Without a doubt my favourite read of 2016. If I could give it ten stars I would! Can't wait for another book by this author.

A very well written, utterly heart-warming story about a father's developing relationship with his autistic son. Having an autistic granddaughter myself, this book affected me on many levels as I recognised familiar traits and scenarios. The issues presented are very real, especially Sam's overwelming fixation, in his case with Minecraft. Would recommend it to both those who are touched by autism and those who aren't, in order to acquire a better understanding of this very complex condition.

Found this book sad and enlightening and riveting in equal measure. Since it was based on reality it was even more heart-warming and encouraging for other families with children on the autistic spectrum. Was so excited by the book I have sent a copy to my daughter who works with challenging children. The idea that all these children need is to find that special thing which makes them feel in charge of their own world, be it a computer simulated world, or music or numbers must give all parents hope to unlock their child's world as Keith Stuart did. I applaud his courage also to write about it and share his experince with the world.

I loved this sweet story about a father connecting with his autistic son through Minecraft.

WOW! I have been waiting forever to read this book and I was not disappointed. I can already say this will be in my top 20 books of 2017 and we are only still in January. A well deserved five stars and a book I would urge EVERYBODY to read. I use to work in a special needs school so I connected and understood Sam with all my personal knowledge about autism. I was hooked and read it in less than 48 hours. What a beautiful, powerful and wonderful story. This story focuses on little 8 year old Sam and his father, a certain part towards the end even made me sob my heart out because I was so proud of Sam.

I was so involved and in the story I didn’t want it to end and August needs to hurry up as I need my next fix by Keith Stuart who is a new favourite author of mine. This story is based on the authors own experiences with his autistic son which makes it even more of a heart breaking and heart warming story. I don’t have one bad thing to say about this story. A Boy Made of Blocks is one of those rare stories that generally impacts on your own personal day to day life. I would love to see A Boy Made of Blocks turned into a film. The world needs to learn and accept all these beautiful talented children who yes may be different but they are unique and we can help them within society by our own actions and awareness. Beautiful. I also learnt A LOT about Minecraft through this book and it sounds like a game I may love haha. Enjoy, I did. I really loved it.

This book will stay in my heart for a long, long time. If not forever. Thank You Keith, many parents out there are going through this daily struggle with their own children and this book lets them know they are not alone.

A Boy Made of Blocks is a book about communication and relationships - between husbands and wives, fathers and sons and family and friends. It's based on the author's experiences with his own autistic son, which makes the book so believable and realistic. It's a very honest account and, at times, it read like memoir rather than fiction.

Alex is struggling to cope with Sam's autism. He finds it difficult to understand how his son sees the world - and also how the world views his son. When Sam develops an interest in the online building game Minecraft, this opens up a whole new world for Alex and Sam - and provides a virtual place where they can learn to communicate and connect with one another.

A Boy Made of Blocks is heartwarming, emotional and entertaining - a story to make you laugh and cry. It's an easy read and well written, with a fast pace and great characterisation. I enjoyed seeing how the relationship between Alex and Sam strengthened throughout the book. You don't need to know anything about Minecraft to read this as the game itself is well described (although I have played it with my boys before so knew exactly what is involved).

As an avid player of Minecraft throughout my late teens (I still dabble in it a bit now), I was intrigued when I read the synopsis of this book. I’d never read a synopsis quite like it: a young autistic boy and his dad bond over playing Minecraft together. I thought it’d be an interesting read – but it was far more than that.

The depiction of autism was so honest and so sincere that I could tell it was written partly from experience. I’ve never had any experience with autism, so it’s something I don’t know an awful lot about. Reading about Sam’s autism made me realise the reality of it, and how difficult it would be to live with. The characters were all so well-written, too. It was hard to believe that I was reading a fictional story because it all seemed so real.

I completely related to the protagonist, Alex, in that he was terrified to spend a long time with Sam. He was scared that Sam would have a meltdown and he wouldn’t know how to stop it. He also talked about how he was genuinely awkward around children anyway, and didn’t know what to do around them. This is me, 100%. The smallest amount of time I have to spend around small children, the better!

It helped, too, that the story was set so close to where I live. The whole story is set in Bristol, which is only over the river from me! (Okay, it’s just under an hour’s drive, but still.) There were so many jokes that actually made me laugh out loud – a lot of them to do with how British people are. He talked about pubs that serve food that’s probably less fresh than swallowing a mouthful of the Avon river. The humour contrasted with the more emotional parts of the story, and made for a huge rollercoaster of feelings! (It actually almost made me cry, and it’s RARE that something will make me cry. The last time I cried at a book was The Book Thief. Man, that book turned me into a sobbing mess.)

Finally, I loved the familiarity of Minecraft. I’ve seen a couple of Goodreads reviewers complaining that the game was described in too much detail, but I completely disagree. The thing I loved was that Alex and Sam’s shared Minecraft world became more than just a game world – it became their world. The colours, and textures and the sounds were described in enough detail that I could imagine every detail of their world. I was fascinated by the descriptions of their buildings, and I can imagine them building them together.

There were such great parallels between their Minecraft world and Sam’s real life. When they began playing the game together, Sam was too afraid to move away from the familiar; too terrified to explore after dark because of the scary sounds. As Sam got older and his confidence increased, his skills progressed in the same. By the end, he was building huge structures, dragging Alex off to explore dark caverns, and building bridges over pools of lava. If that isn’t symbolic of his increasing strength, I don’t know what is!

A Boy Made of Blocks is a book for everyone. It’s for those who need a pick-up when they’re down, and those who want to feel like they can overcome anything. It’s a crazy, emotional journey through the eyes of a dad coming to terms with his child’s autism. And it’s incredibly uplifting, motivational, and I’d recommend it to anybody.

I read this book in a day and I seriously couldn't put it down until I'd finished it.

From I was ten years old until I was twenty I was involved in a social club for people with learning disabilities. There was a few kids that went to the club with autism. My sister also took care of a young boy with autism for quite a few years. He became part of our family and so for those reasons I was certainly interested in reading this book.

This is a truly amazing read. There were times I laughed and there was times I cried. I had goosebumps reading most of this story.

Alex and Jody are parents to Sam who is an eight year old boy with autism. Although Jody is coping Alex is struggling to build a relationship with his son. Jody asks Alex to move out. As time progresses Alex finds common ground with Sam- Minecraft. He finds his son starts to progress slowly and it allows him time to spend time with Sam. Their journey is certainly an eye opener.

The author pulled on his own experiences and his real feelings to write a truly beautiful heart warming story. This book and these characters are going to stay with me for quite a while.

I found this to be an extremely moving book to read. You can feel the authenticity behind the words. One of the author's sons was diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum and you can sense the sincerity in his writing. The accounts of the school meetings with headteachers and local authority officers have a ring of truth. You just know that the author has been at many of these meetings. Similarly the reactions of other parents and children to behaviour they see as being not the norm, must ring a bell with other parents in the same boat. However, it is more than about this central subject matter. Many of the characters, including the parents have issues they still have to address from the past.

Sometimes life does not work out as you envisage or plan. People don't turn out as you expect. Children may not be the person their parents thought they would have. We see how the loss of his young brother has affected not just Alex, but the other members of his family. By shelving how they feel and carrying on, they seem forever haunted. They have avoided facing up to how they feel. Alex's sister travels non stop. His mother moves away to the depths of the country. Alex himself buries himself in work and avoids being at home. As Alex has to try to learn how to communicate with his son, he has to address other aspects of his life.

I particularly enjoyed the humour in the story. It was never sentimental. The plot fizzed along. The characters were all entertaining in their different ways. I loved the writing style. The author has developed a distinctive voice for his central character, which is consistent to the end. Such an uplifting read, this has got my 2017 reading off to a brilliant start.

In short: an uplifting read, brimful of insight and affection.

omg ! just finished reading 'A Boy made of Blocks' by Keith Stuart
it was an amazing read and even made me have a tear in my eye at one point .
its written from the dads perspective about his family. His wife, himself and his autistic son Sam. inspired by the authors own experiences with his son.
thoroughly recommend it

This book is inspired by the author's own experiences with his autistic son, which helps to make this a realistic and heartfelt novel about love and acceptance.

Alex has always struggled to come to terms with his son's autism but his failure and frustration has also resulted in damaging his relationship with his wife. The tension between the two, has a detrimental effect on Sam, which of course creates a vicious circle. The answer, is to ask Alex to leave which he reluctantly does, moving in with his childhood friend. What follows is an attempt to understand what went wrong and how, if possible, he can put it right. The problem is complicated by the fact that in order to love others, you have to love yourself, and Alex's problem goes back much further to the loss of his brother George.

The breakthrough comes, when Sam discovers Minecraft, which results in the opportunity to have a shared activity which Alex uses to build not just an imaginary world, but a sometimes fragile, but growing, real life relationship. As their relationship develops, so too does Alex's awareness of what is actually required from him and how he's been falling woefully short. The question is, is it too little, too late or is there a future not just for him and Sam, but also for his marriage to Jody.

I adored this book, and I will admit I didn't originally expect too. A story about a family falling apart and an obsession with a computer game, didn't immediately sell itself too me. However having seen the reviews my interest was piqued and all I can say, is that if you have similar misgivings, cast them aside - now. This is a beautifully written, heartwarming book about a father developing a relationship with his son. While this relationship has obviously been hampered by the very real complications brought about by his son's autism, it still identifies very real life lessons that are applicable to any relationship.

Alex is not always a sympathetic character, initially I just wanted to shout at him for his apparent selfishness, but as we begin to appreciate his back story, he's easier to understand and warm to. His inability to bond with Sam, while perhaps understandable is also not just about Sam's autism. The reality is that bringing up any child can be hard, but while Sam's autism perhaps makes it harder for Alex, I wonder whether Alex uses it as an excuse to avoid getting involved. It's only as a fragile bridge is built that Alex recognises it isn't about what he wants, but what Sam needs.

The character that undoubtedly stole my heart was Sam. I can't begin to understand what it's like to live with autism, and as each person may be on a different place on the spectrum, this book gives you just a glimpse of what it's like for Sam. Needless to say, I just wanted him to be happy, to find a way for him to be comfortable in his skin, and to find a way to make friends and build relationships that will enable him to move forward in life. These are life skills, which all children have to learn, but most do it without being hampered by a condition that makes you scared of the world, of noise, of physical contact and of rules that everyone seems to understand but you. If nothing else I would hope this book makes us less judgemental of things we don't understand and more understanding.

The book offers a very touching and insightful in to what it means to live with an autistic child, but it isn't all tears and tantrums. There's a lot of warmth, humour and a surprising discovery that Minecraft isn't just a nerdy computer game. As well as following Alex and Sam on their journey of discovery, we also get to meet and Alex's friend Dan, his sister Emma and his Mum. They all have their own cameo roles to play in helping Alex understand himself and add an extra layer to the story that makes a fuller, richer read.

In short, this is book full of insight, warmth, love, honesty, laughter and tears. It has lessons for us all about building relationships, about accepting ourselves and others and for being thankful for family and friends.

I received an ecopy of this book via NetGalley to review.

Alex and Jody have a beautiful son called Sam, but he’s different to other children, he has Autism. To Sam, social situations are scary and uninviting, and the solace of his bedroom, whilst playing Minecraft, are when he is most calm.

A Boy Made of Blocks is an honest account of a family living with Autism, as well as, one parent trying to deal with the death of their sibling, George. Two very emotional situations that Alex needs to talk about with Jody, trouble is Jody needs space and requests a separation.

For the first few chapters, I was expecting the novel to be quite a hard thing to read. I can imagine Autism takes a lot of patience and strength for those involved and I suspect the novel would be quite hard-hitting. However, Keith adds a level of humour (in the right places) with the inclusion of character’s Dan and Emma. Dan is the best friend who lets Alex stay in his spare room, albeit on a blow-up bed and Emma is his travelling sister, who pops home to the UK for a quick stop.

During the story, Sam becomes addicted to a computer game called Minecraft. He wants to play it 24/7, and for any other parent this would be a very bad thing. However, Sam becomes a different person and actually feels comfortable in the Minecraft world. The game brings the whole family together and highlights the fact that just because Sam has Autism doesn’t make him any different from other children. Everyone, regardless of age, struggles with things and Alex realises that and actually enjoys the time he spends with Sam, they’re a great partnership.

A lovely book about the struggles of a father to connect with his autistic son, which ultimately caused the breakdown of his marriage. As the book progresses we see the change in his relationship with his son Sam, as he finds a common interest with him.

It was an emotional rollercoaster of a book, I laughed, cried and got frustrated at times.

Well worth a read and 4 stars from me.