Marcelo in the Real World

I'm reading Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork. So far this book is pretty good ! It's about Marcelo Sandoval who is a 17 year old boy who has a condition that's similar to Autism. Ever since first grade, Marcelo has gone to Paterson. Paterson is a special school designed for disabled kids. Marcelo takes longer time to do things, always has schedules made, and isn't comfortable socializing with anyone except his family and some of the kids at Paterson. Marcelo's father has a plan for him, though. This summer, instead of working in the horse stables at Paterson like he planned, Marcelo is going to work in the mailroom at his dad's law firm. If Marcelo succeeds there, it is his decision whether he wants to continue school at Paterson or switch over to the regular, public high school. Marcelo's father, Arturo, wants Marcelo to reach out of his comfort zone. He wants him to live in the "real world."
There are a lot of external and internal conflicts developing in this story. There's Marcelo versus his father, Marcelo versus society, and Marcelo versus himself. Arturo is always pushing Marcelo to be normal. He wants his son to be like any other teenager. Until now, Marcelo has always been protected. He hasn't had to deal with society because it is an unprotected environment and no one wanted him to go through that. But now Arturo feels that Marcelo is ready and actually has been ready for a long time. He just needs to take that first plunge. The only thing that is getting in Marcelo's way is his fear. He doesn't know if he can do tasks that are unscheduled or he's never experienced before.
So I'm really curious about how Marcelo is going to react to the real world. He's a smart boy and more mature than most kids his age. He's never had to cross busy streets or multitask before because he's always been confined to his comfort zone. I have a feeling that this new experience will really change Marcelo. While he is very unhappy and scared about his new job, I predict he'll be thankful in the end. His character is so interesting and thinks so differently than I or anyone I know would. There are tons of people out there you come across who have autism or are disabled. This book gives you a chance to see inside their heads and it's really eye opening.