A beautiful, heartwarming story, I enjoyed this book so much and would definitely recommend it. I couldn't put it down.

It took me a while to get into this book because I was going through a divorce and that side of the book just hit a little too close to home. I am glad though that I just set it aside and not give up on it completely.

A well written book, and honestly written book, of how a father falls out of his family and struggles to get back to it. Alex struggles to connect with his autistic son Sam, and results to figuratively running away which leads to eventual demise of his relationship with his wife, Jody. As expected, Jody is exhausted from shouldering the burden on her own and forces Alex to leave physically since he already left emotionally and mentally a long time ago.

Through failed attempts and the realization if he doesnt try now he wont have his family at all, Alex discovers a way to build a connection with his son and eventually build a trustful co parenting relationship with his soon to be ex wife. Along the way he also realizes that he never tried with his other friendships either and how that has damaged the relationships where they no longer want him or need him in their lives while he struggles.

Thank you for the ARC Netgalley!

A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart

Brief Summary: This is the heartwarming story of a family with a son with autism. Alex is the narrator who struggles to understand and relate to his son Sam. This has negatively impacted his marriage. The story details his efforts to get to know and connect with his son. This is a great book to read during autism awareness month.

Highlights: Parts of this book made me smile, others made me cringe, and others dragged. This story is perfect for those who have struggled with a loved one’s autism and can offer hope of finding ways to form a meaningful connection. I also liked the author’s raw exploration of how this affected Alex’s marriage.

Explanation of Rating: 3/5: despite the raw emotional and heartwarming ending it dragged for much of the middle.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Such a beautiful book. I have a friend with a daughter who is autistic, and she really enjoyed this book and recommended it to me. I know she doesn't always like to read about autistic characters because often they're pigeon-holed with the same characteristics and problems, so for her to enjoy this meant it was something special. I have to admit, I knew nothing at all about Minecraft going into this. I love the idea that one day we may be able to unlock the complex beautiful minds of people with autism and find a way to communicate with them. A lovely read that I recommend.

This was such a heartwarming story! I've had this on my TBR to read and review for a very long time, but I never got around to it. I found it on Hoopla last week and gave the audiobook a try. The audio narration is excellent, and this was the perfect case of the perfect book at the perfect time. I would not have understood the minecraft references had I not listened to Minecraft: The Island with my son a few years back. I think that increased my enjoyment of this book because I have such good memories associated with learning about the game from my own son, much like Alex and Sam bonded over the game in this book. Given the state of the world right now, I really needed something that wasn't violent or sad.

I think the author did a great job capturing the daily struggles of parenting and marriage. Whether you have a child with autism or not, parenting and marriage takes a lot of work to make the machine work smoothly. Throw in the added responsibility of having a child with autism. childhood grief that was never addressed, and a career you hate and Alex's life is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Alex and his wife deal with problems differently, much like most couples do, but instead of coming to an acceptable agreement on what to do, Alex has learned to run from tough situations. It has been his coping mechanism since childhood and now he has found himself jobless, homeless, and at risk of losing the two people he loves most.

I really liked the way that Alex turned things around in his life and the way the author supported Alex with friends that called him out when he was being difficult and not facing his fears and problems. I liked that he finally took responsibility for himself and Sam and found a way to see the world through his son's eyes and find something they could do together and ways to support Sam when he was having meltdowns. Sam was such a beautiful boy, I really loved his character. There were some really great moments in the book between them.

While this type of fiction is not normally something I go for, I really enjoyed it and if you are looking for a book that leaves you with a smile on your face give this a read.

While my daughter is not on the autism spectrum, she does struggle in many ways. Reading Keith Stuart's novel "A Boy Made of Blocks" was refreshingly honest, poignant, and heartbreaking on many levels, and I simply couldn't put it down. Early on in the novel the Alex, the father of young Sam, describes the daily struggle of raising a child who is "different"---from being forced to listen to advice (oftentimes things you have already tried) to silently comparing your child to others, this scene really struck a chord with me.

Overall, I loved the flawed characters and found them easy to relate to. This book is a must read for me not only as a parent, but also as a teacher. I highly recommend this book and am so glad I got the chance to read it!

Let me say upfront: my pet peeve is comps that aren't actually comps. The Rosie Project and A Boy Made of Blocks both have autistic characters, but in my opinion, that's where the resemblance ends.

At the start, Sam's dad Alex is a pretty unlikeable character - selfish and childish, and overwhelmed by his parenting duties. However, as the story unfolded and we learned more about his past and we see his attempts to connect, the plot deepens and my feelings for him softened. As Alex begins to embrace his role, his responsibilities and find his way back to his son, I found myself unable to put the book down.

In the end, it won me over.

This book was fantastic! I’ll be honest - if I wasn’t random reading it would have been years before I picked this up!!

Alex, father of Sam, has recently separated from his wife Jody and is living at his best friends apartment. Sam is autistic and Alex isn’t sure how to be the best father.

In the first handful of chapters, I despised Alex and his attitude towards his wife and child. However, I was so happy to see how he redeems himself. This book is the journey of Alex getting to know his son and heal himself in the process. I loved reading how Alex was able to form connections with his son. It’s rare that I see a novel where the focus is a father and son and was so refreshing to read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The idea of the novel seemed intriguing - that is until you get to actually read it. The main character, the father, is such a poorly constructed one, oh dear! And I also didn't like how autism and the young boy were presented. I had higher expectations from this one.

SO GOOD! I really enjoyed A Boy Made of Blocks, embodying: "Life is an adventure, not a walk."
A well written, flowing story of a father's attempt to rebuild his life: connect with his autistic son and estranged wife. I work with children with Autism, and very much connected to the reality, and volatility, as well as wonderful character traits of his son. Told in a man's voice, this story describes huge challenges and a marriage falling apart with humor and honesty. I highly recommend this book. Thank you NetGalley for the copy for my review. All opinions are my own.

St. Martin's Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of A Boy Made of Blocks. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

I have read many fiction novels with a similar subject matter, but not often do readers come across such a heartfelt and compelling telling of a family torn apart by autism. Alex, Jody, and Sam come alive with author Keith Stuart's words and it is clear that he has personal knowledge about the subject.

Sam is eight and sees the world in a different way than many in the world. When Jody reaches her breaking point, she tells Alex that he needs to leave and get his head together. As Alex tries to come to terms with his past and with the way that it has affected his relationships with other people, I could feel his confusion and pain. Although I did not like Jody's reaction to Alex, especially once he started to come to terms with the reality of the situation, it did feel like an honest response. The thing I liked the most about A Boy Made of Blocks is that the author let the book flow naturally and did not make the mistake that authors often do, that of apologizing for their character's flaws and missteps. Sam is who he is, honest and genuine. His parents both make mistakes, but the love for their child comes through clearly. A Boy Made of Blocks is definitely a book I would recommend and I look forward to reading more by the author in the future.

Incredibly moving insight into struggling family. Alex and Jody used to be unbreakable team. That has changed and everything started crumbling around them.

Alex is losing hold on what means everything to him, his family. Jody has enough of fighting for both of them, of keeping family together. Alex doesn’t understand what he’s done wrong, hasn’t he loved them enough, did he not provide and support his family financially? Suddenly everything he was so sure about is gone and finding way back is a lot harder than he ever could imagine. The hardest of all seems to be his relationship with his son Sam, understanding him, communicating, finding things in common. Alex lost everything but won’t lose his son too.

This story shows that sometimes life seems so much harder, more complicated but simple changes can make the biggest difference. Even baby steps are steps forward and love and care can really go a long way.

A Boy Made of Block was written with so much care. So many funny moments distracted you from difficult situations but seriousness of it never left your mind. This novel is one everyone should read. It’s incredible how much it can open your eyes and seeing child ‘misbehaving’ in public will never be quite the same again.

I really liked this book. With so many children on the spectrum now it is interesting to see different ways of how people deal with them. How something as simple as a computer game can help children open up. It also makes you stop and think before judging someone if their child is acting up in a store.

I enjoyed it. The title really drew me in, and so did the summary. It wasn't as great as it could have been, I feel like, but it was a really enjoyable read.

I wanted to read this book because the description said it was a humorous, heartwarming story. I love all the books Jojo Moyes wrote and the description said I would love this book if I like Jojo Moyes. I don’t think it lived up to the claim of being as enjoyable as any of Jojo Moyes books.

This book had a very slow start and the father was a difficult character to like from the beginning. You start to understand him and tolerate him as the book goes on.

For me, this book did not live up to its description.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The story is written from a heart of honesty, and it shows on every page. At first, the father is so scared of his autistic son and his role as a parent. With a heartfelt honesty, he learns to treasure that which makes his son different. Kudos to the author for a sensitive look at what can make - or break - a family with a special needs child.

“A Boy Made of Blocks” by Keith Stuart

An uplifting story of a husband, father, and man who has lost his way. He used to be a great communicator, showed his love openly, and let very little bring him down as long as he and his wife Jodi were in it all together.

Over the years, Alex has slowly removed himself, working longer hours, avoiding the tough issues surrounding his son, falling more into survivors guilt, and communicating very little. Jodi has had enough and Alex has seemed to have hit rock bottom in all areas of his life.

While living with his friend Dan, Alex slowly finds ways to engage with his son, to see life through his eyes, and to build a relationship with him that is honest, supportive and based on on understanding and engagement as vs fear and avoidance.

Over time this seems to affect his relationship with Jodi. They slowly begin talking again. Truly talking and listening. Making joint decisions and slowly finding their way back.

And Alex has one more trick up his sleeve...somehow he has gone from so very lost to a man who has, once again, has a happy and settled life, more so than before. How he gets there from the lowest of lows and how his relationships change with others and he finds his internal self is an interesting, relatable journey...

Rating: 4.45
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

** I read and reviewed an advanced copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A story that made me laugh and cry. Beautifully written and insightful regarding Autism and a family coping with an autistic child. I liked the fact that the author was writing from his own experience.

You had me at Minecraft. I admit it. After the Minecraft obsession swept through my own home, I was curious to see how the game would be used to engage Sam, the autistic boy at the center of this story. To be fair, calling this merely a story about autism (or minecraft, for that matter) does this story and its author a disservice, because it is really so much more than that. This is a universal story — a beautiful and complicated love story— that begins with a family fallen apart, and then follows them as they cautiously try to piece it back together. The author manages to take characters who are at first appalling in their lack of courage, and turn them back into commendable human beings. This is not always an easy task, but handled with grace and elegance here. This is a powerful story, and, while it has an almost Hollywood ending (which I sometimes pretend to disdain), I loved it here. Set that box of tissues near your comfy chair and have at it.

For Goodreads:

Why I picked it — The main character sounded intriguing
Reminded me of… Relativity, by Antonia Hayes
For my full review — click here

If this is Keith Stuart’s first novel, I can hardly wait to see what he writes next. Mr. Stuart wrote a novel that is both heartbreaking and uplifting. He writes from experience because he has a son on the autism spectrum. I have a friend who has a high functioning autistic son, so I know some of the struggles the parents face.

Alex was a workaholic. He had a demanding job, but he also worked a lot more hours than he really had to work. He didn’t know how to handle his son’ behavior, so left his wife to cope with their autistic son and used his job to escape from the reality of Sam’s world.

A Boy Made of Blocks is a wonderful story of a father and son finding each other again. I highly recommend it. It will give you a better understanding of what parents of autistic children go through. Keep the tissues handy.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a chance to read and review this book.