Tuesday 17 January 2017

A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart - Blog Tour

I am delighted to be one of today's stops on the blog tour for A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart. A Boy Made of Blocks was published in paperback by Sphere on 29 December 2016. Here's my review...

A Boy Made of Blocks
By Keith Stuart 
Published by Sphere (29 December 2017)
ISBN: 978-0751563290



Publisher's description
A father who rediscovers love

Alex loves his wife Jody, but has forgotten how to show it. He loves his son Sam, but doesn't understand him. He needs a reason to grab his future with both hands.
A son who shows him how to live


Meet eight-year-old Sam: beautiful, surprising - and different. To him the world is a frightening mystery. But as his imagination comes to life, his family will be changed . . . for good.

My verdict
A Boy Made of Blocks is a book about communication and relationships - between husbands and wives, fathers and sons and family and friends. It's based on the author's experiences with his own autistic son, which makes the book so believable and realistic. It's a very honest account and, at times, it read like memoir rather than fiction.

Alex is struggling to cope with Sam's autism. He finds it difficult to understand how his son sees the world - and also how the world views his son. When Sam develops an interest in the online building game Minecraft, this opens up a whole new world for Alex and Sam - and provides a virtual place where they can learn to communicate and connect with one another.

A Boy Made of Blocks is heartwarming, emotional and entertaining - a story to make you laugh and cry. It's an easy read and well written, with a fast pace and great characterisation. I enjoyed seeing how the relationship between Alex and Sam strengthened throughout the book. You don't need to know anything about Minecraft to read this as the game itself is well described (although I have played it with my boys before so knew exactly what is involved).

I received an Advance Reader Copy.

Find today's other Blog Tour stops




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