Read for the Complete Booker 2010 Reading Challenge.
Christopher Boone is a boy somewhere on the autism spectrum – he’s clearly a mathematical genius, but he needs his routine, and can get into a bit of trouble when thrust into situations outside of his element.
One day, he’s the first one to find the neighbor’s dog dead on her front lawn, with a pitchfork still stuck in it. Christopher likes animals a lot more than people, so he decides to investigate. What he finds out in the course of his investigation changes his entire world.
This is a really fascinating look into a completely alien (to us “normal” people) mindset. The book’s written as a school project of Christopher’s, so it’s completely immersed in his worldview. The author apparently used to work with autistic people, so I would assume a fair amount of accuracy. It’s sometimes uncomfortable to read, but well worth it.