Trueman, Terry. Stuck in Neural. New York: HarperCollins Children's Books. 2000.
Annotation:
Fourteen year old Shawn McDaniel has cerebral palsy. He can't talk or move. His family thinks of him as a baby who doesn't understand anything (what they say or what they do). What his family doesn't know is that he understands everything they do and say and what he understands is that his father might be planning to kill him.
Justification for nomination:
Terry Trueman breathes reality into his main fiction character. Shawn McDaniel's cerebral palsy allows readers to truly understand what the character is going through. The reality of Shawn's situation also gives readers an idea of what is going on in his mind. Although he may be physically disabled, his mind still works really well. Readers can understand Shawn's story through his mind. By reading the words (Shawn's thoughts) in the novel we can understand how he is feeling and what he thinks about everything that is going on around him. Trueman's use of brilliant and descriptive words makes Shawn an intelligent character despite his physical disability. A positive lesson that this novel teaches its readers (which every novel that centers around a realistic problem should have) is that although someone's body may not physically work, it doesn't mean that their mind doesn't work either. The main character's isability and his belief that his father is planning to kill him shows me that Trueman knows how to use realistic emotions and situations to bring his characters and plot to life. Powerful and intriguing, this novel is unforgettable.
Genre Category: Realistic Fiction, 2001 Michael L. Printz Honor
Nice Job! Justification makes me want to read this book. I actually had picked this one up and carried it around for a few minutes.
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