Originally reviewed years ago (2013), this review was 'vanished' by a Netgalley database problem.

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Some YA/MG books make for better adult reads than others. Rick Riordan's Percy Jackon series is an example of middle-grade books that work for me. The Wimpy Kid series and Claire Legrand's [book:The Cavendish Home For Boys and Girls|10893214] are other examples of books I really, really liked.

Navigating Early, on the other hand, didn't quite make the grade. It's not that the book is awful, it's not, it's just that it was missing the depth I needed to fully enjoy it as an adult. (I gave this book 4 STARS for younger readers. More about that in a moment.)

One reason I couldn't thoroughly enjoy this book was that the story didn't have enough depth. The characters weren't terribly original -- Jack's a normal boy, and Early is your dyed in the wool, high functioning autistic spectrum child -- and they weren't much altered from beginning to the end of the story. Jack's sorrow about loosing his mother was kept at arm's length, which is great for middle-graders who frequently don't want to have too vivid an understanding of grief heaped upon them, but not so great for adults who crave evolution and depth.

The second problem I had was the thin backstory. There was one situation, for example, when a friend of Jack --who Jack had beaten up previously for being insensitive to the recent loss of his mother -- said he was sorry. Jack's reaction? I don't know. He acknowledges the friend's statement but we aren't ever given any insight into what Jack thought and felt at that moment. The reader is just brought back to the present.

Now, having given you my opinion of NE as an adult read, let me say that I think it is definitely a book that librarians and teachers ought to suggest to Tweens and Middle-graders. It's slow paced in parts, but overall there are some really interesting and thought provoking concepts. Early, for example, is convinced that Pi ( π) is not so much an irrational and transcendental number but a story.

And, of course, there's the great adventure as Jack and Early sneak off during vacation time and head out into the Appalachian mountains in search of a bear and Early's dead brother.

Yes, there's good stuff here. Even the stuff of magic, but Navigating Early was more of a book I'd love my children to read, than one I suggest to friends.

Pam T~