When he discovers his neighbor's dead dog, autistic teenager Christopher John Francis Boone decides to solve the murder. He likes to read mystery novels and decides to write his own book as he investigates the death. The adults in his life discourage him from looking into the dog's death, especially his father, but Christopher has made up his mind and forges ahead. What Christopher doesn't realize is that there are more mysteries in his life than just a murdered dog and he begins to uncover truths that would be hard for anyone, autistic or not, to take. These truths will lead Christopher on one of the most frightening journeys in his young life.

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" is a brilliantly written, at times heart-breaking novel. Written in the first person, author Mark Haddon does an excellent job of getting into Christopher's mind, to the point where it seems as if Christopher is a real person. The footnotes that pop up throughout the book also make it seem as if a real person is telling a real story. There are many excellent moments in the novel that show how an autistic person thinks, starting with the fact that each chapter begins with a prime number and including Christopher's need to tell the time, down to the last second, that something happened, and his belief that the color of cars that he sees can make it a good day or a bad day. The book has several humorous moments, but never at Christopher's expense. While the plot may seem simple, it uncovers many layers of Christopher's life. Although the book is written from Christopher's limited point of view, Haddon is a gifted writer and we still learn much about the people in his life, especially his parents, long before Christopher himself does and in fact, readers learn more than Christopher ever can.

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" was so good that I hated to see it end. Well done. ( )

This is a hard book to review. It's unlike anything else I have ever read but it's a compelling read despite the simplistic way it's written. I loved the story and its twists and turns and I loved the insight into the way an asbergers mind might work. ( )

Overall I enjoyed the book. I was very captivated by the boys thinking and process for daily activities that would not seem very difficult or intense. Everything he did was an adventure and sometimes made me nervous. His character was sometimes a ticking time bomb. He never touched things that were yellow and he never liked to be touched by people. Reading this story gave me a better understanding about autistic children. i think this is a great book for everyone to read, especially teachers.  ( )

this book really helped me understand the concept of people with a disability. i could not put the book down i read it in less than 24 hours. and i want to read it again ( )

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" was funny, and informative, but also sad. This book is a murder mystery. The main character Chris is trying to solve the mystery of how his neighbor's dog, Wellington, died. Chris is autistic and since the book is written from his point of view, the reader can see what life is like from an autistic person's point of view. Chris is very good at math, especially prime numbers. When he is angry he adds up all the prime numbers he knows to calm himself down. He has very specific likes and dislikes about colors: "4 red cars in a row made it a good day, and 3 red cars in row made it a quite good day, and 5 red cars in row made it a super good day, and 4 yellow cars in a row made it a black day, which is a day when I don't speak to anyone and sit on my own reading books and don't eat my lunch and take no risks."

During his investigation, Chris makes many troubling discoveries about his own life and about his parents. This story is really many stories in one. I think this is very clever and I liked that alot. I think the only thing that was a little disappointing was that the mystery was solved too early in the book, but other than that it was a great book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries, puzzels, or math. I would also recommend this to people who are interested in learning more about autism. "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" is 226 pages long, which includes diagrams, drawings, and even a math problem at the end of the book! ( )