How would you feel if you heard someone describe you like this: "A 'retard.' Not 'retard' like you might use the word to tease a friend who just said or did something stupid. I mean a real retard. Real in the same way that total means total. As in total retard: Everybody who knows me, everybody who sees me, everybody, anybody who even gets near me would tell you I'm dumb as a rock" (4)? What if someone said it to your face? How would you feel then? If you’re like Shawn McDaniel, who has been described in this way, you may get upset, but no one would ever know it.
Shawn McDaniel is the main character of Stuck in Neutral. He is a fourteen year old boy who is confined to a wheelchair with severe cerebral palsy. He can't function on his own, drools, uses the restroom on himself, etcetera. Everyone thinks he's mentally retarded, but he's not. He has cerebral palsy, but inside his head, he's intelligent, witty and sarcastic. He can remember everything he's ever heard or seen. He understands everything that happens around him although he's not in control of his body. Shawn also has seizures, which everyone around him thinks are painful and terrible, but Shawn has a type of out-of-body experience with each seizure. He can travel from his home in Seattle, Washington, to distant places and see and feel things he's never known before. Shawn's life may seem terrible to you, and sure, he'd like to not be stuck in a wheelchair being called names and never getting the girl, but his life is okay with him.
Stuck in Neutral is written from Shawn's point of view. The reader sees the story develop around Shawn. We see him living his life in the wheelchair and how, even though everyone thinks he's "a retard," we see that he's really not. Even his family treats him this way, especially his father. He doesn't believe that Shawn is living a happy life, which develops the theme of quality of life and how we determine it. Shawn seems to be moderately happy confined to his wheelchair. He's come to terms with it and accepts it, even though it's difficult to understand why. Since no one really knows how someone with severe cerebral palsy is feeling, the book is an interesting take on it, allowing the reader to see it from the mind of someone suffering with it (although we have no way of knowing if that's really how someone with CP feels). When Shawn's father decides that Shawn is suffering too much, that he's not living a happy life, the reader gets to decide if Shawn's father ends his suffering or if he has a change of heart.
Since there is not really any way of knowing how the mind of someone with cerebral palsy works, as in, we don't know if the person is intelligent and understands what we say, it is an interesting read. This really could be how it is. This is a definite strength of the book. A weakness of the book, however, is that I find it awkward. I think it may be because the author has a son like Shawn, which makes me think, Has he thought about killing his own child? and I don't want to think about that.
The CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 2001) says, "Trueman's captivating first novel is hard to put down and has a delicious open ending. It will likely inspire lively discussion among teen readers of ethical issues such as euthanasia and quality of life." Kirkus Reviews (Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2000 (Vol. 68, No. 11)) says, "Though character is not the author's strongest concern here, ... Shawn will stay with readers, not for what he does, but for what he is and has made of himself."
To share this book with teens, it might also be a good idea to pair it with the companion novel Terry Trueman wrote in 2004 called Cruise Control that is from Shawn's brother's point of view. It would be interesting to read it and compare the two.
To close this review, I'd like to share a bit of Shawn's father's Pulitzer Prize-winning-poem that begins chapter nine on page 52.
Inside my chest
where my heart should be,
a ghost bird
is flying into a terrible wind,
a frozen winter wind,
and its eye is covered in ice,
and it has no voice,
and it is fading out of itself,
falling and falling.
Trueman, Terry. 2000. Stuck in Neutral. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 9780030285180
Saturday, October 22, 2011
The Killer's Cousin
David Yaffe is a high school senior... again. Recently acquitted of the accidental death of his girlfriend, David moves in with his aunt and uncle in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to avoid the sideways glances of his former friends and to finish high school. He believes that this move will help him to forget what happened to his girlfriend, the trial and the heartache, but he is wrong. In the attic apartment above his aunt and uncle's house, David hears a mysterious humming and sees shadowy figures. His aunt rarely speaks to him, his uncle is slightly aloof, and his cousin, Lily, is a troublemaker. Her parents never see it, though, but that's probably because they're still upset over the tragic suicide of their other daughter, Kathy, which happened some years before. Lily is in the spotlight, being the go-between of her parents, until David moves in. Now she plays evil tricks on him, trying desperately to get him to reveal the way he feels now that he's a killer, and to get him to leave the attic that once belonged to her sister. Through several plot twists, secrets, lies and the like, David discovers that his cousin Lily killed her older sister. After he finds this out, Lily tries to kill herself by setting the house on fire, but David rescues her and promises, "We'll help each other ... When it hurts, when we're afraid, if we're ever tempted (to kill again)--we tell each other. I'll help you. You'll help me. We won't use the power we have. And we'll find ways to do good. To .. to atone" (226).
David tells this mysterious story, the story of Lily, the killer's cousin, but reveals his story at the same time. By telling Lily's story, which tells his own, the reader sees the theme of living with consequences develop. David must live with what he has done, and so must Lily. Together, the two realize this and learn to live despite the terrible things they've done in the past.
This book is very intriguing and would be great for reluctant teen boy readers and those who like crime shows like Law and Order, NCIS and CSI. The only thing that I did not like about the book was the fact that Lily's parents saw no problem with the things she was doing, or ignored them, and put the blame on David. I believe to a certain degree that everyone thinks their child is precious, but you have to realize there's a problem eventually, and before the child burns the house down.John Peters (Booklist, September 1, 1998 (Vol. 95, No. 1)) says of The Killer's Cousin, "Positioning her characters in an intricate, shadowy web of secrets, deception, bad choices, family feuds, and ghostly warnings, Werlin winds the tension to an excruciating point, then releases it in a fiery climax... Melissa Thacker (VOYA, October 1998 (Vol. 21, No. 4)) says, "David and Lily are sympathetic characters, who compel readers to discover the whole truth behind their stories. Once they get started, readers will be hard pressed to put this book down."
To share this book with teens, it could be a good idea to read it along with another teen murder mystery by Nancy Werlin, The Black Mirror. A fun activity to include after this reading would be to have a murder mystery dinner, where the teens have to use the sleuthing skills they've obtained from reading these books to figure out who-done-it.
What follows is my favorite selection from The Killer's Cousin, from page 175, when David finally realizes the truth:
I was David Bernard Yaffe. I had not meant to kill Emily. I had not meant even to hurt her. But I had, and now I lived forever with the abyss that separated me from people who didn't know what it was like, to have killed. To be a killer.
Acquittal had nothing to do with it. I was a killer. And I knew in my gut when I met another of my kind. Until then, I had refused to see it. I hadn't wanted to know the truth. But the knowledge had been there, somewhere in me, for a long, long time. Guilt knows guilt.
Like knows like.
Lily had killed Kathy.
Werlin, Nancy. 1998. The Killer's Cousin. New York: Delacourt Press. ISBN 9780385325608
David tells this mysterious story, the story of Lily, the killer's cousin, but reveals his story at the same time. By telling Lily's story, which tells his own, the reader sees the theme of living with consequences develop. David must live with what he has done, and so must Lily. Together, the two realize this and learn to live despite the terrible things they've done in the past.
This book is very intriguing and would be great for reluctant teen boy readers and those who like crime shows like Law and Order, NCIS and CSI. The only thing that I did not like about the book was the fact that Lily's parents saw no problem with the things she was doing, or ignored them, and put the blame on David. I believe to a certain degree that everyone thinks their child is precious, but you have to realize there's a problem eventually, and before the child burns the house down.John Peters (Booklist, September 1, 1998 (Vol. 95, No. 1)) says of The Killer's Cousin, "Positioning her characters in an intricate, shadowy web of secrets, deception, bad choices, family feuds, and ghostly warnings, Werlin winds the tension to an excruciating point, then releases it in a fiery climax... Melissa Thacker (VOYA, October 1998 (Vol. 21, No. 4)) says, "David and Lily are sympathetic characters, who compel readers to discover the whole truth behind their stories. Once they get started, readers will be hard pressed to put this book down."
To share this book with teens, it could be a good idea to read it along with another teen murder mystery by Nancy Werlin, The Black Mirror. A fun activity to include after this reading would be to have a murder mystery dinner, where the teens have to use the sleuthing skills they've obtained from reading these books to figure out who-done-it.
What follows is my favorite selection from The Killer's Cousin, from page 175, when David finally realizes the truth:
I was David Bernard Yaffe. I had not meant to kill Emily. I had not meant even to hurt her. But I had, and now I lived forever with the abyss that separated me from people who didn't know what it was like, to have killed. To be a killer.
Acquittal had nothing to do with it. I was a killer. And I knew in my gut when I met another of my kind. Until then, I had refused to see it. I hadn't wanted to know the truth. But the knowledge had been there, somewhere in me, for a long, long time. Guilt knows guilt.
Like knows like.
Lily had killed Kathy.
Werlin, Nancy. 1998. The Killer's Cousin. New York: Delacourt Press. ISBN 9780385325608
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes
Eric Calhoune and Sarah Byrnes have been friends for nearly forever. They make the perfect pair... Eric is fat and Sarah Byrnes's face and hands were burned when she was three and are horribly scarred. They didn't have any other friends. They only had each other.
Several years have passed. Eric has joined the swim team and has earned the nickname Moby because he's a swimmer, but eats even more than he did before. His plan? Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. He cares so much for Sarah Byrnes that he's afraid to lose weight and make new friends for fear of leaving her behind. She acts tough and pretends she doesn't care about anything, that nothing fazes her, but it's just a faŅ«ade.
One day, in the middle of class, Sarah Byrnes just quits. No more talking, no clever responses, no sarcastic quips. Nothing. In her catatonic state, she goes to Sacred Heart's mental facility. Eric visits her every day and soon discovers the truth behind her scars and the reason why she's in the hospital. Her father burned her when she was little and now plans to kill her. Eric wants to save his friend, so he turns to someone he knows he can trust, his favorite teacher and swim coach, Ms. Lemry. Lemry drives Sarah Byrnes to Reno in search of her mother, the only person who can tell the truth about her father and get him locked up for good. Sarah Byrnes's father knows something is up and goes to his daughter's only friend, Eric, for answers. To get those answers, he cuts Eric's face and stabs him in the back. This does not help his case, of course, and after a bit of a tussle, Mr. Byrnes heads to jail and Sarah Byrnes is adopted by Ms. Lemry. Everything is all wrapped up in a nice little package. Convenient, yes? Too convenient? I think so.
Written from Eric's point of view, we see only his side of the story. He's been kept in the dark about his best friend's scars, but still protects her and, honestly, risks his life for her. Not only does he face her father, who is completely crazy, but he also overeats on purpose, which can't be good for his health. This intense friendship is a strength of the book, as are Sarah Byrnes's sarcastic remarks, Eric's jokes, and the antics of Eric's new friend Ellerby. However, in my opinion, it's just too neatly wrapped up in the end. Could it happen that the 17 years and 364 days old Sarah Byrnes is adopted by her school teacher? I suppose. That kind of happened in Matilda, right?
The novel also has a swimming backdrop and in several scenes, Eric tells about the tricks he and Ellerby play on another student, making him swim harder than he has to, but honestly, I didn't understand really any of the swimming scenes, the way the were described was confusing for a non-swimmer, so that could deter others from reading it, once they make it to those parts.
All in all, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes was a good read, especially from chapter 11 or so onward. It would be a good book to share with boys who like sports, but want a more mysterious, story-driven plot instead of just relying on the sports to carry them through. It could be paired with other swimming stories by Chris Crutcher, such as Whale Talk and Stotan!
Janice Del Negro of Booklist (Booklist, Mar. 15, 1993 (Vol. 89, No. 14)) says of Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, "Crutcher ties up loose ends and subplots a little too rosily for real life, but his book is satisfying all the same. It's strong on relationships, long on plot, and has enough humor and suspense to make it an easy booktalk with appeal across gender lines." Susie Wilde of Children's Literature says, "Once the story takes hold you move along at such a rapid clip that by the end you're holding on for dear life."
My favorite part of Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes is the letter that Sarah Byrnes writes to Eric. Here's a portion of it, from page 130:
These kids up here, they act like the toughest kids in the world, just like me, but this is the first time I've ever seen under that toughness--in anybody else or in me. I'm really scared, because if I'm going to have a life, I'm going to have to act different, and I don't know if I can.
Crutcher, Chris. 1993. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN 9780688115524
Several years have passed. Eric has joined the swim team and has earned the nickname Moby because he's a swimmer, but eats even more than he did before. His plan? Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. He cares so much for Sarah Byrnes that he's afraid to lose weight and make new friends for fear of leaving her behind. She acts tough and pretends she doesn't care about anything, that nothing fazes her, but it's just a faŅ«ade.
One day, in the middle of class, Sarah Byrnes just quits. No more talking, no clever responses, no sarcastic quips. Nothing. In her catatonic state, she goes to Sacred Heart's mental facility. Eric visits her every day and soon discovers the truth behind her scars and the reason why she's in the hospital. Her father burned her when she was little and now plans to kill her. Eric wants to save his friend, so he turns to someone he knows he can trust, his favorite teacher and swim coach, Ms. Lemry. Lemry drives Sarah Byrnes to Reno in search of her mother, the only person who can tell the truth about her father and get him locked up for good. Sarah Byrnes's father knows something is up and goes to his daughter's only friend, Eric, for answers. To get those answers, he cuts Eric's face and stabs him in the back. This does not help his case, of course, and after a bit of a tussle, Mr. Byrnes heads to jail and Sarah Byrnes is adopted by Ms. Lemry. Everything is all wrapped up in a nice little package. Convenient, yes? Too convenient? I think so.
Written from Eric's point of view, we see only his side of the story. He's been kept in the dark about his best friend's scars, but still protects her and, honestly, risks his life for her. Not only does he face her father, who is completely crazy, but he also overeats on purpose, which can't be good for his health. This intense friendship is a strength of the book, as are Sarah Byrnes's sarcastic remarks, Eric's jokes, and the antics of Eric's new friend Ellerby. However, in my opinion, it's just too neatly wrapped up in the end. Could it happen that the 17 years and 364 days old Sarah Byrnes is adopted by her school teacher? I suppose. That kind of happened in Matilda, right?
The novel also has a swimming backdrop and in several scenes, Eric tells about the tricks he and Ellerby play on another student, making him swim harder than he has to, but honestly, I didn't understand really any of the swimming scenes, the way the were described was confusing for a non-swimmer, so that could deter others from reading it, once they make it to those parts.
All in all, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes was a good read, especially from chapter 11 or so onward. It would be a good book to share with boys who like sports, but want a more mysterious, story-driven plot instead of just relying on the sports to carry them through. It could be paired with other swimming stories by Chris Crutcher, such as Whale Talk and Stotan!
Janice Del Negro of Booklist (Booklist, Mar. 15, 1993 (Vol. 89, No. 14)) says of Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, "Crutcher ties up loose ends and subplots a little too rosily for real life, but his book is satisfying all the same. It's strong on relationships, long on plot, and has enough humor and suspense to make it an easy booktalk with appeal across gender lines." Susie Wilde of Children's Literature says, "Once the story takes hold you move along at such a rapid clip that by the end you're holding on for dear life."
My favorite part of Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes is the letter that Sarah Byrnes writes to Eric. Here's a portion of it, from page 130:
These kids up here, they act like the toughest kids in the world, just like me, but this is the first time I've ever seen under that toughness--in anybody else or in me. I'm really scared, because if I'm going to have a life, I'm going to have to act different, and I don't know if I can.
Crutcher, Chris. 1993. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN 9780688115524
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)