Hi, I'm Siobahn, and this is my blog for ENG 280 at Michigan State University. I've chosen to focus on the novel The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-time , and for many reasons.

I first read this book almost 6 years ago, not too long after it had come out. My father had purchased it, read it himself and then insisted I read it as well. I ended up really enjoying the story and Christopher's character, so when I saw the book was listed on my syllabus for this course I was really excited to revisit everything after having matured as a reader over the past few years.

I'm a frequent re-reader of novels. I have my favorites and I read them at certain times of the year, or when I'm experiencing certain feelings. Sometimes I just glance at the title on my bookshelf and feel an overwhelming desire to visit that story again. I hadn't thought about Haddon's novel in a very long time. It was somewhere in my father's bookshelf in the basement and when I asked him to find it for me so I wouldn't have to purchase it for the class, he immediately became excited. We talked about my first time reading it and during the conversation I recalled my initial feelings on the book.

Reading this book at 14, with a lot less knowledge on Christopher's condition, gave me a different perspective. I don't think for one minute while reading this book, that I saw Christopher as lacking in any area. To me, he was different and refreshing! His quirks and odd behavior brought something to the story I hadn't seen before. I embraced him, and I gobbled up the book in a few days. I enjoyed the twists. I felt like the big moments in the book were just big moments in his life, like the things we all experience as adolescents. I saw him coming of age, growing up, finding himself, and that was because I found myself trying to do the same.