When Mabelline sets out on a journey to visit her pen pal Rosa, she doesn't expect to be staying quite so long as she does. Mabelline quickly takes Rosa and her son Carlos to her heart, but she knows right away there is something different about the boy. When tragedy occurs, Mabelline is forced to be responsible for Carlos as he struggles to fit into a world based on rules he doesn't understand, and finds himself in serious trouble. Set in a tropical world of beautiful flowers and dazzling sun, Wounded Bird of Paradise is a story about love in an unlikely family, threaded with problems faced by someone with Asperger Syndrome. Carlos is a young man with Asperger Syndrome struggling to fit into an intimidating world. Mabelline is a woman who reluctantly takes a journey that ends up changing her life. This unlikely pair takes us on an emotional journey that warms the heart whilst illustrating the difficulties someone with Asperger Syndrome undergoes trying to hold down a job in a nursery, make friends, talk to girls, and cope with life. Wounded Bird of Paradise is an engaging story filled with the highs and lows of real life. The author deals with the serious issue of how confusing a workplace can be for anyone with Asperger Syndrome and how daily life can be fraught with complications, but also tackles very ordinary emotions of love, loss and responsibility without losing a sharply funny edge. This book will prove an engrossing read for all, and of particular value to anyone concerned with Asperger Syndrome and settling in to work.
