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A review by nicolemhewitt
Kaleidoscope by Kevin Berry
This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Book #2 in the Stim series gives us another fresh perspective on the Aspie world. In Kaleidoscope, we see Chloe's tumultuous response to the earthquakes that continue to plague her home. While I didn't love this book as much as I did the first in the series, I did enjoy it, and I think I might have enjoyed it even more if I hadn't read the two books back-to-back (read on for more details about why I think that ...)
What I loved:
Chloe.
I fell in love with Chloe in the first book, so I was very happy that this book would be told from her perspective. Chloe is fun, interesting and quirky - and she knows it. She's used to having a pretty good grasp on how to handle the world, despite her Aspergers, but she finds herself completely adrift when the earthquakes take away all of her routine and stability. In the first book, Chloe always seemed pretty self-aware, but she definitely loses some of that confidence in herself in this book - I enjoyed her journey to get that back!
Depiction of Asperger's and Bi-Polar Disorder.
Just like Stim, this book gives great inside into the heart and mind of someone with Asperger's. I love Chloe's perspective - the fact that she doesn't see herself as having anything wrong with her, she's just different. At the same time, she does have parts of her personality (mostly her bi-polar disorder) that need to be tempered with medication. Otherwise, she puts her own life and the lives of those around her into turmoil. Chloe struggles with this - and her internal struggle makes for very interesting reading!
The negatives:
Similarities to book #1.
I think my biggest issue with this book was actually that I read it right after reading Stim, and it just felt a bit too similar to the first book without all the fun, lighthearted moments (which were a big part of what made me love the first book!). Chloe's voice is very similar to Robert's, except that she replaces strange economics references with her own made up hybrid words. When disaster strikes and she finds herself without medication for an extended period of time, she responds much the same way that Robert did in book #1 when he upped his dosage of medication. I felt like it was just a little too similar, and therefore didn't enjoy it as much. But if more time had passed between reading the first and second books, I really think I would have appreciated the unique Aspie voice more and Robert's story wouldn't have been right at the forefront of my mind. It was hard not to compare the two books - and I found this one to feel a bit repetitive - similar, but a bit more depressing and not as much fun. Still a good read, though!
While I didn't love this book quite as much as the first one, I still think that it's a great read and that anyone touched by Asperger's (which is pretty much everyone, in some way or another) should definitely check it out! I give this one 3/5 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***
Book #2 in the Stim series gives us another fresh perspective on the Aspie world. In Kaleidoscope, we see Chloe's tumultuous response to the earthquakes that continue to plague her home. While I didn't love this book as much as I did the first in the series, I did enjoy it, and I think I might have enjoyed it even more if I hadn't read the two books back-to-back (read on for more details about why I think that ...)
What I loved:
Chloe.
I fell in love with Chloe in the first book, so I was very happy that this book would be told from her perspective. Chloe is fun, interesting and quirky - and she knows it. She's used to having a pretty good grasp on how to handle the world, despite her Aspergers, but she finds herself completely adrift when the earthquakes take away all of her routine and stability. In the first book, Chloe always seemed pretty self-aware, but she definitely loses some of that confidence in herself in this book - I enjoyed her journey to get that back!
Depiction of Asperger's and Bi-Polar Disorder.
Just like Stim, this book gives great inside into the heart and mind of someone with Asperger's. I love Chloe's perspective - the fact that she doesn't see herself as having anything wrong with her, she's just different. At the same time, she does have parts of her personality (mostly her bi-polar disorder) that need to be tempered with medication. Otherwise, she puts her own life and the lives of those around her into turmoil. Chloe struggles with this - and her internal struggle makes for very interesting reading!
The negatives:
Similarities to book #1.
I think my biggest issue with this book was actually that I read it right after reading Stim, and it just felt a bit too similar to the first book without all the fun, lighthearted moments (which were a big part of what made me love the first book!). Chloe's voice is very similar to Robert's, except that she replaces strange economics references with her own made up hybrid words. When disaster strikes and she finds herself without medication for an extended period of time, she responds much the same way that Robert did in book #1 when he upped his dosage of medication. I felt like it was just a little too similar, and therefore didn't enjoy it as much. But if more time had passed between reading the first and second books, I really think I would have appreciated the unique Aspie voice more and Robert's story wouldn't have been right at the forefront of my mind. It was hard not to compare the two books - and I found this one to feel a bit repetitive - similar, but a bit more depressing and not as much fun. Still a good read, though!
While I didn't love this book quite as much as the first one, I still think that it's a great read and that anyone touched by Asperger's (which is pretty much everyone, in some way or another) should definitely check it out! I give this one 3/5 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***