Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

"I wonder how I would define large talk. I don’t understand why I never made a distinction between small and large talk in Paterson.”

Francisco X. Stork’s Marcelo in the Real World is a young adult novel on courage and friendship that moves and welcomes readers into the complex yet astounding mind of Marcelo and his journey in the real world. This was published last 2009.

The story is about Marcelo, a 17-year old boy with Asperger’s syndrome, who tries to live in the real world during summer, that is separate from the one he’s used to.

Stork wrote a non-cliché-superhero-who-doesn’t-wear-capes-kind of young adult story through Marcelo’s character. He wrote Marcelo’s POV just as how someone who was born different, views and identifies with the world. His character is something to look forward to, that you don’t get to see in any young adult book. Stork gives us a story of how people are still people despite being born different.

Marcelo was given a condition by his father to get him out of his comfort zone and more in contact with the “real world.” With this, he is filled with different emotions he never knew he could feel and faced difficult choices he never knew were harder than he expected. Regarding Marcelo’s situation, readers would really feel hesitant and worried for him as he takes on his father’s conditions. However, as hard as the journey might be for Marcelo with internal conflicts he encounters beyond his comfort zone, he gains strength he never knew he had and that in the real world, there also comes trust, friendship, life and even love, moving readers through the pages.

“What I feel when others cry is more like a dry, empty aloneness, like I’m the only person left in the world.”

Some characters may add to the roller coaster ride of emotions all throughout Marcelo’s journey. They actually represent real people as how Marcelo does, at the same time, they contribute to how he faces the real world and the way he grew as a person. Just like in reality, they are diverse and they either have character development or stay the way they are.

The book was beautifully written by Stork. It was well-constructed, very moving, at the same time, unpredictable and non-cliché. It was very well-paced and a non-cliché story so it is not boring as the reader sifts through the pages. Instead, it’s very realistic, raw and could prompt curiosity which in turn could make the reader unaware that the end of the story is fast approaching. There was no romanticizing of Marcelo having Asperger’s syndrome, instead, Stork wrote it in a way to give awareness of how Asperger’s is like while breaking various stereotypes that the said condition has. He gave us a story through the eyes of someone who functions differently yet is still considered as regular person.

Personally, I felt protective of Marcelo’s character as if he was someone I wanna look out for, but as the story progressed I can’t really help but feel proud of his growth, his own character development especially with how he became brave with his decisions despite the outcomes. Therese on the other hand felt more reminded and inspired with Marcelo’s character to never stop learning and always explore new things.

Since it’s not purely a young adult story, Therese and I also appreciate how the book has its own warning at the lower back of the book cover regarding the age limit of its reader. The cover could be a bit misleading (especially with the book cover I’ve shown above), so the warning at the back is a plus point considering younger readers. However, some might feel a bit confused reading the first few parts of the book but as you progress through the pages, the way it was written is actually very comprehensive.

This is definitely a moving, page-turner, and good read, that even adults would be moved by Marcelo.

Highly recommended, 4.6 stars.

“The right note sounds right and the wrong note sounds wrong.”

Writer,

Thin Girl, in collaboration with Therese (@kopicinco)