The Reason I Jump

This is truly important, and anyone interested in autism should read it. Charlotte Moore
The Sunday Times Full Review

The prose throughout the book is crisp, conversational, and intimate. I had to keep reminding myself that the author was a 13-year-old boy when he wrote this; sometimes, it sounds as though it were the work of a prudent adult pretending to be a 13-year-old boy, because the freshness of voice coexists with so much wisdom.

This book takes about 90 minutes to read, and it will stretch your vision of what it is to be human. Andrew Solomon
The Times Full Review

A voice breaks the silence
Does this book tell us something new? I believe it does. There is already some vague public awareness of the very different and special thought processes experienced by autistic people and Higashida illustrates this wonderfully, as does Mitchell in his introduction.  Amanda Mitchison
The Financial Times Full Review

Its explanation, advice and, most poignantly, its guilt offers readers eloquent access into an almost entirely unknown world. Arifa Akbar
The Independent

Anyone struggling to understand autism will be grateful for the book and translation. Kirkus Reviews
Full Review

An extraordinary book. BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week

FOR years Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell despaired at his young autistic son’s baffling behaviour, from the extreme grief at a scratched DVD to banging his head repeatedly on the floor, or the bewildering night-time energy bursts.
Part memoir and part FAQ session interwoven with short stories and allegories, it brings the fascinating quirks of the autistic mind to life. Even more remarkable is that its author, “severely autistic” Naoki Higashida, was only 13 years old when he wrote it - by spelling out every word on a cardboard alphabet grid. Luisa Metcalfe
The Daily Express Full Review

Autism? It's like being trapped inside a faulty robot
We have our received ideas, we believe they correspond roughly to the way things are, then a book comes along that simply blows all this so-called knowledge out of the water. This is one of them. Marcus Berkmann
The Daily Mail Full Review

A glimpse into a corner of a secret world
Despite the Herculean effort of translating the autistic experience into language, The Reason I Jump reads effortlessly, each page challenging preconceptions that autistic people lack empathy, humour or imagination. Emma Claire Sweeney
The Independent Full Review

The Reason I Jump reads effortlessly, each page challenging preconceptions that autistic people lack empathy, humour or imagination. Higashida’s insights confirm some of my suspicions (perhaps the phrases that my sister repeats feel pleasurable, ‘like a game of catch with a ball’), whilst challenging other's... And raising new possibilities. The Independent on Sunday

...slight, modest yet highly provocative book. The Observer

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This book is mesmerising proof that inside an autistic body is a mind as subtle, curious, and caring as anyone else's. Adam Sherwin
The Independent Full Review

David makes the point that there are accounts from adults with autism, but to get an insight into a child or teenager's point of view with autism is a revelation, really. Alison Flood
The Guardian Full Review

Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell has co-translated a book written by an autistic child to be published by Sceptre later this year. Charlotte Williams
The Bookseller Full Review

Cloud Atlas author turns to teenage autism for next book
The Reason I Jump is intended to demystify the behaviour of autistic children for a ‘neurotypical’ audience and was first spotted online by Mitchell’s Japanese wife, Keiko Yoshida. Catherine Scott
The Telegraph Full Review