Mindblind

Mindblind
Jennifer Roy
Fiction R812m
Formulas are 14-year-old Nathaniel’s friends because they relax him, an important consideration for someone given to panic attacks when he has to interact with people. Nathaniel is a high-functioning “Aspie,” a term that those—like him—with Asperger’s syndrome employ to describe themselves. Fortunately, formulas aren’t Nathaniel’s only friends. His neighbor Cooper is one; pretty, vivacious Jessa, upon whom Nathaniel has a serious but unarticulated crush, is another; and Molly—an Aspie like him—is a third. The multitalented Nathaniel plays keyboards in a band, teaches himself Mandarin Chinese, and is an absolute whiz at mathematics. And why not? He has an IQ of 182. A genius, you say? Well, yes, but don’t tell Nathaniel that, for he has read that to be a bona fide genius, you have to make a contribution to the world, something he is determined to do (just as he is determined to kiss Jessa). (Booklist)