Scan barcode
A review by nicolemhewitt
Stim by Kevin Berry
4.0
This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Stim is an incredibly insightful book, written from the perspective of a person with Asperger's. I so enjoyed seeing the world through Robert's eyes!
What I loved:
Insight into the Aspie world.
Anyone who knows someone on the spectrum will benefit from reading this book because it's written from the POV of a person with Asperger's (and also by an author with Asperger's - so he knows what he's talking about!). Getting a glimpse into the mind of someone who thinks differently is such a unique experience - Robert doesn't see the world the way that we do. He knows this, but that doesn't mean he can change it - or that he even wants to. As we go through an average day from Robert's POV, we are shown how a person with AS responds the world around him - what he wants, what he needs, how he orders the world around him. It made me truly think about my interactions with other people, and it gave me an awareness of what people with AS go through on a day-to-day basis. I loved this unique insight!
So funny!
Robert's misinterpretations (or, at least, different interpretations) of the world around him often led to incredibly funny scenes in the book. I can't tell you how often I laughed out loud! One of my absolute favorite scenes was when Robert, Chloe and Stef decide to play monopoly. Robert, being an economics major (and being incredibly interested in economic theory and history) turns the game into something quite different than your average Monopoly game - I couldn't stop laughing at Robert and Chloe's solutions to the problems of the game!
The romance.
Robert's plan to get a "normal" girlfriend leads to lots of entertaining moments. Throughout the book, I was rooting for Robert to find what he needed (which wasn't necessarily what he thought he wanted)!
The negatives:
Overplayed jokes.
I felt like certain jokes seemed to go on for a bit too long. For instance, Robert and Chloe decide on a highly unusual name for their cat, which led to LOTS of humorous misunderstandings. I felt like that particular joke was played out a bit too much, though.
Difficulty connecting sometimes.
Robert's voice was unique and interesting, but his lack of contractions and sometimes emotionless delivery occasionally made the book harder to connect to. Of course, this is part of the character's innate personality and essential to the book. Luckily, the humor really helped mitigate the effects of this dry POV a lot!
I highly recommend this book if you're looking for something unique and interesting. Robert's POV on the world will truly make you think about what is "normal" and why we value it so highly. I give this book 4/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***
Stim is an incredibly insightful book, written from the perspective of a person with Asperger's. I so enjoyed seeing the world through Robert's eyes!
What I loved:
Insight into the Aspie world.
Anyone who knows someone on the spectrum will benefit from reading this book because it's written from the POV of a person with Asperger's (and also by an author with Asperger's - so he knows what he's talking about!). Getting a glimpse into the mind of someone who thinks differently is such a unique experience - Robert doesn't see the world the way that we do. He knows this, but that doesn't mean he can change it - or that he even wants to. As we go through an average day from Robert's POV, we are shown how a person with AS responds the world around him - what he wants, what he needs, how he orders the world around him. It made me truly think about my interactions with other people, and it gave me an awareness of what people with AS go through on a day-to-day basis. I loved this unique insight!
So funny!
Robert's misinterpretations (or, at least, different interpretations) of the world around him often led to incredibly funny scenes in the book. I can't tell you how often I laughed out loud! One of my absolute favorite scenes was when Robert, Chloe and Stef decide to play monopoly. Robert, being an economics major (and being incredibly interested in economic theory and history) turns the game into something quite different than your average Monopoly game - I couldn't stop laughing at Robert and Chloe's solutions to the problems of the game!
The romance.
Robert's plan to get a "normal" girlfriend leads to lots of entertaining moments. Throughout the book, I was rooting for Robert to find what he needed (which wasn't necessarily what he thought he wanted)!
The negatives:
Overplayed jokes.
I felt like certain jokes seemed to go on for a bit too long. For instance, Robert and Chloe decide on a highly unusual name for their cat, which led to LOTS of humorous misunderstandings. I felt like that particular joke was played out a bit too much, though.
Difficulty connecting sometimes.
Robert's voice was unique and interesting, but his lack of contractions and sometimes emotionless delivery occasionally made the book harder to connect to. Of course, this is part of the character's innate personality and essential to the book. Luckily, the humor really helped mitigate the effects of this dry POV a lot!
I highly recommend this book if you're looking for something unique and interesting. Robert's POV on the world will truly make you think about what is "normal" and why we value it so highly. I give this book 4/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***