Colin Fischer [Hardcover]

Ashley Edward Miller (Author), Zack Stentz (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 1, 2012 | Series: Colin Fischer (Book 1)

SOLVING CRIME, ONE FACIAL EXPRESSION AT A TIME

Colin Fischer cannot stand to be touched. He does not like the color blue. He needs index cards to recognize facial expressions.

But when a gun is found in the school cafeteria, interrupting a female classmate's birthday celebration, Colin is the only for the investigation. It's up to him to prove that Wayne Connelly, the school bully and Colin's frequent tormenter, didn't bring the gun to school. After all, Wayne didn't have frosting on his hands, and there was white chocolate frosting found on the grip of the smoking gun...

Colin Fischer is a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, and his story--as told by the screenwriters of X-Men: First Class and Thor--is perfect for readers who have graduated from Encyclopedia Brown and who are ready to consider the greatest mystery of all: what other people are thinking and feeling.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 5 Up-Colin Fischer, 14, has Asperger's syndrome. He is highly intelligent, but incapable of reading social cues and struggles to navigate everyday situations. When he enters high school, he faces bullies, class clowns, cliques, and a mystery: Who brought the gun to school that went off in the cafeteria? He soon becomes convinced that the bully, Wayne, who is temporarily suspended, is not guilty. As he works to exonerate Wayne, everyone wonders why he would help someone who dunked him in the toilet on the first day of school. For Colin, it is not a matter of helping the bully, but of making sure that the truth comes out. He eventually proves Wayne is innocent and in the process makes a new friend. Each chapter starts out with an excerpt from Colin's diary, giving facts about Asperger's, a clever device to avoid didactic writing. Colin's family interactions, including squabbles with his younger brother, who resents his sibling's special needs, render him sympathetic. Overall, this book succeeds in making Colin a believable character, deeply rooted in his disability, but always a person first.-Wendy Smith-D'Arezzo, Loyola College, Baltimore, MDα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Review

"Colin Fischer is like an alien anthropologist stranded on Earth, with no choice but to master the local social codes and try to pass as human, or perish." --Lev Grossman, New York Times bestselling author of The Magicians

"Evok[es] Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time . . . Readers will be drawn into the mystery and intrigued by Colin’s vision of the world." --PW

"The 14-year-old hero of this extraordinary debut novel is like no one else we've met in children's literature. . . . Readers will take this hero to heart." --Shelf Awareness, starred review

"This is a delightful novel; Colin is a young Sherlock Holmes." --Library Media Connection, starred review

“The subgenre combining sleuthing with characters who have Asperger syndrome gets a new entry offering humor and interesting historical and scientific connections.” - Kirkus Reviews

"Authors Miller and Stentz['s] . . . portrayal of differently wired Colin feels genuine and authentic. [An] engaging and humorous mystery." --Horn Book Reviews

"A sympathetic and dynamic character." --Booklist

"I fell for Colin." --L.A. Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Razorbill (November 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595145788
• ISBN-13: 978-1595145789
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #138,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing story with a fascinatingly complex main character! November 1, 2012

By Erica Cameron

Format:Hardcover

"Life is math.
We know this because mathematics can reduce anything to a system of equations. Sometimes the solutions tell us things that seem "intuitively obvious." This means that we do not need math to figure them out. For example, the Parking Problem.
Some mathematicians at a university wanted to know how people could minimize the time it takes to find a parking spot and get into a store. Here is what they found: The optimal strategy is to take the first space you see and then walk.
When I told my father about this, he asked why it took mathematicians at a university to figure it out. I explained that while the conclusions seems intuitively obvious, it runs counter to standard human behavior. Most people will not take the first space the come across. Instead, the will seek out a better, theoretical spot that could be more convenient, incorrectly believing it will save them time.
I used to think people did this because they're bad at math, but actually it's because they're gamblers. They pass up good opportunities that are right in front of them in exchange for imagined improvements that almost never materialize. This is why I trust math and I do not trust people. Math makes better sense."

This is one of Colin Fisher's many observations in his Notebook, a catalog of facts, observations, and notations dating back to his pre-school days. Colin has been diagnosed with high-functioning Aspergers Syndrome and that translates to a variety of quirks which place him firmly on the outskirts of his school's social spectrum. He's bullied by some, ridiculed by others, ignored by most, and befriended by few, but Colin honestly doesn't care. He enjoys school and enjoys making observations of his peers even more. Even his main tormentor, Wayne Connelly, is worthy of consideration. This turns out to be for the bully's benefit after an incident in the cafeteria--one involving an interrupted birthday party and a gunshot--leaves Wayne the prime suspect. Only Colin, the one person with the most reason to want Wayne out of school, believes his innocence. Only Colin starts asking the right questions to figure out what really happened, just like one of his idols, Sherlock Holmes, would.

Especially given that I believe Sherlock Holmes (had he been a real person) probably could have been diagnosed with some form of Autism, Aspergers, or other sociodevelopmental syndrome, I think Colin is this generation's Sherlock. You may not like him, but you'll empathize as he tries to safely navigate the perils of high school. You'll cheer each small victory and you'll smile when people find him as baffling as he finds them. Every character in the book became intriguing when seen through Colin's eyes and his relationships with his parents, his younger brother, and his peers involve interesting and unusual dynamics. Everyone around him has to take Colin for what he is or leave him, but either way it makes very little difference to Colin. His very indifference made him even more fascinating.

I read this book all in one day... in fact, often while I was supposed to be doing other things. I fell in love with Colin from page one. I can actually pinpoint the moment, because it happened at the end of his first Notebook observation, one centering on the inexplicable schooling habits of hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos. In it, Colin states the following:

"My name is Colin Fischer. I'm fourteen years old and weigh 121 lbs. Today is my first day of high school.
I have 1,365 days left until I'm finished."

The tenor of the statements, a simple listing of facts, is a thing of brilliance. Possibly without even realizing it, Colin is doing what every other kid facing their looming high school career is doing: dreading the trials to come and counting the days until they don't have to face them anymore. Colin's observations are intelligent, thorough, and thought provoking and some of his references (and those of the narrator) would have left me in the dust if not for the very handy footnotes. Not having an overly analytical mind myself, I find books like this mesmerizing if only for letting me peek into an entirely different worldview. It's probably why I studied psychology in college; trying to figure out how different people think intrigues me just as much as it puzzles Colin.

Colin Fischer is out Nov 1st! Do yourself a favor and go get the book now. It's worth it. I'm hoping the implied promise of a sequel holds true. In fact, I'm hoping for a long, drawn out series of books revolving around Colin. I don't think I will ever get tired of diving into his head.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars I just ordered 4 copies for Christmas presents! December 10, 2012

By carol p mcqueen

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

The family dynamic was well-structured and believable. The title character was engaging. The structure was amusingly quirky with multiple footnotes per chapter. Colin occasionally teetered too close to perfection--he browbeat the principal too successfully, too often--but was saved by the wellrounded character development, particularly for him and his family members. The light handedness of his developing "romance" and the explanation for the villain's motivation were graceful and satisfying. I'm looking forward to the sequel.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Could launch a fun new mystery series December 4, 2012

By Liviania VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Colin Fischer is just looking to get through high school. But one day someone brings a gun to school, and bully Wayne Connelly is blamed. Colin knows Wayne didn't do it, but that means he has to find the real culprit to prove Wayne's innocence. Colin may have trouble putting together a facial expression with what people are thinking and feeling, but he has other powers of perception.

I loved the format of COLIN FISCHER. There are excerpts from Colin's journal and lots of footnotes in addition to the third-person narration. Emotions are always mentioned in skinny capital letters. These bits of flair give insight into the way Colin thinks. He has Asperger's Syndrome, giving him a different point of view on what happened in the cafeteria than the rest of his classmates who are perfectly content to believe the disliked and low class Wayne Connelly did it.

There's a nice balance between Colin's school and home life and the mystery. COLIN FISCHER sets up a series, so there have to be some elements that will carry through future entries. There's a love interest, a new friendship, and Colin's fledgling basketball skills. He's also got a complicated relationship with his younger brother, who resents the fact that Colin isn't "normal." As for the mystery, I liked that Colin doesn't quite understand the danger he puts himself in. He just wants to solve the puzzle, but there are people who don't want the puzzle solved. It made a bit more sense than some protagonists who through themselves knowingly into danger.

I think COLIN FISCHER could be the start of a very fun mystery series. There's always room for more idiosyncratic, determined detectives, at least in my opinion. I also enjoyed the factoids sprinkled throughout the text, courtesy of Colin, because I love trivia. I like that Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz did their research and make an effort to portray Colin's social issues accurately. Overall, I liked COLIN FISCHER quite a bit and I'll be back for the sequel.