Bibliographic Information:
Trueman, Terry. Stuck in Neutral. New York: Harper Collins, 2000.
Plot Description: Fourteen-year-old Shawn McDaniel has the interests and desires of anyone his age, but the severity of his cerebral palsy has robbed him of any control of his physical body. This includes any ability to communicate, meaning no one knows just how incredibly sharp his mind is. In this story we get to know his family and how they cope with his condition, including his distant father who, although he loves Shawn, is expressing a growing consideration of euthanizing loved ones in order to spare their suffering. Alone in his own mind, Shawn is increasingly concerned that his father wants to kill him.
Quantitative Reading Level: Lexile 820; GL 6.1
Qualitative Reading Analysis: Told in Shawn’s first person narrative, the story includes regular flashbacks of his family as they face the reality of Shawn’s condition. His father, a Pulitzer Prize winning poet, has written a poem about life with Shawn, each stanza of which introduces the next chapter. His character is perhaps the most complicated after Shawn, for his love of his son is apparent while his anguish over the condition enrages him and leads him to conclusions about Shawn’s intelligence that don’t reflect what we know as readers who have access to Shawn’s thoughts. The language of the story is familiar and accessible, with several vocabulary terms likely being introduced for readers not familiar with CP or the grand mol seizures that he experiences. Shawn is frequently humorous despite the grave life experiences being considered here – the humility of living without any control of one’s body, and euthanasia as a response to suffering.
Content Area: English Language Arts, Health
Content Area Standard(s):
CCSS for Reading Literature, Grades 6-8: 2) Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text; 6) Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.
Curriculum Suggestions: This is a quality high-low read for classes that have struggling readers, introducing the challenging ethical dilemma of euthanasia in an accessible story. It might also be paired with other texts discussing or depicting Cerebral Palsy in youth for comparison.
Supporting Digital Content: Book Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ_pLwYP3bA; Understanding Cerebral Palsy informational video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg-KIQR_GLM
Awards: Various awards including the Michael L. Printz Honor Book, 2001.
Subjects/Themes: Cerebral Palsy, Euthanasia, Family, Realistic Fiction
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