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    Eye Contact
    Eye Contact
    Eye Contact
    Audiobook9 hours

    Eye Contact

    Written by Cammie McGovern

    Narrated by Julia Fletcher

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A nine-year-old autistic boy is discovered hiding near the body of his murdered classmate. Barely able to communicate on the best of days, the experience of witnessing the murder leaves him unable to explain what he saw or heard. It's up to his mother to reach her traumatized son-both to help him heal and to help the police catch the killer.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateMay 22, 2006
    ISBN9781598872682
    Eye Contact
    Author

    Cammie McGovern

    Cammie McGovern is the author of the adult novels Neighborhood Watch, Eye Contact and The Art of Seeing. She is one of the founders of Whole Children, a resource center that runs after-school classes and programs for children with special needs. She lives in the US but travels to London regularly. Cammie's sister is Elizabeth McGovern, one of the stars of Downton Abbey. For young adults she has written Amy and Matthew and A Step Towards Falling.

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    Reviews for Eye Contact

    3.5/5

    186 ratings18 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 3/5
      Overall I feel like I really like Cammie McGovern, but her books have all fallen a bit flat. Her writing style is fantastic, and this book was really good as a whole, but as a mystery, it was kind of weak. I enjoyed reading it for the interesting characters, and thought it would be even better if there was no mystery involved.
    • 4/5
      I wasn't sure what to expect from this thriller 'whodunnit' story. I knew that it involved a murder and an autistic boy but not much more. Although I had an idea that it would not be anything like "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" which has the same (from top-level) plot. This book was well written and easy to read. I felt that the various relationships of the characters intertwined quite well and I was only mildly confused a couple of times working out who was who. The twists were quite good and kept me guessing until the end. Although I felt the ending wasn't particularly exciting. Still, a fairly good read.
    • 4/5
      This is the story of the murder of a young autistic girl. The only witness? Her friend, Adam, who is also autistic. Cara, Adam's mother, struggles to break through her son's layers to uncover the truth. Who murdered the girl? How much did Adam see? And how is this all connected to Cara's past, and the friends she thought she'd lost forever? Lots of twists and turns. Lots of layers of meaning.
    • 3/5
      Kudos for Cammie McGovern for writing a book that includes an autistic child. Adams character is really well written and very interesting to read. Cara, Adam's mom is a single mom with no friends, no family, and no support network. She and her son are soon in the middle of a horrific murder which involves Adam and several of his classmates and a few older students. Many of the kids have disabilities which I thought made the story a bit much. Then the bullying factor is added and I just thought too many childhood issues were being thrown together. The author has an autistic child so her representation of Adam is really well written. I thought some of the parts where Kevin is in the woods to be a bit confusing. A bit too much mixed into one story for my taste, but some great characters are represented.
    • 5/5
      The students of Woodside Elementary School often spend their recesses playing games as children will do. As the innocent youngsters spend their time waging mock battles on the playground, they are blissfully unaware that soon the real world will intrude into their sheltered world and shatter their childhood happiness forever. And the consequences of such a vicious crime will shake this tiny, close knit community to its very core.During one particular recess, a little girl and boy - two students - seem to vanish without a trace. Upon further investigation, it soon comes to light that both children were last seen heading across the soccer field toward the woods behind the school. They were last seen together, but witnesses claim not to know what could have happened to them.Hours pass before only one of them, a nine-year-old autistic boy named Adam, is found alive. Discovered several yards away from the little girl's body, hiding in the sheltering undergrowth, Adam is apparently the sole witness to an incomprehensible killing. Barely verbal on the best of days, Adam has since retreated into his own silent world, unable to tell anyone else what he witnessed.Adam's mother Cara has an intimate knowledge of her son's mannerisms and attitude, and she knows of Adam's secret, silent, insulated world only too well. With her community still reeling from the shock and her son unable to help the police in their investigation, it falls to Cara to become Adam's voice as she tries to decode the puzzling events. Yet in her desperate desire to protect her son from the various cruelties of life - both inadvertent and deliberate - has Cara somehow made his world a much more dangerous place?When another child suddenly goes missing, Adam's mother redoubles her efforts to interpret the potential clues. Cara realizes that only she can unlock her son's silence to provide the police with the clues that they need to catch a killer. She knows that when she is finally able to interpret the changes in Adam's behavior, she will not only understand how to better help him deal with the trauma of having witnessed his best friend's murder, she will also have helped the police to solve an horrendous crime. Yet as Cara moves closer to exposing the truth of what happened, her own unsettling past begins to emerge from the shadows.I thought this was really an excellent book. In my opinion, this was an intriguing and well-written story with a well-developed and fast-paced plot. I found that there was a vibrant poignancy to Ms. McGovern's writing, and I found myself learning and understanding more about the hardships and struggles faced by the parents of autistic children. I could really empathize with Cara and the various difficulties that she had raising her son. I would certainly give this book an A! and definitely will be on the lookout for more books by Cammie McGovern.
    • 4/5
      Eye Contact is about the investigation of the disappearance of a young girl. However, there is a witness! Unfortunately, this witness is a 9-year-old boy with autism, and so he cannot speak about what he saw. The constant struggle by both the police and the parents to understand what happened makes this book almost impossible to put down.Judging by the other reviews I have read, people seem to either love this book or hate it. I thought it was very well written and the story was captivating- I couldn't put it down. However, I did feel that the clues leading up to the discovery of the felon were very obscure- there was no way anyone could have figured it out and it seemed somewhat sudden.Some other comments stated that there were too many characters and storylines, but I did not feel that this was the case.I liked this novel, even though it wasn't really my usual type of story. I enjoyed reading it!
    • 4/5
      I've always been interested in autism, and this book treats the topic well. There are insights from various kids on the autism spectrum.
    • 4/5
      Read this in two days (had to work and drive) and loved it. I believe this is in part to having a family member with asperger's and noticing how the behavior is sometimes the same. Very captivating book.
    • 4/5
      A close second to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime for me. Could have been shorter, or tighter perhaps, but it steered clear of "hollywood" autism. Particularly interesting was the mother's insight into the mind of her son; also the way the author solved the mystery through the efforts of other youths with autism!
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this one. At first I was reminded of Jodi Picoult's House Rules, which like this one, centers around a murder & an autistic child. But I actually found this more compelling. Not only did McGovern do a good job portraying the subject matter of autism & family members & friends living with it, but it also touched on several aspects of children with various special needs, both on & off the spectrum. Additionally, this was a story that kept me guessing up until near the end. My only criticism would maybe be that the author also tried to get into the brain of a fairly severe autistic child, and I'm not sure how accurate that may have been. It could have been spot-on, but who's to know? Regardless, I highly recommend this one & will look forward to more from this author.
    • 4/5
      an autistic child is the only eyewitness to a murder in a small town. we experience the case through the eyes of his mother, who struggles to protect her child and help solve the mystery. the autism plays an important role as we learn quite a bit about it. the mother's past also comes into play. fairly quick-paced, plenty of interesting characters, fairly complex plot, personal dilemmas, family issues. thoughtful and haunting.
    • 5/5
      Just finished reading "Eye Contact" by Cammie McGovern. I loved this book. It capured my interest on so many levels. A very interesting premise, a witness to a murder who could not communicate, a mystery extremely well executed! Beyond that, it touched on other aspects of interpersonal relationships, protective parents, old and new friendships, bullying in school, trust,and various kinds of love. It was all woven together with great skill. A book you could hardly put down, I finished it in a 24 hour period. I don't usually read books twice, but I am certain if you reread this one, there would still be much, much more to learn!
    • 4/5
      The plot is every mother's, teacher's and community's nightmare. 2 kids disappear off of a school playground and when they are found a little girl is dead and the other is a boy with Autism who has retreated into himself which in turn makes the characters have to look into their pasts and unearth secrets that will change all of there lives. It starts of fairly linear but then it delves into a variety of storylines including a group of middle schoolers in a social skills group for "kids wit...more The plot is every mother's, teacher's and community's nightmare. 2 kids disappear off of a school playground and when they are found a little girl is dead and the other is a boy with Autism who has retreated into himself which in turn makes the characters have to look into their pasts and unearth secrets that will change all of there lives. It starts of fairly linear but then it delves into a variety of storylines including a group of middle schoolers in a social skills group for "kids without friends" and the bullying they have endured and seen, and Adam's (the boy with autism) mother's past including a best friend who is now does not leave her house and Kevin a boy who she knew in high school that has physical limitations of his own. Lots and twists and turns and overall great mystery that was a fun ride.I do bid warning, if you have a child going into middle school or in Special Ed, it may be a hard read.I also have to give credit to the author, being a mom to a child with Autism she did a nice job depicting the mom's struggle through her son's life.
    • 3/5
      This book tries to be a suspenseful mystery as well as general fiction that sheds light on autism. The mystery fails but the author succeeds in creating a fascinating character and, by telling the story from various points of view, gives the reader a well-developed picture of autism and related issues of childhood and development.
    • 4/5
      This book was an interesting read--the dialogue was in a great narrative voice and the characters were all sufficiently complex to warrant your attention. The mystery aspect of the novel was more of an after-thought, a plot device to tell the story of relationships (parent/child, friendships, male/female). The story left you wondering about the loss of childhood innocence and if any relationships are really as stable as they may seem on the surface.
    • 4/5
      I read this book in less than a day! It was riveting and written very well. This murder mystery goes in directions that you would never believe! It was surprisingly nice and nicely done!
    • 5/5
      This was a very good book, but the climax and conclusion were a litle weak. You get so wrapped up in trying to figure out who killed the young girl, that when you find out who did it and why you feel cheated.
    • 4/5
      The author has an autistic son, and her book shows that she has done extensive research on the subject of autistic children, but also manages to weave an interesting murder/plot into her novel.