Here is one of my favorite book talks on a book I thought was fantastic. Ill let the book talk speak for itself.
Stuck in Neutral.
By: Terry Trueman
Shawn McDaniel is a lot like any other fourteen year old you might know. He likes music, enjoys eating potato chips, and has discovered a new found appreciation for the female anatomy. However there are two very distinctive things about Shawn’s life that lead him to say that his life is like one of those Good News, Bad News Jokes. So which do you guys want first the good news or the bad news.
The good news is that you could probably consider Shawn to be a genius. He has a photographic memory and has been able to learn and teach himself a lot of things because of this. He can remember everything he has ever heard after the age of about four or so and is a pretty smart guy to boot.
The bad news. Well, he has a very severe case of cerebral palsy. When he was born a blood vessel burst in a bad spot within his brain and he lost all muscular control. By all, I do mean all. He can not control his mouth, tongue, eyes, feet, legs, or anything, which means he has no means to communicate. Because of this his family and everyone around him thinks he is a complete vegetable with the mental capacity of baby. However they are wrong, he can understand everything they say and do around him just as you or I could.
Despite this fact he is a relatively happy person. He enjoys his life and loves his family even though he has never been able to talk to them and probably never will. He has never known anything else in life and while he is clearly smart enough to understand his position he has accepted it and has found joy where he can.
However there is just one more important part to the story which Shawn mentions early in the book. (Read the last paragraph of Chp 2 page 12)
The section from the book describes the fact that the worst part about the whole thing is that Shawn is pretty sure his father is trying to kill him.
This book is one of the better young adult books I have ever read. Trueman has a great understanding of the mind of 14 year old boy. The story is both funny and touching. I would recommend it to any child over the age of about 13. What makes it even more touching is that Trueman was inspired to write this by his own son who has CP and is as far as they know brain-dead. For more info about Terry Trueman or Stuck in Neutral check out Terry’s Website .
3 responses so far ↓
1
stephanie
// Feb 19, 2006 at 2:37 am
Hi, i am creating a list of teen librarian bloggers on my web site. Do you mind if I put you on that list?
-Stephanie
2
Josh
// Feb 20, 2006 at 11:22 pm
Yeah, I would love it if you guys put me on the list. Its good to know somebody has found my blog. How did you stumble upon it by the way? Any way, put me up and Ill add you guys to my blogroll as I really like your blog as well. Thanks.
3
monique smithaper
// May 11, 2006 at 1:47 am
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