Joe Nuthin's Guide to Life by Helen Fisher

Today I am so excited to be able to share my review with you for this book as part of the blog tour because it is a book that really deserves to be shouted about.

Joe loves predictability. But his life is about to become a surprising adventure.

Joe-Nathan likes the two parts of his name separate, just like his dinner and dessert. Mean Charlie at work sometimes calls him Joe-Nuthin. But Joe is far from nothing. Joe is a good friend, he’s good at his job, good at making things and good at following the rules, and he’s learning how to do lots of things by himself.

Joe’s mother knows there are a million things in life he isn’t prepared for. While she helps guide him every day, she’s also writing notebooks full of advice about the things she hasn’t told Joe yet, things he might forget and answers to questions he hasn’t yet asked.

Following her wisdom – applying it in his own unique way – this next part of Joe’s life is more of a surprise than he expects. Because he’s about to learn that remarkable things can happen when you leave your comfort zone, and that you can do even the hardest things with a little help from your friends.

I have always stayed clear of the term “ a real page turner “ but this is exactly what this book is, I really feel like I have found a little gem with this book because baring in mind when I picked this up I had been in a reading slump and had DNF 8 books before reading it, the moment I picked this book up I literally did not stop turning the pages until I had reached the end.

I fail to see how the adorable Joe-Nathan will not touch everyone’s heart because he sure did capture mine. It felt like a privilege to be let into his world and see the world differently through his eyes and his mums words couldn’t have been more spot on “ Joe-Nuthin doesn’t have  a bad bone in his body”

Now I have read numerous books over the past two years where the main character has been neurodivergent but for me this book is on another level because this one really explores how Joe-Nathan’s brain is wired differently but shows how he navigates his day to day life with a big help from his mum in creating routines and boundaries as well as help from his Big blue book. His mum’s fear is Joe being left alone to cope when she is not around so she is keen to try and build new connections for him so he will never have to face this cruel and complex world alone.

There were times in this book where I had a lump in my throat and my heart broke especially at one point quite early on when I kind of expected what happened to happen but not quite so early on but there was also times when I was having a proper belly laugh too especially on the blow-job topic! There really is a real mix of emotions that we feel whilst reading this book.

I absolutely loved watching Joe-Nathan navigate making friendships some easy like with his fiercely loyal friend Chloe and others like mean Charlie who at the beginning you want nothing more than to ring the boys neck.

The storyline does show the rawness of some of the nasty ways people are treated but it also shows that sometimes although it is not acceptable at all there may actually be more than meets the eye.  

I can easily say this is one of my top reads of the year so far, one of the easiest 5 stars I have given and I also know that Joe-Nathan is going to stay in my heart forever. What an exceptional read.

 Available to buy here