School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-This stunning first novel is an eloquent meditation on autism, love, and courage. Having just moved to a Paris apartment, 12-year-old Lucy can't wait to meet her neighbors. She encounters Marie, the loving mother of autistic four-year-old Matthew, and Maougo, their silent Russian nanny. Fascinated by the boy, Lucy and her friend Theo try to understand what life is like for him. Lucy is also determined to help a family friend's fancy dog discover his wild side. Poetic writing is interspersed with the protagonist's wry remarks on mundane topics such as her clueless parents. She compares Maougo to a Russian matrouska because one must peel off layers in order to know her. The description of autism is mysterious and elusive. Matthew is characterized as a small independent planet spinning inside of himself, and as an extraterrestrial who feels reality intensely. The celestial imagery continues as Lucy, seeing the boy's fascination with a jar of sparkling marbles, observes that he "eats stars as he goes to sleep." Little happens in the book, although the author does manage to change the pampered pooch's life and he becomes quite the rogue. Ultimately, Lucy decides she will be a teacher of autistic children, vowing to do away with all prejudices, languages, and rules, and to throw herself into outer space without being frightened. Some French references will be unfamiliar to American readers but there is much beauty in this spare and lyrical look at a condition that is so difficult to understand.-B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Library, Sag Harbor, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Kochka's lyrical novel illuminates a caring 12-year-old girl's experiences with the four-year-old autistic boy who lives in her Paris apartment building. When Lucy and her parents move in, the outgoing narrator sets out to meet all of her new neighbors, but when Matthew "popped up in my life, he turned all my plans upside down and inside out." One of the novel's several intriguing supporting characters is the boy's mother, who invites Lucy to spend time with her son to help him become more sociable. In clear yet poetic language, the woman explains the complexities of autism accessibly to Lucy (and readers): "Autistic people are like small independent planets that have landed here by chance, and instead of looking at the other earthlings as they move around them, they spin inside themselves." Through Lucy's interactions with Matthew, her understanding of his interior world and the ways in which he communicates deepens. Readers may find some of Lucy's observations rather cryptic, yet those looking to better comprehend the autistic mind will appreciate her curiosity, candor and insight. Maougo, Matthew's Russian nanny who speaks no French, demonstrates the power of unspoken bonds and loving actions. Readers will close this book confident that Matthew is in good hands indeed. Ages 9-14. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
When 12-year-old Lucy meets Matthew, the autistic four-year-old boy who lives upstairs, she's immediately fascinated. Interestingly, Lucy's desire to get to know him and decipher his unique way of living in the world parallels her mission to get her parents' friends' show dog François in touch with his wilder side. Along the way, she learns from Matthew, various neighbors and even the dog about communication of the heart--without rules, prejudice or language. Kochka explores and attempts to define autism with sensitivity and humor, and the poetic prose is often lovely. Unfortunately, it's also full of awkward or confusing phrasing ("He cradles himself with words that fly off"; "François was our common link--like a hyphen"); wince-inducing expressions ("silent as a Native American on a trail"; "butter wouldn't melt in my mouth"); and clumsy intrusions of dictionary definitions of terms from autism (included three distinct times) to sympathy to era. While flawed, or possibly somewhat lost in translation (it was first published in France in 2002), this lyrical examination of autism--and friendship--is certainly heartfelt. (Fiction. 9-14) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
Chapter One It all began with us moving to 11 Rue Merlin. Our apartment's on the fourth floor, left-hand side. It was September, I was twelve, and I didn't know anybody. But I promised myself something: I was going to get to know all my neighbors. I even had a plan of action. I'd work my way from the ground floor to the top, and pin up flags in my bedroom for the different countries everyone came from. There were lots of foreign-sounding names on the mailboxes, so I was hoping for a big catch. My theme for the year was going to be global encounters. Until I met Matthew, that is. When he popped up in my life, he turned all my plans upside down and inside out. It was the first Saturday evening since the start of Year 8. Our neighbors in the upstairs apartment were making a lot of noise, so with a face like thunder, Dad put on his bathrobe and headed up to see what was going on. He was so annoyed he didn't bother with the elevator, but charged up the stairs instead. So, even though I was curious to find out what was going on too, I waited on the doormat. Marie opened the door. I'd seen her before in the downstairs lobby and I recognized her gentle voice. Marie is Matthew's mother. I was listening out for a neighbor's spat I could tell everyone about at school...but I didn't hear a thing. No raised voices. No cross words, either. Dad came back down a few minutes later looking like everything was fine and sorted. He and Mom spoke in hushed whispers, and then he changed the subject. But what got me was there was still lots of banging coming from upstairs. So the next day, on my way out to buy our baguette for breakfast, I decided to go up. There was a funny drawing of a child, with hands as huge as wings and big ears, too, pinned to the front door of the fifth-floor apartment. I didn't have a clue what I was going to say, but I rang anyway. A woman I'd never seen before opened the door. She was old enough to be Marie's mother, but she didn't look like her. I said, "Hello." (Mom claims I'm never one to hold back.) The woman smiled and stepped aside to let me through. She gave me a warm welcome but didn't say anything, which felt weird for someone chatty like me. The front door opened onto a corridor with a long Persian rug. I was about to introduce myself when Matthew appeared. "He was handsome...he was blond...he smelled of delicious warm sand...." The moment I saw him at the end of the corridor, those lyrics came into my head. Actually, Matthew's got brown curly hair, he's short and pale, and he doesn't look anything like "My Legionnaire" in the Serge Gainsbourg song Mom's always singing. But he's so handsome there should be a song about him. Matthew bolted out of nowhere like a mad dog and jumped on top of me, nearly knocking me over, before ending up on tiptoes with both hands in my hair. He skillfully ran his fingers all over my head, squealing and making occasional fshhttt! noises. Matthew was on cloud nine, sending my hair flying in every direction and choking with laughter. He got so worked up he started chanting, "You're playing with hair. You're playing with hair..." That's when the woman stepped in. Still smiling and without saying a word, she pulled Matthew toward her, offering him her head instead, and Matthew changed heads. I mean, he let go of my hair and plunged his hands into the woman's. He took off her hair band and rumpled her loose hair. She's got straight blond hair, but he didn't seem to notice the difference. Matthew dived right in with his hands, and his fingers rose to the surface. He laughed and ran off. Then came the calm after the storm. The woman picked up her hair band, smoothed her hair, and tied it back up. Even the Persian rug became royal again. I was the only one who was lost, and when the woman looked at me to find out what I wanted I was dumbstruck, which was a first for me. In the end, I stammered something about coming back later and rushed off. The way the woman closed the door peacefully behind me, you'd think nothing had happened. So it was almost a relief to see my messed-up hair in the elevator mirror. Back out on the pavement, my legs ran in the direction of the bakery but my head was still up on the fifth floor. I bought the baguette. As luck would have it, Marie was also hurrying home. She saw me and held the door. I ran over and said "Hello!" and then "Mrs.... ?" in the hope we'd keep on talking. She held out her hand. "Hello there," she introduced herself. "I'm Marie. And you must be my new neighbor in the apartment below." I nodded and gave her a big smile. Even though there was a big age gap, she was treating me as an equal. She seemed very kind. "My name's Lucy," I said after a pause. "Don't worry about the noise last night, by the way. I managed to get to sleep in the end." When I realized how I must have sounded, I wished I could swallow my words back. Why do I always open my mouth too soon? I was worried she'd think I was trying to criticize her, which wasn't what I'd meant at all. But luckily, Marie understood perfectly. "Pleased to meet you, Lucy," she said when the elevator got to my floor. "Sometimes Matthew gets a bit out of hand. Matthew's my son. He's autistic, but we're making progress. It just takes time." I could tell from her answer how warm and loving and full of hope she was. But that's all I got, because I didn't know the meaning of the key word in her sentence. Mom just thought I'd taken my time buying the baguette. Text copyright (c) 2002 by Kochka Excerpted from The Boy Who Ate Stars by Kochka 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.
