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    Marcelo in the Real World
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    Marcelo in the Real World
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    Marcelo in the Real World
    Audiobook10 hours

    Marcelo in the Real World

    Written by Francisco Stork

    Narrated by Lincoln Hoppe

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Marcelo Sandoval hears music that nobody else can hear-part of an autism-like condition that no doctor has been able to identify. But his father has never fully believed in the music or Marcelo's differences, and he challenges Marcelo to work in the mailroom of his law firm for the summer. . . to join "the real world."

    There Marcelo meets Jasmine, his beautiful and surprising coworker, and Wendell, the son of another partner in the firm. He learns about competition and jealousy, anger and desire. But it's a picture he finds in a file-a picture of a girl with half a face-that truly connects him with the real world: its suffering, its injustice, and what he can do to fight.

    Reminiscent of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in the intensity and purity of its voice, this extraordinary audiobook is a love story, a legal drama, and a celebration of the music each of us hears inside.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMar 10, 2009
    ISBN9780739379905
    Unavailable
    Marcelo in the Real World

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    Reviews for Marcelo in the Real World

    4/5

    618 ratings97 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I really liked the message and the thought provoking questions and discussions in this book. It had an interesting plot and humor and gentleness but that greatly clashed with the profanity and crude sexual references by many of the characters except for the main character. I get that it highlighted the purity and goodness of Marcelo, the mc, but I don't feel comfortable reading that kind of stuff so I had to skip over pages. I include that here in my review so that any other readers who don't like reading that kind of stuff are forewarned. At the same time though, the main message was how do we recognize right from wrong and how do we do what's right even when it seems it might hurt those we love- a great question- with a great answer: we look at the fruit and we listen to our hearts, and we try not to be distracted by all the little yearnings and urges we think are important but are really selfish or silly. (The author puts it much better than I can.)
    • 3/5
      Marcelo is a teenage boy with Asperger’s syndrome. He attends a private school for students with disabilities, and has earned a summer job there, working with the therapy ponies. His dad is a lawyer who doesn’t understand Marcelo’s mind, and seems embarrassed by his son’s “impairment”. He wants Marcelo to attend the public high school for his senior year, so he makes Marcelo a wager: if Marcelo works in his father’s law firm for the summer, he can decide to stay at his private school, or move on to the more challenging public high school. Marcelo really wanted to work with the ponies because that’s his dream job, but he agrees to his father’s stipulations and tackles a summer in “the real world”.


      I liked that this book was unsentimental, yet still managed to be poignant and emotional in a few select scenes. Overall, I got a dark, somewhat sad feeling from the book, but it wasn’t depressing. It was very compelling to keep reading, even though there wasn’t a lot of suspense or action.
    • 3/5
      This is another one I perhaps should have read instead of listened to. I didn't like the reader's voice and wasn't always sure when Marcelo was thinking or talking. He read slowly, which made sense for the character, but I ended up turning on the 2x speed on my ipod at times. It's a coming-of-age story about a young man with high functioning autism whose father requires him to work in his law firm for the summer to gain more experience of the "real world". He works through issues that most teenagers do in his own way. There was a more religion in it than I expected. The messages were important, but somehow I was dissatisfied with the story.
    • 4/5
      This was truly and delightful and heart-felt read. I loved Marcelo's narration from the start and his innocence was touching. However, my favourite character was Jasmine. I admired her strong sense of right and wrong and I loved how she interacted with Marcelo. Although the ending didn't really thrill me, "Marcelo in the Real World" was a poignant and moving novel.
    • 5/5
      17-year old Marcelo has his future planned out. He'll work training horses this summer at his school, a special school for kids with disabilities. In the fall, he'll return to Paterson for his senior year and then go to college to study nursing. But Marcelo's dad has other plans for him. Arturo would like Marcelo to join "the real world" by working at his law firm for the summer and attending a typical high school in the fall. They make a deal. If Marcelo gets through the summer working at the law firm, adapting to new situations and following the rules of the real world, then Marcelo can choose what school he attends in the fall. But the real world is more complicated, beautiful, and frightening than Marcelo could ever have imagined.I loved this book. Marcelo came to life for me and I love that even though the protagonist has a disability the conflicts that Marcelo faces are the same conflicts that face any teenager. Girls, jobs, family, and doing the right thing. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Summary: 17-year-old Marcelo has a condition similar to autism—he hears music in his mind that no one else can hear. Marcelo loves his school, but in order to keep going there, first he has to prove to his father that he can make it in “the real world.”Review: I found this book a little difficult to get into at first because the main character is so guarded with his emotions, but I appreciated and completely understood the realism. And I ended up thoroughly enjoying this story. I got especially wrapped up in the plot around a decision Marcelo has to make in “the real world.”One trivial thing bugged me an eensy weensy bit. A lot of times, the characters didn’t use common contractions when speaking, like always saying “it is” and “you are.” While I bought that Marcelo would talk that way, it made the other characters’ speech sound stilted.This is a sweet story, and I actually found myself missing Marcelo as I typed up this review.
    • 5/5
      This deserves a long, well-thought out review. Until I have time to do it justice, just know that this one is pretty much perfect.
    • 3/5
      4Q, 3P. The concept of this novel was interesting with the main character a young man, Marcelo Sandoval, who has an Aspergers-type syndrome that his doctor has not been able to identify. He has a fixation with religion, he hears music in his head that no one else can hear, and he sometimes refers to himself in the third person. However, his father doesn't buy into Marcelo having a disorder and makes him work at his law firm over the summer in order to incorporate him into the "real world". The novel is a great example of how to deal with new emotions and experiences that a teen might find them self in. Marcelo has trouble understanding the facial expressions and reactions of people in this novel and he has to learn how to behave in this environment. I definitely think this was a well written novel and that the message and story were unique, however, I will admit that I was having trouble staying engaged all the way through. The support characters did not keep me as interested as the main character, Marcelo, who was a wonderfully established young man.
    • 4/5
      Very good read. The last half of the book is very affecting and left me in tears, but in a good way.
    • 4/5
      This is a well-written, thoughtful story about Marcelo, a highly functioning 17-year old with Aspeger's syndrome. Marcelo leaves the comfortable world of his special high school and takes a job in his father's law office, or "the real world." As you might expect, the real world is not always the kindest, easiest place to function. Marcelo learns a lot of unpleasant truths about the ways of the world, including information about his father that he may wish he never knew.
      The hardest part about reading this book is encountering all of the characters who are mean to Marcelo because they believe he is dumb or slow and does not understand that he is being insulted and talked down to. But it is also, unfortunately, true to life and Stork does an admirable job letting his character experience the world without overdramatizing everything.
    • 5/5
      How did this not win the Printz? Even an honor. This is what I mean about expanding the genre and adding something new and unique to the canon. This is where we can go in YA, a smart and emotional story about a boy finding himself in the real world. Has one of the most honest assessment of religion I've ever read. Great read.
    • 3/5
      Maybe I'd have liked this more if I'd read it, instead of listened to it. As an audio, at least, the pacing dragged and some of the conversations on faith (and other topics) seemed overly long and didactic.

      I can see the appeal to certain teens, but I wouldn't think this would be the all-around favorite it seems to have been on the awards circuit. It's just not for everybody, I guess.
    • 4/5
      About as flawless as books come. When I started the book, I was afraid of the "big dramatic sensational contrived moment," but as I kept reading, I realized my emotions were in good hands. It's a wonderful book with a clear voice (the narrator is a young man with an autism-like condition) and a great set of rich, believable characters.
    • 4/5
      Seventeen-year-old Marcelo, who is somewhere on the autism spectrum, has led a fairly sheltered life, attending a school for special-needs kids. His father, a high-powered Boston lawyer, believes that it's time for Marcelo to learn to get along in "the real world" and insists that the boy take a job in his law firm's mail room, where he meets a nice young woman, is forced to deal with his father's partner's smarmy son, and eventually finds himself facing a significant ethical dilemma.Marcelo is an interesting and likeable enough character, and the story here isn't bad at all. It's got decent writing, some thoughtful bits of philosophy, and a fairly nice ending. So I mostly enjoyed it well enough, but there's something about it that I found very vaguely unsatisfying. Maybe it's that Marcelo's ability to understand the nuances of what other people are saying varies just a little too much with the needs of the story, or that aforementioned ethical dilemma seems just a little too contrived, or that the smarmy character is a little too over-the-top in his smarminess... Or maybe it's just that it was over-hyped to me a bit, and I read it too soon after Sabina Berman's Me, Who Dove Into the Heart of the World, which also features a high-functioning autistic main character, but one whose voice worked slightly better for me. Whatever the case, I can't help feeling I should have liked it more thoroughly than I actually did.
    • 4/5
      LOVED it. 4 stars since the Ixtel subplot seemed out of place at first, but otherwise 5 stars.
    • 4/5
      Marcelo is autism spectrum. His father wants him to work for his firm during the summer and if Marcelo follows the rules he will be allowed to return to his high school. If he doesn't, he will be sent to public school. Marcelo is introduced to people like Wendell and Jasmine that allows him to experience things he has not been exposed to. Lying, cheating, sex, and love are explored in Marcelo's new world..the real world.
    • 5/5
      Marcello has a condition on the autism spectrum and has a special interest in religion. However his father seems to be in denial. He wants Marcello to join the 'real world' and organises a job for him at his law office for the summer. There Marcello meets Jasmine - his co-worker, and Wendell, his father's partner's son. Marcello learns about competition and friendship and starts to wonder about love and desire. He also discovers a sense of injustice when he finds the picture of a girl with a deformed face.Marcello is a delightful character and because the story is told in 1st person we get an intriguing glimpse into his thought processes. We care what happens to him and would like to know if he goes on to achieve his dreams.
    • 4/5
      A 17 year old boy with Asperger's syndrome makes a deal with his father to survive one summer in the "real" world for the opportunity to spend his senior at the private school he has attended for three years. Marcelo takes the challenge and learns about himself and the world as he has to make hard decisions.
    • 5/5
      The real world is a cold, hard place. That's the lesson Marcelo quickly learns. At age 17, he's grown up in the comfortable confines of a private school for developmentally-challenged children; in Marcelo's case, he has high-functioning autism, with a stilted manner of speaking and difficulties in following facial expressions or conversation. He expects to work the summer taking care of his beloved Haflinger ponies at his school when his father surprises him with two opportunities: Marcelo must spend the summer working at his father's prestigious law firm, or he must attend a normal high school for his senior year. If Marcelo does well at the law firm, he can choose which school to attend in the fall.This young adult book gripped me by the throat, and not simply because Marcelo reminded me of my own young son. Marcelo has been sheltered, and then his exposure in the "real world" comes in the form of a shark tank: a cut-throat law firm, with bitter hatred between rival and constant sniping between divisions. Some of the scenes made me physically angry, complete with balled fists and a flushed face. I wanted to fight for Marcelo, but in the end, he didn't need me to fight for him. Marcelo emerges as a strong, resourceful young man. Yes, he has disadvantages in some ways, but he's on the right path, and one of his own making.It's a very real book from a teen perspective, meaning it also delves into some sexual subject matter and language, along with the nature of God and moral rights and wrongs. Don't let that dissuade you. It's never preachy. This book is a thing of beauty.
    • 4/5
      There seems to be a trend of writing novels from the perspective of kids with a disability. Marcelo is both insightful, interesting, and relatable, while acting as a ambassador to those with mild Asperger's (even though that's not really what he has). Working at his fathers lawfirm in the mail room, he befriends Lisa, who does not treat him differently because of what many consider his "disability." He also encounters his father's law partners son, Wendel, who also tries to befriend him for his own reasons. Marcelo must lean how to read facial expressions and signals, but then goes into the deeper fields of right and wrong, as well as love. This book has philosophical undertones that would be good for kids as they enter an age where these issues begin to be prevalent. As Marcelo is 17/18 and pondering these questions, it may give kids a sense of safety to explore these topics as well. The book is well written and paced well, good for young adults, or adults looking for a good light read.
    • 3/5
      Marcelo is not what his father would call “normal,” but he is okay with that. He is happy with his life and looking forward to his senior year at Paterson (a school for children with special needs.) He is especially excited about his summer job taking care of the ponies at Paterson. Marcelo has a disorder that most closely resembles Asperger’s Syndrome, although that it not what it is. He hears a sort of internal music that no one else can hear and views the world in a way that is unique to him. Arturo, Marcelo’s father, feels that Paterson is not the place for Marcelo. It is too sheltered. He is sure that his son could learn to function in the “real world” if he had to. And that is Arturo’s plan, to take Marcelo out of his comfort zone and put him in the “real world.” Arturo gives Marcelo a choice: if he gives up the job at Paterson and works in the mail room at his father’s law office he may choose to go to Paterson or the local public high school for his senior year. If he insists on keeping his stable man job he will have to go to the public high school. Marcelo’s choice leads him to a summer of adventures, new experiences, and knowledge that he isn’t sure he ever wanted to have. He develops new friendships and learns that friendly people are not always friends. Through the summer Marcelo is forced to think about his life and what he wants out of it. He learns who he is and who he wants to be.I first saw this book at the Cooperative Children’s Book Center and desperately wanted to read it. I was so pleased to not only find it listed as a giveaway but to win it! Once I received it in the mail I could not wait to read it. I was not disappointed. As a middle school library media specialist and young adult literature enthusiast I read many YA books. I try to read across genres and formats. In a year I read many books that I enjoy but not many that are truly unique. Marcelo in the Real World fits that bill. It is enjoyable and unique, a wonderful combination.I was pleased that Marcelo’s disorder was never named. I think that too often people read a book where a character has a certain disorder/disability and they apply the traits of that character to all people with the same disorder/disability. Stork did a great job of giving the reader an idea of what Marcelo was like without stereotyping him or anyone else. I also liked the comparisons that Marcelo makes that let the reader understand how he is feeling (ex: his brain feeling like a chewed up wad of bubble gum.)I found the relationship between Jasmine and Marcelo to be interesting. I was surprised that Jasmine wanted to move back home. That didn’t really seem to fit my idea of her from what I had already read and I had a hard time reconsidering that. The whole Vermont scene really didn’t fit for me. It made more sense at the end. I felt that there was a lot going on in the book but the issues were all handled/resolved. I liked that Marcelo thought through the outcomes of his actions and was prepared to deal with the consequences. I think that this is a hard thing for any seventeen-year-old to do. His final decision was really a reflection of who he is and what he believes in. Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to YA readers and adult readers alike.
    • 4/5
      This book uses the vehicle of a young man with asperger's syndrome to discuss how we should live in the world. Marcelo's area of special interest is god, he goes regularly to the Catholic church, says the rosary to maintain calmness, and he regularly visits a rabbi to discuss religion, philosophy and morality. Marcelo is ripped from the special school he loves where he is respected and talented and forced to work in his father's law office so that he can learn how to compete in the real world. The discussions with the rabbi cover Marcelo's reactions to the unpleasant and confusing attitudes he finds in real life. The discussion of Adam and Eve eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil emphasizes that this is just what Marcelo is doing. The function of belief is discussed in that belief in god is not necessary, but belief in one's ability to act correctly is. Marcelo has to decide whether to live in serenity and joy or to expose himself to pain. I recommend this book for anyone considering such decisions.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book about Marcelo's experience in what his dad feels is the "real world" during a summer job at his law firm. Marcelo, a teenager on the high functioning end of the autism spectrum, faces all types of new dilemmas as he engages in new experiences including a developing friendship with Jasmine and the search for truth & justice after finding a picture of a girl injured in a car accident. I tried to give this book a listen several years ago and didn't get into it. I'm so glad I picked it up again!
    • 2/5
      I know I'm alone here, but this book did absolutely nothing for me.It started out quite well, and I really enjoyed the first half. Then it began to feel like a story swimming in a thick gravy of wisdom at the level of a greeting card. Imagine sitting by the fire singing "Everyone Is Beautiful" with these cliched characters: the boy with autism who, gosh darn, turns out to be the wisest of all; the rich lawyer's spoiled son; the woman who seems to have abandoned her faith but does "God's work" helping others; the dedicated young rabbi - and you've got it.I gave it two stars because of the first half, but I would not recommend this book.
    • 4/5
      Marcleo's father Arturo gives his son an ultimatum for entering his senior year of high school: if he could enter the "real" world by working in the mail room of the father's law firm he can attend Patterson, a high school for students with disabilities, and work with the ponies and if he fails, then he would have to attend Oak Ridge High, a "normal" high school. While there, Marcelo encounters a world where people use him for their own purposes and tries to figure out how to navigate it.An excellent, excellent book that deals with philosophical questions about humanity, forgiveness, and truth. Listened to the audiobook by Lincoln Hopper, which a first was a bit hard to get used to his voice, but I'm very glad that I stuck with it.
    • 4/5
      A must read for anyone interested in the thought processes of a teen with Asperger's syndrome. I also recommend The Curious incident of the dog in the night-time.
    • 4/5
      This book begins when Marcelo, a 17-year-old who "shares some of the characteristics of Asperger's Syndrome" is forced by his father to spend a summer working at a law firm. For the first time, he will be forced to leave behind the comfortable, accomodating world of his school for children with disabilities and function in a real world that will not always tolerate his eccentricities. Marcelo in the Real World is the slow, meandering story of that summer. An ethical dilemma surrounding a legal case gives the story some structure, but mostly, it is a series of ordinary days in Marcelo's life that allow the reader to witness his development from a sheltered teen to an adult capable of thinking critically and taking action. Because of that, I'm not sure this book is appealing to its young adult demographic, but this twenty-eight-year-old reader enjoyed it very much. Marcelo and all of the other characters felt real and human, and I appreciated the way the book tackled ethics, religion, and disability in unique ways. If you read for characters and ideas more than plot, you will probably enjoy the book as much as I did; readers who need more action should probably skip this one.
    • 5/5
      This stunning novel examines the morality of right and wrong, religious views and the discovery of truth. What some people believe as having a challenge, Marcelo shows that people with disabilities are capable of making big decisions in the real world. This novel will open the eyes of adults, young and old and readers will see that sometimes making the right choice will hurt the ones you love.
    • 5/5
      Amazing! This book is so inspiring. Marcelo reminds me a lot of myself in the beginning of the book. I could relate to his fear which made the story very real to me and pulled me right in. As the story progressed, I couldn't help but find him incredibly brave. Marcelo in the Real World has inspired me to try and face some of my own fears. Everyone needs to read this book.
    • 4/5
      It's not really a three, but wasn't quite a four. Seventeen year old Marcelo Sandoval is different. He hears music no one else can hear, his social development is stumped, and his special interests include religion, classical music, and therapy ponies. Marcelo is looking forward to a summer of working as a stable boy at Paterson, a school for kids with special needs, when his father tells him that he must get out of his comfort zone and join the "real world" or else he won't be able to go to Paterson for his senior year. The real world in this case is his father's law firm's mailroom where Marcelo will have to learn how to get along with Jasmine, his beautiful and quirky boss, complete tasks on time, and wade the truth out of all the corporate muck. I was a tad disappointed in this book. It wasn't Marcelo. I loved him. I could read books in his voice all the time and never get sick of it. It's blunt, but honest and insightful. Marcelo was a great character, and the topic of autsim didn't deter me either. I was quite excited to see how he would survive in an average person's reality. I also liked Jasmine and Arturo, as well as Marcelo's fluctuating relationships with them. I didn't like Wendell, but I wasn't supposed to. He was the designated douche. What I really didn't like was practically the entire middle part which consisted of the "legal thriller". There was nothing thrilling about it. It was dull, and I found the discussions, both internal and external, to be dull too. I just felt that out of all the paths that this book could have taken, why this one? I would have rather liked to see it spent more on Jasmine and Marcelo's stay in Vermont, or with the Rabbi or something. I just didn't like that part. Marcelo was a great character though, and overall the book was a worth-while experience. I recommend it to anyone looking to get into the head of an autistic kid. Oh, and the author's name is epic. Francisco X. Stork? Sounds like a James Bond character. I really hope it isn't a pseudonym.