When Jess if found dead and Jacob is accused of murdering her, the reader gets an in depth look into how law enforcement and the court system handles a person with autism. It’s really quite interesting. You really feel for Jacob’s plight and want to jump in and help him out. Due to his socialization issues, the court process is very frustrating for him, to say the least. A very large chunk of this book details the entire process, from Jacob’s arrest through to the end of the trial.
The book is told from the viewpoints of Jacob, his mother, Emma, his brother, Theo, his lawyer, Oliver, and the police officer who arrested him, Rich. At first I thought I would get confused with all these viewpoints, but I didn’t. I don’t know that we needed them all, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story and I didn’t get confused at all while reading it.
You will grow to love Jacob, Emma, and Theo and feel for how their lives were like growing up with Jacob’s autism. Emma is such a strong mother, who never gave up on Jacob (like her ex-husband did when he left shortly after Theo was born). She has fought his entire life to get the accommodations that he needs to be successful in his life. We get a glimpse of her frustrations throughout this process and it is heartbreaking.
I really liked this book and I would highly recommend it! I’d rate it 4 stars.
