Book Review: The Eagle Tree by Ned Hayes

I am a proud Amazon Prime member.  And what, you ask, does that have to do with a book review?  As an Amazon Prime member, I get first and free reads of The Kindle First Pick books!  (Read one of next month's new releases now for FREE as a benefit of your Amazon Prime membership.)!! 

In the month of April, this book, The Eagle Tree by Ned Hayes was on the list.  Honestly, what drew me to it was the cover.  I know, I know, never judge a book by it's cover . . . but I did and I am glad I did.  

                                              

I was not prepared for such a touching and engaging read.  The author must have had some very insightful experiences that enables him to so convincingly offer the first-person perspective of a 14 year old autistic boy.   As we meet and follow Peter March Wong, we seem him processing all that is going on around him as his home life is changing.   While he doesn't seem to quite grasp a lot of the reasons and effects of the transition, we can surmise a lot from what he does tell us.  The one thing that remains of steadfast importance are the trees. And it is from the trees, or should I say the tree-tops, that the plot of the story begins to take shape.  This journey that March is on, regarding the Eagle Tree, leads him on a personal journey to make sense of and interact with the world around him and those in it in a new and different way from how he has interacted in the past.

There are many other characters introduced in this story that surround March and play very important roles.  From his mother & uncle, to fellow students and other tree lovers, these characters are as important to March as the vast varieties of trees are to a forest.  March frequently discusses the roles each tree, regardless of variety, age or, even if it is dead or alive, play in the ecosystem and that is reflected by the importance and variety of the characters that surround March as he grows.

That said, there is a LOT of tree information.  Due to the character trait that March has - focusing obsessively on one topic - trees, I learned about tree growth, decay, death, the importance of trees on the world and much, much more.  I did like that about this book.  While I was following this engaging story, I was also learning something.  I enjoyed the way the author used a common trait of autistic children to convey a vast quantity of fairly specialized information.  

But what I learned most about, and has given me a fresh perspective on those with autism, those who have an autistic child and those who relate (especially those who relate well) to an autistic child, is the difficult beauty of autism.  True to many of the characteristics and traits of those with autism, March's perspective gave me insight into the mind of an autistic child and the conviction that someone with autism sees the world in a way that is different from those without, but that is wonderful on it's own.  

I would highly recommend this book.  It was an enjoyable read, with an insightful and compelling story, from a perspective I had never read from before. And it's coming out in May!  You can reserve your copy today ;)

Rita