The story opens with a typical day for Ellie. She's eating freezer food while watching a baking show and hoping her aide doesn't call her mom. The thing is, she just needed a break and zipped out during lunch at school. But kids in wheelchairs who have CP (Cerebral Palsy) are a "health risk" and are absolutely NOT supposed to skip. Luckily for Ellie, her mom has other things to think about. Ellie's gotten her long-awaited appointment with the dr. and has finally been seizure-free long enough to go off her medication. Meanwhile, Ellie's grandfather's dementia is getting worse and her grandmother is not able to cope with him. Ellie and her mom decide to extend their Christmas vacation and stay with their grandparents until things calm down a little.
Life in the trailer park is better and worse than Ellie expects. To her surprise, she makes friends - Coralee, whose mother has left her with an elderly relative and who dreams of getting out by winning talent contests. Bert, who lives along with his dad and is a bit (ok a lot) weird. Ellie figures he's probably on the spectrum. School is a whole 'nother can of worms. The kids (and staff) treat Ellie like some kind of weird freak one moment, then ignore her the next. Nothing is set up or accessible, and the only bright spot if the gym coach who has a background in physical therapy and rehabilitation.
As Ellie makes it through bad days - her grandfather's episodes - and good days - experimenting with baking - she comes to realize that, as Coralee says, this is her new family. Ellie is a refreshing and realistic character. She's aware of her limitations, hates having to have help to go to the bathroom because the trailer is too small and inaccessible, and gets snarky and tells people off when they get on her nerves. But she's also growing as a person, becoming aware of the issues faced by other people and of the challenges in and around her family. She sees her mom from a mature, almost adult viewpoint, understanding how much she's sacrificed to care for her and how difficult it is for her to handle her grandfather's decline, while still having moments as a kid. She secretly fears being put in an institution, like the nursing home her grandfather will eventually have to go to, and even when she understands why her mother is stressed she sometimes just can't let go of her own plans and problems. In other words, Ellie is a typical middle schooler; she's full of potential, has plenty of additional challenges to handle, and does her best to deal with what she's got.
In the end, there's no perfect ending; everyone still has problems they have to deal with and that affect their daily life. There's no moment when an all-school assembly realizes how Ellie has changed all their lives and inspired them all to be better people (yes, this me being extremely sarcastic). But Ellie has hope for the future, friends, and feels part of a community in a way she never has before. Sumner has a son with cerebral palsy and also consulted children with disabilities in writing this book. The main feedback was that they loved the character of Ellie, who "tells it like it is."
Verdict: An absolute must-have for every library. Aside from the rarity of a main protagonist with a disability, written realistically! this is a funny, touching, and strong middle grade novel that any kid who loves realistic fiction will devour. Highly recommended.
ISBN: 9781534442559; Published October 2019 by Atheneum; Review copy provided by publisher and donated to the library; 2nd copy purchased for the library
1 comment:
The cover pose really says a lot, doesn't it?
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