If I could have educators read one book to learn from, this would be it. Peter Hoeg's brutal tale of inclusion gone horrifically wrong in 1960s Denmark challenges, through the purest of childhood voices, everything you think you know about school.

This is the book which taught me that "the first technology of school is time." The book which explains why integration of every kind has so often failed in US schools. The book which destroys every argument for standardized testing and every argument for linear grading systems. And it does all this while making few explicit arguments about any of this - though the author is crystal clear on the nonsense and cruelty of our assessments.

Whether Hoeg's book is fully autobiographical or not, of course, matters not at all. Rather what matters is his incredible capture of the voices of three of the most challenging yet inspiring children you will meet in literature, and that's before we meet and understand the fourth child, Oskar Humlun, who represents all that we want our children to be, and all of the ways we fail our children.

Borderliners - original brutal Danish title "For Those Who Might be Useful" - is a difficult challenging painful read. But if you work in schools you owe it to your students to truly understand this book.

Absolutely amazing book, asks interesting questions about times and our definitions of when someone is good enough - or when they're almost good enough, but never quite cut it.

This book blew my mind but I probably shouldn’t have read it in middle school.

Pretty much amazing. There was a story, and then there was the narrators thoughts on time. The time parts were a little confusing and long winded, but still fairly interesting and written creatively. I was entranced by the book, I was completely attached to the characters and wanted them to succeed, etc. The writing was a unique style that I liked-even though he used bad form in saying "you" a lot. That's never bothered me, I just know from English teachers that it's not supposed to be good.

I'm very interested in reading his other books. His bio was kind of interesting-before becoming a writer her was a professional dancer, actor, sailor, fencer, and mountaineer! :p The narrator's name was Peter and so was the author's...that made me a little curious to see how connected he was to the character. At any rate, I am so glad to have bought this book for 50 cents. :D

Took a little time to get into, but this brutal look at the effect of a series of institutions on a Danish orphan grows into a powerful meditation on family, violence, and the nature of time. Very rewarding.

It's really weird and in the beginning it's hard to wrap your mind around what's going on and who the characters are and what they're doing here. I wouldn't have finished this book if it wasn't for an assignment.

An alright book. Didn't quite move me as others have, but I enjoyed it and would recommend it.