Stuck in Neutral

by Terry Trueman

"My name is Shawn McDaniel. I'm 14 years old.
I think my father is planning on killing me."

Scholastic INC NY 2002

Summary:

Stuck in neutral gives a brilliant teenager a voice from within a broken, sick body. Nobody knows that he is actually a 14 year old genius with his own thoughts, feelings, dreams and desire to live life to the fullest he can given the circumstances. This book addresses what families who have disabled children go through and many of the ethical decisions parents with disabled children struggle with. It's a story about love- how it's defined and a boys desire to love out loud.

The author of this story- Terry Trueman is the father of a boy named Henry who, like Shawn in his story has cerebral palsy. It some ways it seems as though this book was his way to cope with the challenges that come as he watched his son suffer from his condition.

Personal Review:

I found this little book to be a quick and interesting read. I wish I had read the authors note from the end of the book about his own son with disabilities before I'd read the entire book. Having done so I now find it interesting that he wrote a book about such a controversial topic. This book gave me a lot to think about and I'll never forget Shawn stuck in neutral.

WARNINGS FOR STUCK IN NEUTRAL: Sexual content, deals with deciding whether or not a human being should be given the chance to live in bad conditions.