Oscar avoids eye contact, doesn’t understand social niceties, is bluntly honest, has an extremely limited diet, values routine, infodumps about his special interests, goes non-verbal when stressed, and more. Secretly, however, Oscar can read, and sneaks to the library at night to learn more about the herbs he works with.ĭue to the book’s fantasy setting, Oscar is never called autistic, but it’s confirmed by the author and, well, really obvious.
Although the townspeople call Oscar simple and not quite right, he has a comfortable routine, living in the basement of the magician’s store and gathering and cutting all kinds of herbs for use in decoctions. The Real Boy, a middle grade secondary-world fantasy novel, features an eleven-year-old boy named Oscar who works as a hand to his town’s most powerful magician. It’s now my go-to recommendation when people ask me for books with autistic protagonists. After reading many disappointing portrayals of autism, I truly wanted The Real Boy to be good.
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