Through the eyes of 17-year-old wheelchair-bound Jean, readers of this wry, at times searing debut novel gain access to an intimate world that few Norms (what Jean calls fully functioning people) ever see. Her family has always treated Jean as a "normal" child; her 10-day stay at Camp Courage is her first time away from them. Johnson, like her heroine, is confined to a wheelchair (due to a neuromuscular disease), and possesses a rare gift for writing in the present tense: readers will feel as if they are experiencing Jean's many small discoveries right along with her. Each chapter covers a day at camp, and Jean's world view begins to shift on day one, when she meets Sara (also wheelchair-bound), a veteran camper. A straight shooter, Sara nicknames Jean "Spazzo," and exposes the insidious ways in which the Norms condescend to the Crips. Taking stock of the cabin they share, Sara says, "It looks like we've got about the right mix—three wheelchairs, a one-leg amputee, two MR's [mentally retarded], and two walkie-talkies." When Jean asks Sara why she comes to camp, she replies, "I need to be with my people. The Crip Nation." In one of the novel's many revelatory scenes, Jean describes swimming with the other campers: "I count it a rare privilege to see them all without their coverings, their equipment, their attachments, their replacement parts, as they really are, in all their strange variety." Readers, too, will find this journey with Jean a rare privilege, as she rethinks her place in the world. Ages 12-up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(May)

Seventeen-year-old Jean, who has never let cerebral palsy hold her back, has spent her whole life trying to minimize her differences. Then she attends Camp Courage, a retreat for the disabled, where she forms an alliance with a wheelchair-bound firebrand named Sara, who subversively shuns Norm society's palaver about overcoming obstacles: Say it loud, I'm crippled and proud!' Unlike Ron Koertge's Stoner & Spaz (2002), also about a teen with CP, the characters here, especially caustic, diatribe-prone Sara, are present primarily to advance lines of debate, and the novel's 1970 setting will leave many teens wondering how philosophies about disability may have evolved. Still, readers will grow fond of Jean as, nudged by vibrant friends, she trades pious striving for empowering irreverence and struggles to reconcile yearnings to fit in with oddly thrilling new ideas: Surely it makes sense to try to become as normal as possible. But what if normal isn't the only way to be?

Seventeen-year-old Jean, who has cerebral palsy, goes to "Norm" school and has "normal" friends. When she attends Camp Courage for physically and mentally disabled kids, she befriends Sara, who challenges her rose-colored beliefs about the non-handicapped world. Though the narrative is occasionally overrun by its own agenda, it offers some unique perspectives on the non-handicapped's condescending approach to "helping."

At 17, Jean has lived in an able-bodied world, despite her limitations with cerebral palsy. Supportive, loving parents have always treated her as normal. They insist she attend regular school, participating as much as possible in regular activities, albeit as an enthusiastic bystander, and generally live a life filled with friends and academic success. But during the summer before her senior year, Jean is exposed to the realities of a disabled life at Camp Courage, otherwise known by Sara, an eight-year veteran, as "Crip Camp." Johnson, an attorney for the disabled, creates a psychological and emotional environment through her two main characters where anger, sympathy, frustration, love and self-esteem are all enmeshed within the typical coming-of-age trials of adolescence, accentuated here by the difficulties of physical disability. Jean's first-person narration delineates a confident, rosy outlook, shattered as she observes her campmates and ultimately is forced to face life with new strength and resolve. Candid and very forthright language mixed with self-deprecating humor provides an extra dose of reality for both Jean and the reader. While the story is set in a 1960s pre-ADA environment, the themes and issues are relevant today and will spark discussion, if not a clearer understanding of the struggles and successes of the disabled. (Fiction. 12+)

Gr 9 Up-It is August, 1970, and 17-year-old Jean attends Camp Courage, labeled "Crip Camp" by her new friend and cabinmate, Sara. Because she has cerebral palsy, Jean depends on others for many things, but she has always felt part of the "normal" world. This view changes as she sees herself through Sara's eyes. Sara, an incredibly intelligent, thoughtful teen, talks openly about what it's like to have a disability, as she herself is in a wheelchair. She maintains that no matter what those who are able-bodied think about their efforts to be helpful, they'll never really "get it." Nowhere is this better depicted than in the skit that Sara writes for Jean and their bunkmates to perform in front of the entire camp. Through Sara's fierce creativity, the skit turns everything upside down, showing a telethon parody in which the "normal" people are advocated for, pitied as not being more like the "crips." The skit gets them into trouble, but it proves a point. Jean is forever changed by Sara, knowing that with her she can truly be herself. Issues of race, feminism, identity, and sexuality are looked at as well, all relating to Sara's question, "What would happen if we could find our own power?" This book is smart and honest, funny and eye-opening. A must-read.-Tracy Karbel, Glenside Public Library District, Glendale Heights, IL Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

In the summer of 1970, Jean attends Camp Courage, a camp for disabled teens. Although she has cerebral palsy, Jean has always considered herself to be "normal"-she does not go to a special school, and none of her friends are disabled. In fact, she has never met another person with a disability until she arrives at Camp Courage. During her ten-day stay, she meets the staff, counselors, and other disabled teens, who range from intensely politically active to nearly oblivious. As a result, her perceptions of her life, disability, personal expectations, and future plans are colored and changed in ways that she could have never imagined before arriving there. This remarkable first young adult novel presents a point of view that many teens will not have encountered before. As Jean explores the differences between "crips" and "norms," readers will find many issues to consider in their own lives. This book is also set in a very interesting time in recent history, as the issue of the empowerment of people with disabilities and an exploration of their civil rights was just in its earliest stages. The author of this novel has cerebral palsy and attended a similar camp during her teen years, a fact that clearly enhanced the believable and memorable characters featured. This unique novel is recommended for school and public libraries serving older teens.-Sherrie Williams.