Stuck in Neutral

A guest review by Patrick Finnegan, in Mr. Greenbaum's English 9 class.

Trueman, Terry. Stuck in Neutral. 2012. 144p. ISBN 9780064472135. 

Stuck In Neutral by Terry Trueman is a fascinating book that follows the life of Shawn McDaniel, a 14 year old boy living in Seattle with Cerebral Palsy. Because of his condition, Shawn cannot control any of the muscles in his body. This means that he cannot do anything for himself, and he also cannot communicate with other people. Everybody Shawn meets just assumes that he is mentally "not there," and that he can't understand or hear anything they are saying to him. The truth is, Shawn is probably smarter than most of the people that he's ever encountered in his life. Shawn has the unique ability to remember everything he's ever heard. As a result of his talent, Shawn remembers any piece of information he's ever been taught, which makes him extremely smart. He's a genius, except nobody knows it, least of all his father. His father thinks that Shawn is a "vegetable", and it pains him to see Shawn live in like that on a day-to-day basis. After loving with Shawn's chronic seizures for a couple of years, he moved away from the family. It hurt him too much to see Shawn go through the pain. In reality, Shawn enjoyed his seizures, because they gave him an out-of-body experience, and the ability to control himself for a brief moment. Shawn's father decided to write a poem about him, and when he had an opportunity that share the poem publicly, it was such a hit that it was almost instantly published. The poem was so successful, that it launched Shawn's dad into stardom. Now, Shawn is the "world's most famous retard", but he isn't even mentally retarded at all. 

Shawn is now fourteen, and he's learned to deal with his condition on a day-to-day basis. Shawn has a routine that he goes through, and considering the circumstances, he has a pretty good life. His mom, brother, and sister love him very much, and even his dad still visits every once in a while. Shawn gets the feeling that something is wrong after his father's last visit. It appeared as though his father had lost his cool, and was acting overly concerned about Shawn and his safety. That wasn't even the startling part. Shawn gets the suspicion that his father is thinking about killing him to "end his suffering". Shawn doesn't want to get killed, but with no way of communicating, and no way of defending himself, he is essentially at the mercy of his father's decision. The book beautifully describes Shawn's emotions, and the fear of his father that slowly develops. Shawn is safe with his brother, who is much more athletic, and stronger than their father, and who is willing to protect Shawn, but he is worried about when nobody is home. Will that be when his father strikes, or will his father decide that killing Shawn won't end his suffering? Unfortunately, Shawn gets the opportunity to find out.

When his brother has a basketball tournament out of town, his mother and sister both go to watch it. Shawn cannot attend, and is forced to stay overnight with his babysitter. Just as Shawn is about to go to sleep, someone knocks on the door. It is his father. Why would his father be here? He's never at his house this late. Would this be the night that Shawn's father finally commits the crime that he had been thinking about for the last couple of months? Shawn's hope walked right out the door when his father offers to take care of Shawn for the night. His babysitter, not suspecting anything, leaves without anything to say, except for a requested autograph from Shawn's father. As the door closes, Shawn realizes that this is the first night that he and his dad have ever been alone together. Will it be his last?