Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove) | FICTION MCG | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | FICTION MCG | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
A young girl has been murdered and the only witness is a child who cannot tell what he saw In the woods of a small town, Adam, a nine-year-old autistic boy, is discovered hiding near to the body of his classmate. They both wandered off from the school playground several hours earlier, and now the police are relying on Adam as the only witness to an appalling crime. But he canÂt tell the police what he sawÂor what he heard. Barely verbal on the best of days, Adam has retreated into a silent world that Cara, his mother, knows only too well.With her community in shock and her son unable to help with the police investigation, Cara tries to decode the puzzling events. Adam has never broken the rules before, so why did he disappear with the little girl during recess? As a single mother, Cara has devoted her life to opening paths of communication between her son and the outside world. Now, she must interpret the changes in AdamÂs behavior not only to help him through the trauma, but to help the police catch a killer. Cammie McGovern brings her own experience as the mother of an autistic child to articulate the strugglesÂand the victoriesÂthat consume the lives of parents raising children with special needs. A powerful story of the tangled emotional bond between mother and son, and a thrilling novel of psychological suspense, Eye ContactwonÂt let you go. Lovers of Mystic Riverwill be captivated by this fresh and fascinating journey into the world of a child in crisis and a mother who longs to bring him through unscathed. BACKCOVER: ÂEye Contactis a page-turner and I tore through it in twenty-four hours. But itÂs more than thatÂitÂs also a nuanced, poignant exploration of how all of us, with or without autism, struggle to find our place in the world. Cammie McGovern writes with grace and compassion. ÂCurtis Sittenfeld, author of Prep "Cammie McGovern makes a satisfying marriage between an exploration of one of modern parenthood's greatest frustrations--autism--and murder mystery. Moreover, she displays considerable insight into the complex, often cruel hierarchies of childhood." ÂLionel Shriver, author of We Need to Talk About Kevin ÂOnce in a blue moon comes a literary thriller so full of our everyday lives that it rocks you back on your heels. This is it! This book. These sweet, funny, heartbreaking characters--these mothers and sons, broken friends and lovers--including one unforgettable little boy whose last gesture in those deadly, mysterious woods recalls our lost innocence. Eye Contactis a thrilling mystery tautly told, and beautifully realized. In it, Cammie McGovern leads us through the shadowlands of our own hometowns where words break down and paranoias proliferate, even as we yearn for one lost moment of fluency. This is a book of secrets that will change you. ÂMichael Paterniti, New York Times bestselling author of Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America with Einstein's Brain ÂTwin mysteries lie at the heart of this riveting and unforgettable novel: the identity and motives of a child-killer, and the inscrutable workings of an autistic boyÂs mind. Only a writer like McGovern, whose brilliant gift for storytelling keeps pace with her unflinching emotional acuity, could take on both mysteries and succeed with such power and grace. ÂJulie Orringer, author of How To Breathe Underwater "In the tradition of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Cammie McGovern delivers a compelling murder mystery that intrigues as much by what it hides as by what it so deftly reveals--the stark, poignant, deeply intimate moments in the lives of people living with autism and those who love them." ÂPatricia Stacey, author of The Boy Who Loved Windows.
Author Notes
Cammie McGovern writes both young adult and adult novels. Her young adult novels include Say What You Will and A Step Toward Falling. Her adult novels include Neighborhood Watch, Eye Contact, and The Art of Seeing. She is also one of the founders of Whole Children, a resource center that runs after-school classes and programs for children with special needs.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
A parent's worst nightmare becomes a crusade for justice in McGovern's dynamite second novel (after 2002's The Art of Seeing), set in an unspecified middle-class suburban community. Shortly after Adam, a nine-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder, and his friend Amelia, a 10-year-old diagnosed with PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified), disappear during recess from Greenwood elementary school, a traumatized Adam turns up next to Amelia's body in the nearby woods. Cara, Adam's 30-year-old single mom, helps the police unlock the clues in Adam's mind to try to identify Amelia's killer. Cara finds surprising assistance from 13-year-old Morgan, who's determined to solve the crime in order to distract authorities from his own guilty secret-accidentally starting a fire in the wetlands his lawyer/environmentalist mom was trying to protect. Meticulously researched and emotionally absorbing, this provocative page-turner also addresses an important issue-how to educate and care for children with special needs. Film rights optioned by Julia Roberts. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
McGovern's follow-up to The Art of Seeing0 (2002), centers on a nine-year-old autistic boy, Adam, who witnesses the murder of a classmate. Disturbed by what he saw, Adam retreats into himself, frustrating the police and worrying his mother, Cara, who has watched Adam's development with a nervous eye since he was diagnosed with autism. Cara is fearful of the effect the murder will have on her son, but she's also surprised to find the investigation dredging up her own past: the officer assigned to the case is the younger brother of her former best friend, whom she hasn't spoken to in almost a decade. And another old friend, who might just be Adam's father, has come back into her life. Tightly woven and gripping, this literary mystery takes several unexpected twists and turns as it builds to the resolution. --Kristine Huntley Copyright 2006 Booklist
Kirkus Review
A ten-year-old girl's murder is witnessed by her autistic schoolmate in this creepy, absorbing literary thriller. McGovern (The Art of Seeing, 2002), herself the mother of an autistic child, builds wrenching drama from her rich premise: Beautiful, unreachable Adam had entered the woods bordering his school with the victim, but cannot communicate what he may have seen or heard. As details accumulate from the subsequent police investigation, we also get gradual disclosures about Adam's single mother, Cara, in particular her past and present attempts to give her son a life while simultaneously protecting him from the pressures and demands of a world he inhabits and comprehends only selectively. Had the author focused more tightly on this poignant mother-son relationship, she might have avoided the diffusion of the story's central mystery among too many other interconnected characters: troubled adolescent boy Morgan, whose willed friendship with Adam promises him much-needed expiation for his own "crime"; Cara's former childhood friend Suzette, sunk in agoraphobia and clinical depression; their common friend Kevin, brain-damaged in a childhood bicycle accident and haunted by unrealized possibilities; and endangered schoolboy Chris, both pathetic victim and calculating, determined avenger. Their stories help make this a genuine page-turner, and McGovern springs numerous plot-worthy surprises. But their narrow suburban world is populated by an excessive number of damaged souls laboring to rebuild their lives; it all reads too much as case study. Nevertheless, the narrative moves like a freight train, and its conclusion will leave no reader unmoved. The unforgettable Adam is both a charmer and, in his distinctively quiet way, a hero. Despite some flaws, a generally successful combination of compassionate domestic realism and pulse-rattling suspense. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
When nine-year-old Adam is discovered hiding in the woods beside the body of a classmate, the police are very interested in talking to the only witness to the little girl's murder. Adam is autistic, however, and this traumatic event forces him to retreat to his own silent world. As his mother, Cara, tries to answer the many questions about her son's bizarre behavior, she launches her own investigation and discovers that certain secrets from her past have surfaced, causing her to question everything and everyone around her. McGovern (The Art of Seeing) has written an unusual literary mystery that combines the elements of a women's novel with the gripping aspects of a good suspense story. Taut writing and alternating viewpoints work effectively to lead the reader down several dead ends en route to an unpredictable and satisfying conclusion. This page-turner is a rewarding look into the life of a mother who must discover the truth, even if it ends up hurting her-and her son-in the process. Recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/06.]-Kellie Gillespie, City of Mesa Lib., AZ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
In the woods of a small town, Adam, a nine-year-old autistic boy, is discovered next to the body of his classmate. They both wandered off from the school playground several hours earlier, and now police are relying on Adam as the only witness to an appalling crime. But he can't tell the police what he saw - or what he heard. Barely verbal on the best of days, Adam has retreated into a silent world that Cara, his mother, knows only too well.When another child goes missing, Cara must interpret the changes in Adam's behavior not only to help him through the trauma, but also to help the police catch a killer. As she moves closer to exposing the truth, her unsettling past begins to emerge from the shadows. In her desperate desire to protect her child from real life, has she made his world a more dangerous place?A thrilling novel of psychological suspense and a gripping tale of crime that strikes at the core of a small community, Cammie McGovern's heartrendering novel is, above all, the powerful story of the tender and complex bond between a mother and her young son. Excerpted from Eye Contact by Cammie McGovern All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.