easier to keep a character Perpetually 12 or 16 or 25 or mid-40s or- you get the idea. SO, with that in mind. Let’s do our Best to Break Down What Age Duke Might Be Currently A N D how it might interact with the Other Batkids!

(Warning for a Very Long Post, lots of issue citations, and a LOT of comics terminology regarding specific runs/events/continunity. I’m gonna try to keep it as clear/concise as possible ofc but plz keep these things in mind! If you’re not at least marginally familiar with Bat-Comics, you might find yourself feeling a little lost here!)

So from the Zero Year arc we see a common Trend that plays out pretty consistently with Batfam comics: a Life-Changing Event Occuring while the protag is Young™️.

(Batman (2011) #30)

With how Duke is drawn in these particular issues, and given the trends of the past, I’d place him in the 8-12 range. The historic precedent being ofc that that is the same range that canon usually places both Bruce and Dick at for their Tragedies™; the more benign reason being that he... just very much Looks to be drawn in that Range. He’s very clearly an Older/Prepubescent child here.

Fast Forward to his Next Appearance in the Endgame arc and-

(Batman (2011) #37)

He’s definitely older! He’s wiser! And he’s giving Batman a fistbump lmao. Again, no strict age given here BUT, since they condensed each Robin to a Year or Two tops with Bruce (its n52 and its fucked up is what it is), we can assume it’s been at least 4-5 since Zero Year (which would mean if we go off the age range I proposed for that year, then theoretically he could be anywhere from 12-16 here, and I think that tracks pretty well. Not Perfectly and Certainly Not so well with Pre52 continuity ofc, but I’ll talk about that later!)

In We Are Robin, while its not stated Directly In The Text, it IS given as an Informational Tidbit that Duke is 16 (specifically this can be found at the end of issue #4)! (Sweet sweet canon confirmation FINALLY)

We know that WAR takes place Fairly Soon after Endgame (almost immediately, give or take a month or two given that Duke’s been placed in a few foster homes at this point and has racked up Quite A File) now, again id like to remind y’all that while this is a NICE starting point to have, keep in mind that comics are fluid and this may be retconned slightly/ignored in later stories bc Keeping Duke 16-ish is in DC’s Best Interest at the moment. (Having Relatable Teen Characters afterall is a Good Marketing strategy™️. And the longer they can Keep them Young, the Better)

With that in mind let’s take a moment to Highlight the fact that Duke and Damian have crossed paths at this point AND the storylines that have occurred during this year that were meant to be in conjunction with one another!

Because Prior to Endgame, Damian had Died! And just a year (in real, meat-space time) before We Are Robin, he was resurrected and had begun his “Year of Atonement” in the Robin: Son of Batman maxiseries. Midway through both this series and WAR (and, we can assume, midway thru this “Year” for Damian) the Robin War begins/ends and we see at least one major Moment between these two boys who will soon call one another brothers:

(Robin War #2)

Given that R:SoB is followed up VERY quickly by Teen Titans Rebirth (in which Damian celebrates his 13th birthday), we can conclude that Damian would be 12 during this time (well, 12 and 1/2 to play it safe lmao). That being said, this Confirms about a 4yr gap between Duke and Damian! (One Batkid down at least! but he’s the key to the others so put a pin in him!)

As We Are Robin draws to its conclusion, DC was releasing another arc that would eventually flow into the Rebirth Era, by the end of which, Bruce would approach Duke with an Idea (which involves Bruce becoming Dukes temporary guardian & as he states Many Times “Trying Something New” with Duke).

And thus the Rebirth Era begins, and Duke began his Year of training (most directly encapsulated by the Cursed Wheel arc in the All-Star Batman run:

(All-Star Batman #1 (back-up story))

Bruce introduces Duke to a training regimen that Alfred has named “the Cursed Wheel”. It encompasses all the training Bruce and the other bats have undergone and condenses it down into color-coordinated segments that will take Duke a Year to Complete.

It can be assumed that by the End of this Year Duke will somehow miraculously still be 16, despite, again, an entire ass year passing.

There’s one story that takes place mid-year in All-Star Batman, and the Cursed Wheel is meant to be capped off by Duke’s first Official Day as the Signal (in the titular Batman & the Signal ofc) BUT, near as I can tell after this story, Dukes age is not brought up again. So until they DO bring it up either in Batman & the Outsiders or whatever future run Duke becomes involved in, we can assume DC will be working with the idea that he’s meant to be in that 16-18 range from here on out (ie still a minor).

But, dear anon, you might be saying “okay, that’s cool, but how does that relate to my question abt how he falls in with the other Bats?” You’ll have to be a little patient with me here, but I think I may have cracked the code!

Keep in mind I’m gonna be addressing both the Post-Crisis to Flashpoint Continuity (ie mid-80s to 2010 in comics history) and the N52-slash-Rebirth Era (2010-Today). Its generally agreed by fandom and DC alike that these points of rebooting &/or Major Events constitute the era of “Modern” comics, and that everything from the 80s-on might more or less be canon on some level, even if not All of it is.

(Plus, most of fandom usually likes to borrow elements from both eras and much more rarely from stories before it, SO-)

Lets do a quick rundown of how everyone who’s Closer to Duke’s Age, Relates to each other first, age-wise:

Given that Jason was 15 when he died, in A Lonely Place of Dying its established that Bruce had become increasingly reckless since his death, and by the end of the story, Tim has stepped in to fill Robin’s shoes (he states that he’s 13 during this story btw). Pretty soon after, Stephanie Brown is introduced & established to be about a year older than Tim (wish I could pin-point a specific issue BUT, i unfortunately haven’t read any Tim OR Steph-involved comics that predate No Man’s Land... Besides the aforementioned Lonely Place and Young Justice technically, but im working on remedying that soon!)

NOW, during the No Man’s Land event, Cassandra is introduced, and pretty soon into her Batgirl run, its revealed that she’s around the same age as Jason (or at least how old he Would Have Been, had he not died.) Now, given that Jay has an August bday and Cass has a January one, fandom sometimes likes to play around with the idea of one being older than the other (OR even speculating/placing them in an AU as twins/siblings, given that Lady Shiva (Cass’ mom) was a Possible Candidate to be Jason’s biological mother but that’s a Whole Other Thing i wont get into here.)

The point being, Cass, in this era of comics, IS slightly older than Tim and Steph. At Tim’s start as Robin, their ages could either line up like: Tim-13, Steph-14, Cass-15 (being a few months ‘behind’ Jay), then Jason at 15/16 (depending on how soon Tim filled the role after Jay died in April) OR Jason-15/16, Cass-16/17 (in this case she’d be a few months ‘ahead’ now instead)

So brief detour to talk New 52, however! Because Tim, Steph & Cass all got switched around from where DC originally left them prior to the reboot! Now I haven’t read much of them in this era, other than Batman & Robin: Eternal, so my Understanding of their current ages is Spotty at Best. The general consensus seems to be that while before N52, Stephanie had been attending her first year of College (& doing VERY WELL i might add), with the reboot she was set back a few years alongside Tim to a vague Late-Teen state (so 16-18-ish, instead of a Very Clearly Established 18/19). Cass is probably the worst off for this reboot, given that B&R:E basically constitutes her new origin for the new continuity, and does nothing to confirm her age (all I really know is that she’s a Vague Late-Teen too... Probably? Maybe?), given how much they infantilize her, and subsequently how fandom in turn has taken to infantilizing her too, theres a semi-popular fanon that places her Younger that Tim and Steph. And I, for one, propose that we ignore that bc its Weak Sauce my dudes.

Some fans chose to ignore N52 continuity due to this vagueness, and will stick to the ages established before the N52/Rebirth reboots. But its something to keep in mind regardless bc we’re all obviously going to pull from what’s most familiar to us!

But WHERE could we place Duke with regards to them, then? Because them being “Late Teens” is certainly much too vague to work with!

This is Where Damian is the key!

Because Damian is one of those rare exceptions to the Reboot Rule. His story flowed almost seamlessly over from before to after. While he was made a Robin at the age of 10, he continued to grow and learn even after the universe was being rewritten to suit the whims of DC editorial. 

If we choose to ignore how everyone else’s ages and origins were swapped around, and stick with the growth that was presented before the reboot, then we can draw some interesting conclusions!

Firstly, though Stephanie also had Died and subsequently Returned, she hadn’t lost much, if any time, from the Ordeal. At the start of her Batgirl run, she is enrolled at a Gotham university and making headway with a more firm foot in the Batfamily (even to the point that she and Damian spend a few issues bonding. At this point in time, Damian is definitely 11, and again, Steph can be assumed to be 18/19 during the course of her run. We’ll assume 18 for clarity’s sake.)

So, then when Damian is 11, now our line up is as Follows:

Dami - 11, Steph - 18, Tim - 17, Cass 19-21 (the range depending again, if you subscribe to Cass being either older/younger than Jason).

WHICH MEANS, If during Robin War Damian is 12 (and a half) THEN We’ve got an age line-up that Potentially looks Like This:

Dami -12(and 1/2), Duke - 16, Tim - 18, Steph - 19, Cass - 20-22 (And Obvsly Jason, Babs & Dick at their varying Older Ages than everyone here)

and im just now realizing i Didnt include Harper in this line-up, but thats bc she’d also throw a big wrench in all this.  I’d personally throw her in with being Steph’s age, but I’m pretty sure she was supposed to be either that, or between Steph and Cass (again, since its N52, i believe Cass was/is assumed to be Younger than Steph, but that contradicts the assumed following of pre52 canon that we have for the above line-up, obvsly, and so we ignore that lmao) 

All this to say, however, that canon and fandom is what you make of it, and if you want to wiggle these ages around a little, you’re more than allowed! God Knows i usually like to skew the Tim-Steph-Cass age group to be a tad older than this in my own fic writing, and I like to have Duke start as a Robin at 14/15 instead of 16, but that’s just bc I like the dynamic potential it could bring with them being Definitively Older that him, and thus in a more secure place to be Mentoring him right alongside Bruce & the others.

But you might see these age ranges and want to do something Different (say, making Tim, Steph, Cass, & Duke all the Same Age at 17 instead! And that very well tracks with how current comics kinda looks right now!) and you’re absolutely valid to do so! Because again, comic character’s ages are meant to be fluid, not fixed!

And at the end of the day, its all about wanting to see these teen heroes kick serious ass haha

[thecomicsnexus]

BATMAN: A DEATH IN THE FAMILY BATMAN #426-429 DECEMBER 1988 - JANUARY 1989 BY JIM STARLIN, JIM APARO, MIKE DECARLO, ADRIENNE ROY, MIKE MIGNOLA, ANTHONY TOLLIN AND OVER 10,000 PHONE CALLS.

Jason Todd finds out his biological mother may still be alive and he discovers there are three possible women that could be his mother. He then decides to meet each other to find out which one is the one. But at the same time, the Joker escapes Arkham and decides to make some quick money by dealing with terrorists. Both missions will collide into each other and change Batman’s life forever.

SCORE: 8

This story was a big deal when it came out, and for Batman fans, it still is. But it has been cheapened by DC’s decision to bring the character back from the dead. I assume this is not spoiler, as it is in the covers.

I will talk more about the plot in the spoiler section. I feel like in general there is a lot of lazy writing in this story. I think the idea was good, but there are many things in the story that didn’t need to be this way. I would have just removed everything about the middle east, and I would also tried to find an alternative to yet another “diplomatic immunity” plot.

Jim Aparo did his usual iconic style here, but that also means that many characters look too much alike, which is a shame. Especially when Jason doesn’t really look like a teenager.

So, something I can discuss outside of the spoiler section, is the whole gimmick of this story. The phone number vote.

From Wikipedia:

Jason Todd, the second character to take the Robin persona, was introduced in Batman #357 (March 1983). He was initially depicted with a personality and origin identical to that of predecessor Dick Grayson. However, the history-altering events of Crisis on Infinite Earths and Batman: Year One allowed editor Dennis O'Neil, writer Max Allan Collins, and artist Chris Warner to revise his backstory and personality. The changes caused Todd to grow increasingly unpopular with fans during this period; unlike the cheery and optimistic Grayson, this new characterization of Todd was depicted as foul-mouthed, impulsive, and bad-tempered.

Aware of Todd's unpopularity, O'Neil and writer Jim Starlin began discussing ways to retire the character, and before long, began to consider killing him altogether. During an editorial retreat, O'Neil recalled the success of a 1982 segment of Saturday Night Live, in which Eddie Murphy encouraged viewers to call the show if they wanted him to boil Larry the Lobster on air. O'Neil proposed a similar idea involving Todd to publisher Jenette Kahn, who liked the idea. O'Neil would later state:

We didn't want to waste it on anything minor. Whether Firestorm's boots should be red or yellow ... This had to be important. Life or death stuff.

— Dennis O'Neil

On the back of Batman #427, an advertisement was run featuring Batman carrying a severely wounded Robin. In the ad, readers were warned that Robin would die of his injuries "because the Joker wants revenge", but that they could "prevent it with a telephone call". Two 900 numbers were given: one (1-(900) 720-2660) which would let Robin live, and another (1-(900) 720-2666) which would cause him to die. The numbers were active for 36 hours, beginning on September 15, 1988, at 8 A.M. EST and ending on September 16, 1988, at 8 P.M. EST. Readers were charged 50 cents per call. Approximately 10,614 votes were cast during this period. When tallied, the final results were extremely narrow, with 5,343 votes in favor of Jason's death over 5,271 for his survival—a margin of just 72 votes. O'Neil would later admit to having voted in Todd's favor, as he felt that Batman was incomplete without Robin and feared killing Todd would lead to backlash.

"A Death in the Family" was written by Starlin. The artwork was illustrated by Jim Aparo, inked by Mike DeCarlo, and colored by Adrienne Roy. John Costanza handled the lettering, and Mike Mignola designed each issue's cover. The four-part story line began in Batman #426 (December 1988), and concluded in Batman #429 (January 1989). Two versions of issue #428 were prepared: one that would be used if readers voted in favor of Todd's survival, and another to be used if he was to be killed; the latter version ended up being used. The story line was later collected in trade paperback and hardcover form as Batman: A Death in the Family after its conclusion.

When it was first released, "A Death in the Family" generated massive media coverage and backlash over the decision to kill Robin, a beloved comic book character and pop icon. Newspapers such as USA Today and Reuters published articles about it, the latter of which would state that "a group of comic book artists and writers has succeeded in doing what the most fiendish minds of the century... have failed to accomplish". Frank Miller, author of The Dark Knight Returns (1986), was highly critical of the story, describing the "toll-free" number voting as "the most cynical thing [DC] has ever done". O'Neil and his team were caught off-guard by the amount of attention the story drew; according to him, it lasted four straight days, and was unlike anything the team had previously experienced. The story line was a bestseller in both the standard single-issue and trade paperback format.

In retrospect, Hilary Goldstein of IGN called "A Death in the Family" one of the best Batman graphic novels ever written. He described the story as "worth the price of admission", and considered letting readers vote on Todd's fate to be one of DC's strongest decisions. Both Goldstein and NPR contributor Glen Weldon agreed with the choice of killing Todd, as both felt the character was poorly developed and inferior to Grayson. Screen Rant praised Aparo's cover for the collected version, describing it as "iconic" and perfect for showing such a grim, sad moment.

From DC in the 80s:

For Batman, we did Death in the Family -- which was their best-selling book that year -- but it turns out they had all these licensing (pajamas, lunch boxes, and stuff like that) and the licensing department was very mad, everybody got mad, and they needed somebody to blame -- so I got blamed. And within 3 months all of my work dried up - Jim Starlin

Spoilers after the break...

So one of the reason I say there was too much lazy writing in this story, has to do with all the coincidences. The Joker just happens to be in the same places as two of the possible mothers. And not only that, Joker even knew Sheila when she lost her license for doing abortions. I understand why Sheila betrays Jason (she was also taking money from the poor in Ethiopia and didn’t want any problems with the law), but it was never explained how the Joker and Sheila knew each other.

There goes mother of the year!

To be honest, while Jason’s death was brutal, I always felt it was the right thing. Being Robin was child endangerment, Starlin was right in that. But it also seems like Jason magically became Robin, without much thought to it. I tolerate the pre-crisis version more than this one, but the people to blame for how he ended up being... are Max Allan Collins and Jim Starlin.

There were two versions of issue #428, and the material ended up being used for Batman Annual #25 (Infinite Crisis tie-in... more lazy writing, by the way).

But to me the idea of using diplomatic immunity once again was ridiculous, and just the idea that the Joker would become ambassador and kill everyone in the council... while representing Iran... is also quite stupid, because it would be considered an act of war on all other countries.

There is also another idea happening in the last issue. That the Joker knows who Batman is. This would make sense as it was too much of a coincidence that Jason died in that same explosion (Batman even mentions Jason to the Joker). The issue may have been edited to remove all references from the Joker that he knows who Batman is, you can read more about it here.

Both Joker and Robin would drop off the radar for an entire year, a year that was quite important for the Joker, as the Batman Motion Picture created bat-mania around the world. In fact, I am lying, the Robin concept wouldn’t take long to start resurfacing (in just a few months we would have Batman: Year Three). But the consequences of this story were felt for years, until people at DC started basically publishing fan fiction, with reality-punching Superboy prime.

If I had to vote, I would vote for Jason to die. Mostly because I know now, how much potential him dying gave to the batman and robin mythos. Having that dead Robin there is a reminder that what they do is dangerous and has no place for amateurs. I wouldn’t vote for Jason to die again now, as it wouldn’t mean a thing. Like death in comics.

[lexxikitty-blog1]

Soul Unique by Gun Brooke Read: February 2016 Rating: 4.75 Stars

My first book by this author.  Truth be told, I had actually been interested in this specific book for a while now, but two things kept me away.  I think, and I could be wrong here, but I think I had briefly tried one of the author’s other books and couldn’t get into it.  It was a science fiction book, and if she hasn’t written anything like that, then I’m obviously thinking of someone else.  (I looked it up, I am thinking of and indirectly referring to <i>Protector of the Realm</i>, the first book in a science fiction series by this author – mind you, there’s a reason it isn’t on a DNF, or paused shelf – I’d read the sample, not attempted to read the book).

The second reason for my hesitation is something that I would normally not allow to influence me.  The cover.  The cover with two fake looking 3d avatars.  I’m the kind of person, who is sometimes drawn to off-ball covers, but something about 3d avatar covers pushes me away, and so, I was pushed away because of the cover.

Characters One point of view – that of Greer Landon. Greer Landon - art gallery owner (a network of galleries, not just one), has a big reputation in the art community.  Her age, if given, isn’t clear.  She’s apparently older than Hayden, though I’m not sure how much older.  Several comments, which would lead one to think ‘much older’ could also be ‘much more experienced’ type comments, which can be made regardless of age.   She is also wealthy.  Whether from her own efforts or family money is unclear.

Hayden Rowe - 25(?) – from an old family with lots of money.  Aspergers’ syndrome.  Very bad relationship with mother and father who, apparently, have no ability to deal with the facts involving their daughter (more the mother who can’t handle it, and a father who doesn’t help the situation, but still, both).  Has good/close relationship with grandmother, though grandmother had a stroke a year ago.  Book opens with Hayden living in an art school, in one wing of it, on a cot.  Art school owned by her mother.  The same mother who treats her daughter like a stupid retarded (I use that specific word on purpose) moron.

Others: India and Erica – India is Greer’s assistant, and Erica is India’s partner.  If it isn’t clear, everyone in this sentence is a lesbian.  

Hayden’s mother, Leyla Rowe, – bitchy small woman, who is in her late 50s, who wants her art school to be endorsed by Landon.  Bitter over losing control of her daughter when daughter was around 14, but sees her as a thing, a broken thing.

Hayden’s grandmother, Isabella Calthorpe Rowe, – sharp witted woman who is currently in a rich-person’s nursing home like place.  The Calthorpe part is important – that’s the name of the family from the dawn of time (or something like that).  

Penelope Moore – a neighbor of Greer’s who Hayden paints.   Famous author.

Romance Hayden and Greer’s romance started slowly.  They have something of an instant connect (at least as far as I can tell from only Greer’s point of view; and her insight into Hayden’s feelings).   At times I worried that things might lean a little too far into a certain icky territory.  It depended on how much Greer saw Hayden as an independent woman with her own thoughts and desires.  Instead of, say, the way Leyla Rowe saw her daughter – as someone incapable of caring for themselves, and probably needs to be locked away from the public.  There were times when Greer almost tipped into that direction, but she kept on the ‘sane’ side of the line.  

Because of Hayden’s ‘condition’, aspergers, Greer wanted to take things slow, to really make sure everyone knew what was happening and agreed with everything. Her attraction to Hayden, though, made things hard for Greer. And, at times, Hayden pressed/pushed Greer on the issue.

Despite, or because of this, their relationship and romance grew somewhat naturally – and was something of a treat to read.  Bah, I looked up how to spell aspergers and treat came from me seeing ‘treatment’ out of the corner of my eye. Hehe.  I don’t know what “Chronic: can last for years or be lifelong” means.  

Sex As I’m sure some want to know, yes there is graphic sex in this book.  Eventually.  Other than kissing and the like, the ‘heavy’ stuff starts with something like 80% of the book already over.   It was descriptive, graphic, and I liked it.  I have nothing more to say on the subject.

Location Most of the book takes place in Boston.  I have a strong sense of Leyla Rowe’s art school, particularly Hayden’s wing of it; a strong sense of Greer’s home, an unexpected strong sense of the grandmother Rowe’s place.  But if it wasn’t for the fact that the word Boston was used at some point, I would have no idea I was in Boston.  Not exactly a negative, just an FYI, don’t read this as something like a travel guide to Boston (for that: look at a travel guide, or if you want fiction, pick up a book by Robert B. Parker, especially one of the Spenser ones that doesn’t mention heading off to some other location).

Some part of the action takes place in Chicago as well.  Briefly.

Plot A person with a high level of acclaim in the art community is asked by an art school person to come by her place and potentially ‘endorse’ the school.   That person of influence being Greer Landon, and the person with the art school being Leyla Rowe.  I do not know Landon’s background, though the area she lives in, and vague hints left here and there indicate that she comes from some form of money and the like.  Which I mention, because one of the things I wanted to say, in reaction to the first sentences I had written, involved how Leyla came from the kind of money and family background that is very deep and ancient.  And Greer . . ..  So having things being flipped like this . . . .

But then I recalled that the ‘old family’ was Leyla’s husband, daughter, and mother-in-law.  I don’t actually know Leyla’s background.  Plus, everything seemed to indicate that Greer didn’t exactly spring up out of nowhere.   Though there are indications that Leyla was something of a ‘social climber’.

So then.  Rowe kept very strongly more or less begging Greer Landon and her assistant India, to have Greer stop by.  To make her stop, Greer finally agrees.  

She finds a bitchy short woman who is full of herself once Greer arrived at Rowe’s school.  That being Rowe herself.  She then is introduced to the ‘advanced class’ being taught by some ‘maestro’ from Italy.  Whose name is instantly recognized by Greer.  But not in a good way.  Greer was one of the people instrumental in getting this fraudster to flee Italy.  He isn’t a good painter and isn’t a good teacher.

Before Greer could relay any of this information, she overhears someone basically saying just that.  A young woman who is instantly attacked by this ‘maestro’, and by Leyla Rowe.  I have to stop just calling Leyla by the name of Rowe, because the young woman also has that name.  Hayden Rowe, being Leyla’s daughter, makes her comment then leaves (though after Greer says that Hayden is correct).

Leyla and maestro talk in a corner.  Greer looks over the students’ easels and says something about leaving, but they say they have some stuff set up in a gallery, so Greer decides to look at it.  She isn’t exactly ‘blown away’ by any of it until she rounds a corner and is.  Deeply impacted emotionally by gazing upon a painting hanging on the wall.  She demands to know who did that painting.  Turns out that it was Hayden’s work.

Somewhere along the way, Hayden’s wing of the school is visited by Greer.  She sees more brilliant artwork.  Etc. Etc.

For various reasons, Greer agrees to endorse the school but only if Hayden assists, and that ‘maestro’ guy is terminated.

Greer Landon feels protective of Hayden, and as the book progresses, they grow closer.

Overall As the saying goes, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (see, I can have a review where I express something in the beginning, then follow it up in the end).  That works for books and people.  If you let a label like ‘Aspergers’ syndrome’ get in your way, to guide your actions and reactions to someone, to allow you to use it as a screen to block the real live person beneath then you will miss out on life, love, happiness.  You can, of course, put anything in that label section.  Race, creed, nationality, gender, socio-economic class, political affiliation, anything.  Heh, that reminds me of a particular segment on a British show I loved (the show I loved, not specifically the segment) – ‘I can’t date him! He’s a Tory!’ (not exact quote, I don’t recall exact quote, though ‘but he has a massively large penis’ might be in there as well).

My point about all that, of course, was more directed at myself instead of anything in the book itself (though that mother sure did seem hung up on that ‘condition’ her daughter had).  Myself in that the cover kind of threw me and made me question whether I should try this book.

Glad I got passed that, eh?  Or had someone pick the book for me to read for a challenge and therefore ‘push’ me into reading it.  Because I rather loved the book.  And I’m not saying that lightly.   This is both the first day of February, and the first time this year that I felt a book was so good that it broke the scale (or, in other words, is one I’d put on my relatively smallish 5.5 shelf).

Review Writen: February 1 2016