Lisa and the Lacemaker: An Asperger Adventure
Grade 3-5-Novels designed to teach or hammer home a point rarely qualify as excellent, or even good, literature. This is true of Hoopmann's book, written as a mystery but designed to help readers understand children with Asperger's Syndrome. The plot is contrived: Lisa's friendship with Great Aunt Hannah deepens as the girl learns how to make lace, as her aunt used to do. The mystery involves Hannah's old infatuation, when she was a servant-girl, with William, the landowner's son. Suddenly, zing! Lisa and her friend Ben find William through Internet searches and unite the two right there in the nursing home. Throughout, the author tosses in information about kids with Asperger's ("aspies"), their learning habits and behavioral quirks. Lacing together an awkward plot and adding some odd characters does not make a competent novel.Linda Beck, Indian Valley Public Library, Telford, PACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.