Trueman, T. (2000). Stuck in neutral. New York, NY: Harper Collins.
Interest Level: Grades 7+
Reading Level: 5+
Fourteen year old Shawn McDaniel suffers from cerebral palsy. When he was born he suffered brain damage when a blood vessel burst. As Shawn puts it, "A tiny blood vessel burst inside my head... in exactly the wrong spot." As a result he has absolutely no control of his muscles, but his mind is fully functional. Shawn is a bright boy with amazing verbal recall. Unfortunately, no one else knows this because Shawn has no way to communicate. His family, doctors, his teachers- the entire world- sees him as being a complete vegetable. His father, a Pulitzer prize author, left when Shawn was 4 years old because he couldn't handle life with a son in such a condition. And now Shawn thinks his dad is planning to kill him, to "put him out of his pain."
Stuck in neutral is Trueman's first novel and it takes a bold look at some tough issues. Since the story is told by Shawn, we are privy to the fact that he's just a normal teenager, complete with raging hormones, opinions about others, and complex ideas. The fact that all of this is trapped inside him, since he is incapable of communicating leaves those around him with a false idea of who he really is. Euthanasia, treatment of people with disabilities, and some graphic language make this novel best suited for more mature readers.
No comments:
Post a Comment