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A review by bethebookworm
Accidents of Nature by Harriet McBryde Johnson
3.0
Pros:
- Unique insight into the world(s) of teenagers with disabilities in an ability oriented society. This is something needed in teen fiction (and for adults who work with or live with teenagers who have disabilities too).
- The book dealt well with a lot of challenging issues - the de-sexualization of people with physical/cognitive disabilities, the negative effects of many fundraising attempts (i.e. Telethons), and the dangers of categorizing people with disabilities as heroes, victims, angels etc.
- I appreciate that the author writes from her life experience, and I look forward to reading her non-fiction writing.
Cons:
- It was a little painfully obvious that the author herself was portrayed as the new friend of the protagonist. I appreciate fictionalized memoirs, but felt that the whole book would have been stronger if she had told the story from her own perspective rather than another character.
- Because of the above, I doubted the authenticity of the main character in terms of some of the details of life for a teenager with CP. I couldn't help thinking "I've never seen a teen with CP walk like that". Of course, it is a story, not a medical treatise, and the likelihood is some of the things described have changed over the years as treatment approaches and surgical interventions have evolved.
- Unique insight into the world(s) of teenagers with disabilities in an ability oriented society. This is something needed in teen fiction (and for adults who work with or live with teenagers who have disabilities too).
- The book dealt well with a lot of challenging issues - the de-sexualization of people with physical/cognitive disabilities, the negative effects of many fundraising attempts (i.e. Telethons), and the dangers of categorizing people with disabilities as heroes, victims, angels etc.
- I appreciate that the author writes from her life experience, and I look forward to reading her non-fiction writing.
Cons:
- It was a little painfully obvious that the author herself was portrayed as the new friend of the protagonist. I appreciate fictionalized memoirs, but felt that the whole book would have been stronger if she had told the story from her own perspective rather than another character.
- Because of the above, I doubted the authenticity of the main character in terms of some of the details of life for a teenager with CP. I couldn't help thinking "I've never seen a teen with CP walk like that". Of course, it is a story, not a medical treatise, and the likelihood is some of the things described have changed over the years as treatment approaches and surgical interventions have evolved.