Stuck in Neutral [Paperback]

Terry Trueman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 9, 2001

Shawn McDaniel is an enigma and a miracle--except no one knows it, least of all his father. His life is not what it may seem to anyone looking at him. Not even those who love him best have any idea what he is truly like. In this extraordinary and powerful first novel, the reader learns to look beyond the obvious and finds a character whose spirit is rich beyond imagining and whose story is unforgettable.

My life is like one of those "good news-bad news" jokes. Like, "I've got some good news and some bad news--which do you want first?"

I could go on about my good news for hours, but you probably want to hear the punch line, my bad news, right? Well, there isn't that much, really, but what's here is pretty wild. First off, my parents got divorced ten years ago because of me. My being born changed everything for all of us, in every way. My dad didn't divorce my mom, or my sister, Cindy, or my brother, Paul--he divorced me. He couldn't handle my condition, so he had to leave. My condition? Well, that brings us to the guts of my bad news.

Books for the Teen Age 2001 (NYPL), Books for Youth Editor's Choice 2000 (Booklist), Top 10 Youth First Novels 2000(Booklist), 2001 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA), 2001 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers (ALA), and 2001 Michael L. Printz Honor Book

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Fourteen-year-old Shawn McDaniel loves the taste of smoked oysters and his mother's gentle hugs. Unfortunately, it's impossible for Shawn to feed himself or to hug his mom back. Shawn has cerebral palsy, a condition he has had since birth that has robbed him of all muscle control. He can't walk, talk, or even focus his eyes on his own. But despite all these handicaps, despite the frustration of not being able to communicate, Shawn is still happy to be alive: "Somehow all the things I think about and remember turn to joy... favorite movies... pinecones... chocolate pudding... the scent of Comet in a stainless steel sink.... Life can be great, even for me. Even for me." That is why he panics when he begins to suspect that his father is thinking of killing him. Shawn knows that his father is trying to be kind; he imagines that his son's life is an endless torment. His dad has no idea of the rich life that Shawn lives inside his head. And Shawn, helpless and mute, has no way of telling him.

Stuck in Neutral is a truly unique journey into the mind of a truly unique character. Shawn McDaniel, who is literally trapped in his own body, will serve as a powerful metaphor for teens who feel cornered by circumstances or their own physical shortcomings. Terry Trueman's first-person portrayal of Shawn is made all the more poignant by the fact that Trueman's own son, Henry, also suffers from cerebral palsy. This is an original and moving debut. (Ages 11 to 15) --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

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 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (October 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064472132
• ISBN-13: 978-0064472135
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 5.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (205 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Social Issues > Special Needs > Fiction
  • #34 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Health > Fiction
  • #40 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > General

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, September 10, 2000

By 

Jenna Wikler "skulker" (Northampton, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stuck in Neutral (Library Binding)

If you have ever watched a smart person with cerebral palsy being treated like an idiot by those around him, you will appreciate this short novel. This book calls into question the assumption made by many that a severe physical disability automatically indicates a severe mental disability. Shawn, the protagonist of this story, attends public school in a Severely Handicapped Special Day Class. He is surrounded by people who baby-talk to him and talk around and over him, assuming that he does not understand. Being fiction, one cannot take this story as proof that all people like Shawn are highly intelligent, but it should make one question the assumption that they are not. I loved his description of the Special Day Class, although I thought he was unbelievably forgiving of the people around him. I personally cringe (and sometimes enter into a deep depression) when I have to enter such a class, knowing that the students who are being changed and fed and listening to the same stupid nursery rhymes day after day have surely got other places they would rather be. It has to be extremely frustrating to be so unseen. If this book can make people question their assumptions about people with disabilities, then it has done a wonderful thing. It is less dangerous to assume that someone understands what is going on than to assume that they cannot, in terms of how much damage you are going to inflict on that person. Anyone who is going to work, play, or live with someone with severe CP should read this book. I used to reccommend Christy Brown's "Down All The Days" which is incredible, but a long, hard read and no one finishes it. This book is short and engaging and is more likely to be read.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ruined by the inconclusive ending, March 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Stuck in Neutral (Hardcover)

I think that the book is interesting in its portrayal of someome who, because he is physically unable to communicate, is believed also to be unable to think. Certainly the story is a salutary warning to anyone who thinks that a communication disorder is equivalent to having nothing to communicate. There are parts of the book which are very well-written and powerful.

However, I think that the book is fatally marred from both a literary and an emotional point of view by its inconclusive ending. The issue of whether a boy is going to be killed buy his own father is so fundamental that leaving it up in the air is seriously damaging to the book. I understand that inconclusive endings are sometimes a literary device; I just feel that doing so in a book of this sort, especially one intended for young readers, is inappropriate, and may lead to the readers protecting themselves emotionally by treating it as just a case study in ethics, and ignoring Shawn's humanity: surely the complete opposite of the book's presumable purpose.

I am also concerned about the atmosphere created of the young disabled character's total powerlessness in the hands of adults; and the fact that this aspect is not directly questioned. One gets the impression that the father's thoughts of killing his son are wrong in this case; but not that it is wrong or unnatural for an adult to have that much power over their child (or over anyone). I think that the book may therefore appeal to young people who do feel powerless and are frustrated by it; but that the emphasis on powerlessness may ultimately be corrosive. It would be particularly dangerous if it leads to the impression that disabled people must invariably be totally under other people's power.

I realize that some of my comments may sound confused; but the book's whole message is confused. It is a strange book; possibly of interest to adults, especially those who are interested in
books that use defiance of literary conventions, such as plot resolution, as a literary device in itself. I don't think that it has much to offer young people.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My hopefully helpful review for a very good book!, February 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Stuck in Neutral (Hardcover)

"Stuck In Neutral" By Terry Trueman was a very wonderful book. In it, you read about the life of a mentally and physically challenged teenage boy, Sean, through his eyes, and see things from his point of view and what he thinks of those things in his life. It is also about the knowledge of how his Dad really thinks Sean's "pain" should end which adds mystery to the story. It makes you feel that you know exactly what a person of his nature thinks and feels in this story even though no one really knows exactly. This is one of those books you will not be able to put down. This story has given me a different feeling about persons with disabilities.