Harmony by Carolyn Parkhurst

What do you get when you take three families, all with children who are on the autism spectrum, and leave them at a camp to fend for themselves?  Absolute hilarity, that's what.  Harmony is the story of the Hammond family's search for "normalcy" in the middle of not so normal circumstances.  It is told in alternating perspectives  of Alexandra, the mother, and Iris, the neurotypical daughter.  Alexandra packs up her husband and two daughters to live at Camp Harmony in hopes that parenting expert Scott Bean can come up with a solution for how to raise Tilly, the Hammond's eldest daughter who is a mix of genius and socially awkward.     Harmony was a definite page turner, and actually made my jaw drop with the ending. 

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After the Hammonds move to Camp Harmony, they must relinquish their electronics, their car keys, and pretty much all independence for the good of the camp.  It seems they'll follow autism guru Scott Bean to the ends of the earth, until some events at camp lead them to believe he might not be who he says he is.   

Here's what I like about this novel: 

• Tilly: Because Tilly doesn't really understand what is appropriate to say or not to say, she says it all!  My favorite moments were when Tilly would take an idea to the extreme, only to leave everyone around her utterly speechless and extremely uncomfortable.  She's diagnosed as PDD-NOS on the autism spectrum, but her diagnosis leaves her parents with little direction.  She loves statues, loves facts about statues, and isn't afraid to express her sexuality...which is quite an adventure with a thirteen year old girl. 
• Alternating Perspectives: Tilly's eleven year old sister, Iris, is the backbone for the story.  She provides the perspective for most of the events in the novel.  It was great to see what packing up and leaving all of your possessions for a cult-like camp was like though the eyes of a "neurotypical" pre-teen.  It was also great for some more insight as to what Tilly might be thinking, because she spends all of her time with her.  Alexandra also narrates this novel, but her chapters provide the reader with background as to how the Hammonds ended up at Camp Harmony.  The maturity of her perspective is well balanced with Iris' rose-colored glasses.
• The Cult-Like Mystery: Scott Bean puts off an immediate cult leader vibe when he asks the Hammonds and the other Camp Harmony families to give him their electronics, alcohol, and car keys.  He was the main reason why I was so enthralled with this novel.  I wanted to figure him out and see exactly where this story led in the end.  Let me tell you-I was shocked.   Like, literal jaw-drop, audible "Oh my gosh!" shocked while reading.  I don't want to spoil anything, but I will tell you this novel has a great pay-off in the end.

What I didn't like so much: 

• Iris: Because Iris is supposed to be an eleven year old girl, I found some of her narration to be a bit unbelievable.  I didn't truly think an eleven year old would write some of the phrases that were included, but I really only thought about it for the first few chapters.  By the time I was 30 pages in, I was too interested in the story to really think about it too much.

This was definitely one of my top 10 books of the summer, and I'm so excited to share it with you on its publication date.  Run out to your nearest book store and pick this one up now!

Rating: 4 stars

Thanks to Penguin's First to Read for a free advanced copy of Harmony in exchange for an honest review.