by Francisco X. Stork

The polls have closed, the votes are counted, and Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork is the winner with 63% of the vote.

17-year-old Marcelo Sandoval is a highly intelligent young man with autism spectral disorder. Marcelo longs to continue attending his private school where he works with horses and the fact that he hears internal music (IM) or finds God fascinating is not viewed as freakish.

However, Marcelo's father, Arturo, thinks that Marcelo should experience the "real world" and signs him up for a summer job as a mail room clerk in his law office. Marcelo receives more of an education than Arturo had planned when Marcelo becomes embroiled in vicious office politics, romantic intrigues, and a long-festering injustice.

Questions to consider while reading Marcelo in the Real World

1)      * Why do you think Marcelo does not want to attend a traditional high school?

2)      * How do you think Marcelo's father feels about him? Why do you think this?

3)      * Why do you think that Jasmine ultimately befriends Marcelo?

4)      * Marcelo's "special interest" is God and religion. Do you think Marcelo has faith?

5)      * What do you think about the father-son relationship between Stephen Holmes (Marcelo's father's legal partner) and Wendell?

6)      * What role do you think race plays in the relationships between the characters in this book?

7)      * Sarah Zarr, National Book Award nominee for Story of a Girl, says that "Marcelo's voice is at once innocent and knowing." What do you think she means by this? Do you agree?

      Feel free to post your thoughts and musings here. For more thought-provoking questions, look at the Scholastic Discussion Guide or Francisco X. Stork's Discussion Guide.

Do you love to read, but never seem to have the time or the motivation? Would you like to read more, but you can't think of a "good" book? Have you thought about joining a book group, only to find you just can't fit a monthly meeting into your schedule?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then Online Teen Readers is the place for you! OTRs (ott-ers) are teens reading and talking about books on their own schedule online.

BOOKS lets you know the featured book of the month with extra info about the story, the author, and other interesting tidbits.

CHATTER lets you know what other teens have to say about what they're reading, whether it's the featured book or one they discovered on their own.

EVENTS lets you know about fun get-togethers OTRs will be hosting. Look for author visits, pre-pub parties (look at books before they've even hit the book market), or chats.

Special thanks to artist extraordinairre, Martina, for the terrific OTRs logo. Thanks also to Mercer Island Library's Pre-Pub Club for the unofficial "reading" logo and Teen Advisory Board for program development.