April Hale has Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism. She has some major issues expressing or feeling emotions, and when she becomes upset, she tends to speak like Yoda. She is obsessed with movies, especially Star Wars.
April’s family lives next door to the Blacks. They are awakened each morning by the Blacks fighting. April can see right into the bedroom of their son, Ryder. Then one morning, Ryder locks eyes with her, and he knows that she watches him. This is the beginning of a beautiful and unusual relationship.
Their relationship escalates when Ryder is locked out of his house by his father, and he ends up sleeping in April’s room without the knowledge of either set of parents. But despite what others think, all is innocent.
The author took the time to develop all of the characters really well. They are so well developed that I became personally involved in what was going on in the story. Even though I don’t have Asperger’s syndrome or know anyone who does, I understood exactly why April acted the way she did.
Watching April fall in love and experiencing all of these new emotions, ones that she doesn’t completely understand, well, it was enough to make me laugh and cry at the same time. Ryder has never encountered anyone like April before, and watching him adjust to the unusual things she does was so sweet.
Reading this sweet, awesome story taught me a lot about Asperger’s syndrome. The story also deals with family relationships. If you love a great story with romance and humor sprinkled throughout it, then you will love this book.
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you would like to get your own copy of this great book, I have provided an Amazon link for you below.
Amazon Link: The Quirky Tale of April Hale
Favorite Sentence:
Ryder only stared at me like I grew another head, but I just couldn’t stop myself once I started on spouting some random facts.
I could totally hear the sound of all my neurons clashing against each other in fear.
And I didn’t want to experience the flesh-eating monster gnawing on my stomach, because that was what he did to me whenever he touched me.
His pupils dilated, and I was sure that someone with a weaker will than mine would have drowned in the never-ending galaxy of chocolate that was his eyes.
My first instinct was to immediately hide under the bed in case a serial killer came to bury an axe in my head, but when the window opened, I saw only Ryder.
New Words Learned:
auspicious – conducive to success; favorable
comportment – behavior; bearing
homoerotic – concerning or arousing sexual desire centered on a person of the same sex
mellifluous – (of a voice or words) sweet or musical; pleasant to hear
nasolabial – relating to the nose and the upper lip
shawarma – roasted meat, especially when cooked on a revolving spit and shaved for serving in sandwiches
yaoi – a Japanese genre of fictional media focusing on romantic or sexual relationships between male characters, typically aimed at a female audience and usually created by female authors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaoi)
About the Author:
Cathy Octo is part writer, part illustrator. Cathy’s life has always been filled with imagination and stories that will keep her up all night. For years, Cathy had read and written lots of stories, stemming from a deep love for flawed characterizations and interesting relationship dynamics. Finally, she started posting on Wattpad before getting discovered by BLVNP. Aside from writing, Cathy draws quite a bit and also plays a ridiculous amount of Dota 2.
