Stuck in Neutral

by Terry Trueman

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First-time novelist Trueman raises ethical issues about euthanasia through the relationship between 14-year-old Shawn McDaniel, who suffers from cerebral palsy, and his father. In a conversational tone, narrator Shawn explains that when he was born, a tiny blood vessel burst in his brain, leaving him unable to control any of his muscles. What no one knows is that Shawn is a "secret genius" who, while unable to communicate, remembers everything he has ever heard. His condition, which includes violent seizures, overwhelmed his father, who moved out when Shawn was three years old; the man later won a Pulitzer Prize for a poem based on his experiences as parent to a victim of C.P. Weaving together memories with present-day accounts, Shawn describes the highs and lows of his day-to-day life as well as his father's increasing fascination with euthanasia and evidence that the man is working up the courage to personally "end [Shawn's] pain." The strength of the novel lies in the father-son dynamic; the delicate scenes between them carefully illustrate their mutual quest to understand each other. The other characters (Shawn's brother and sister, mother, teachers) lack this complexity. As a result, many of the scenes feel more contrived than heartfelt ("I always feel so guilty complaining about it at all!" says his sister). All in all, the book's concepts are more compelling than the story line itself. Ages 10-up. (June)
Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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School Library Journal :
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Gr 5-9-Shawn McDaniel has cerebral palsy. With no control of physical functions, he appears to the outside world, including his family, to be hopelessly retarded-a "vegetable." Because he narrates the story, readers know that he is, in fact, a near genius, completely aware of his surroundings, and able to remember everything he has ever heard. He has a rich inner life, full of humor and insight, and is capable of the most normal feelings of a 14-year-old boy. Most of his day is spent in a wheelchair where he is attended to by his mother and older siblings. His father, an author and celebrity on the talk-show circuit, left the family because of Shawn and his problems, but maintains a relationship with him. Shawn suspects that his father, in order to end his perceived pain and suffering, is considering killing him. With this intriguing premise, Trueman presents readers with thought-provoking issues. The character of Shawn, compassionately drawn, will challenge them to look beyond people's surfaces. His struggle to be known, and ultimately loved, is vividly captured, and the issue of euthanasia is handled boldly but sensitively. In the final scene, Shawn, alone with his father, waits vulnerably as the man struggles with his options. Readers must draw their own conclusions as his father's dilemma is left unresolved. This story is bound to spark much lively discussion.-Tim Rausch, Crescent View Middle School, Sandy, UT
Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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Review
: Booklist :
From Booklist, 2000, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
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*Starred Review*
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Gr. 6-10. Shawn McDaniel thinks his father is considering killing him. Of course, no one knows that Shawn is able to think at all because the 14-year-old, who has cerebral palsy, can't speak, interact, or control his movements and bodily functions. But Shawn is also a genius; he remembers everything that he hears and is even able to read. And one more thing--the seizures, which his family members find so pitiable, release his soul in a way that allows him to move about the universe and feel and see things that would be impossible to experience in his trapped body. Shawn would like to live, but he understands that his father, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, who won the award for a poem about Shawn, wants him dead for the most unselfish reasons. Mr. McDaniel has watched and loved Shawn since he was a baby; he left the family when he couldn't bear to watch him anymore. Still he's a part of Shawn's life, and he fears his boy suffers with no reason and no hope. Does the responsibility of a parent to care for a child include ending suffering? This short novel packs a punch that transcends its length. Readers spend the whole book inside Shawn's head, a place that is so vivid, so unique they will be hard pressed to forget its mix of heaven and hell. Nor will they easily stop thinking about all the big issues Shawn raises--not just about life and death, but also about the meaning of freedom, and about the responsibility that comes with love. One wonders how Trueman could write something so close to the bone--until the author's note reveals that he is the father of a son like Shawn. An intense reading experience. (Reviewed July 2000)¾: Ilene Cooper.
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