Haddon is to be congratulated for imagining a new kind of hero, for the humbling instruction this warm and often funny novel offers and for showing that the best lives are lived where difference is cherished

The clash between Christopher's view of the world and the way it looks to the rest of us makes this an extraordinarily moving, often blackly funny read. It is hard to think of anyone who would not be moved and delighted by this book, so the decision to publish it simultaneously for older children and adults is certainly well-founded

Brilliantly inventive, full of dazzling set-pieces, unbearably sad, yet also skilfully dodging any encounters with sentimentality, this isn't simply the most original novel I've read in years . . . It's also one of the best

A stroke of genius, as the advantages of having a naive, literal-minded boy in the driving seat are manifold . . . We do learn what it might feel like to have Asperger's Syndrome

The book gave me that rare, greedy feeling of: this is so good I want to read it all at once but I mustn't or it will be over too soon

It's pretty much flawless . . . Haddon stays compassionate to all his characters, but not once does his story descend into treacly pathos or easy tears. This is a high ambition fully achieved

Supremely well-written, funny and oddly affecting

Exceptional by any standards . . . When we look at the world through Christopher's eyes we see it more clearly and understand ourselves better. What more could you want of a book?

Exceptional by any standards. Haddon sticks rigidly to the limits imposed by autism without sacrificing literary viability. When we look at the world through Christopher's eyes we see it more clearly and understand ourselves better. What more could you want of a book?

Mark Haddon has produced a well-executed, unusual mystery.

astonishing and provocative

an unexpected gem and quite possibly the best novel of the year

Outstanding and moving

The most amazing book . . . The author handled the character wonderfully.

heartwarming

A heart-warming story about a boy struggling to communicate with the world

An intriguing, enlightening,and totally compelling read with surely the most unlikely hero in young people's literature

Laugh-out-loud funny

...original, kind, disturbing and profoundly moving.

A stroke of genius, as the advantages of having a naive, literal-minded boy in the driving seat are manifold...we do learn what it might fe el like to have Asperger's Syndrome.

A truly original work of fiction . . .a unique tale

excellent

A wonderful first person narrative of a boy with Asperger;s Syndrome; funny, sad and extraordinarily original

The highlight of the year

This is the magazine of the National Autistic Society: the review is written by someone with Asperger's Syndrome. "This book is a good murder mystery story but a better description of how th mind of a different person with some kind of special need looks upon how things work and come about.

This startlingly original story . . . Has surprised everyone-not least the author.The book is funny, gripping, sad and unstintingly entertaining.

So if you're interested in solving mysteries and want to learn about autism in children, you'll love this book

A triumph from first page to last . . . Haddon's prose is empathetic and you cannot help but be drawn into young Christpher's world

This is a unique book written from the perspective of a unique character . . . It is very easy to read and would satisfy anyone from eight to 88

I found this book highly entertaining and enthralling though it was a bit sad at times.

Zusak combines his descriptions of the terrible events of 1939 Nazi Germany with such believable characters that it will appeal to adult readers and children alike

Bulawayo, whose prose is warm and clear and unfussy, maintains Darling's singular voice throughout, even as her heroine struggles to find her footing. Her hard, funny first novel is a triumph.

Wonderfully, this is a novel whipped with the complexities of African identities in a post-colonial and globalised world and its most compelling theme is that of contemporary displacement, a theme that will resonate with many readers

This is a young author to watch

This is a very readable tale, thanks to some excellent writing and its central character: a likeable heroine in a difficult world

We Need New Names is a distinct and hyper-contemporary treatment of the old You Can’t Go Home Again mould, and the book has more than enough going for it to easily graduate from the Booker longlist to the final six

deeply felt and fiercely written first novel

Bulawayo's novel may scream Africa, but her deft and often comic prose captures memories and tastes, among them the bitterness of disappointment, that transcend borders

Bulawayo excels... there is an inevitable nod to Achebe and the verbal delights and child's-eye view of the world is redolent of The God of Small Things. Otherwise, the magic is all Bulawayo's own

Proof again that the Caine prize for African writers really knows how to pick a winner… [It’s] a tour de force. Ten-year-old Darling is an unforgettable and necessary new voice: add her to the literary cannon

This brilliant novel was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize

An exceptionally fine novel, as powerful and memorable as Coetzee's magnificent Disgrace... We need new novels like this – authentic, original and cathartic

There is no doubt that a new star of African female writing is truly born. The one-to-watch

Follow ten-year-old Darling from the Paradise shantytown to America in this searing indictment of Mugabe’s Zimbabwe

Shocking, often heartbreaking – but also pulsing with energy

A poignant, witty, original and lyrical coming of age story

Talented and ambitious

A powerful fictional condemnation of global inequality

From the opening chapter…the first-person narrative achieves a breathtaking vibrancy, ambition and pathos

Deserved all the publicity it got