Picking Up the Pieces - Hardcover

Calvert, Patricia

3.6

15 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0684195585 ISBN 13: 9780684195582

Publisher: Atheneum, 1993

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A girl who has suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury begins the process of emotional healing

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From School Library Journal:

Grade 7-9-- Confined to a wheelchair, Megan Murphy reluctantly joins her family on their annual lakeside vacation. Her recent spinal-cord injury, the result of a motorcycle accident, precludes the fun and adventures of previous summers. Yet as the story unfolds, she finds the vacation not only bearable but also therapeutic. She befriends Harris, a lonely boy, and his grandmother, Julie, an actress obsessed with retaining her youth. Megan's involvement with these emotionally needy people lessens her self-absorption and furthers her rehabilitation. She accepts a variety of new experiences, including wheelchair racing, and ultimately confesses that "As summers go, maybe this was a pretty good one, after all." The theme is not original, but the depiction of Megan's world--the constant battle with bladder infections, the frustrating struggles with once routine activities, the haunting awareness of the situation's permanence--is vivid and moving. While the portraits of Megan and Harris are convincing, the portrayal of Julie as an aging actress verges on caricature. This, however, detracts little from the focus of the novel: Megan coming to grips with paraplegia. A sensitive and gritty story, reminiscent of Harriet Savitz's Run, Don't Walk (Watts, 1979; o.p.). --Pat Katka, San Diego Public Library
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

Megan, 14, has always loved summer at the lake until a spinal injury changes her life ``forever...only seven letters...its true meaning...too huge...to comprehend.'' The simplest activities now take ``tons of time''; days of running and basketball are gone, along with dreams of college, coaching, even marriage and kids. Then she meets new neighbors: Julia, an aging actress whose fears Megan understands all too well; and Harris, a boy her own age. Life hasn't been easy for Harris, but he always sees possibilities: When he looks at Megan, he sees her, not her disability. Soon she's rowing a boat, reading lines for Julia, practicing for a wheelchair race; by summer's end, her new confidence and ability to cope with challenge raise the possibility of a return to school. In this sensitive portrait of a girl determined to find her way, Calvert once again explores themes of loneliness, isolation, and estrangement. Without belaboring the point, she clearly presents the physical and emotional realities and Megan's need to be accepted as a person. The supporting cast is nicely realized and credible--especially the likable and exceptional Harris. (Fiction. 12+) -- Copyright �1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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