• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

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  Not age appropriate for kids under 12, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 14.

• Is it any good?

  5.0

• Common Sense says

  Gorgeously moving story about autistic teen.

Why We Rated This for Ages 14 and Up

The good stuff

• Educational value:

  Contains thought-provoking discussions of many topics, including religion, law, disability, relationships, and human nature.
• Messages:

  Disparaging references to a darker-skinned Hispanic being a "minority hire," but the overall message of the book is that clear thinking, honesty, and heart are far preferable to sophisticated knowledge of the world.
• Role models:

  Marcelo is a model of thoughtful, sincere determination to do what is right even at great personal expense and harm to those he loves.

What to watch out for

• Sex:

  A joke about testicles, another about breasts, a comment about a woman wanting to "jump your bones," another about men sowing their seed, references to intercourse, erection and "hard-on," a clinical description of sex involving penis and vagina, a list of ways that sex can be used for evil purposes, including rape and pedophilia, a teen intends to pressure a young woman to have sex with him, references to "whoring," a graphic discussion of animal mating, a discussion of sexual desire, a married man kisses a younger employee and for part of the book it is assumed they had sex, a 14-year-old talks about selling herself.
• Language:

  A fair amount of swearing, including "asshole," "s--t," "f--k," "bitch," "bastard," "bulls--t," "dick," "motherf--ker."
• Consumerism:

  Car, soda, beer, canned meat brands mentioned.
• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  A teen drinks martinis, adults smoke and drink beer and hard liquor.

What Parents Need to Know

About Marcelo in the Real World

Families Can Talk About