When I saw the summary for this book I was very excited to read this because there are very few books written that have Special Education students as the main characters, but sadly I was very disappointed and actually a little disgusted with this book!
I admit this review may be a little bias because I have had many friends labeled as Special Ed and I have been labeled Special Ed as well, so I guess you can say that I took this book a little to heart.
The characters I felt were not that developed and the author's writting I found to be awful. Yes I understand she was trying to write like she thinks her characters would talk; in real life, however, I don't see the characters talking this way. It's just not beleivable to me but also I felt like the author was crossing a line with writting like this because some people will assume that all special ed kids write, talk, and act this way as is protrayed in the book. I know this assumption is not true of everyone but its just frustrating because I know there are people out there who will read it that way.
I don't understand why the author wrote this way, why see wanted to make her characters sound stupid because Special Ed kids aren't stupid! I also was frustrated because her characters had no redeeming qualities.
I think the author should have dealt with a little more care and concern. I not saying she should be pc and sugercoat the truth but she should have made the characters somewhat more intelligible. I know not all Special Ed kids are the same and some have greater difficulty in certain areas than others, but instead of dwelling on those difficulties she should also have found and shown their talents. I don't believe that the author did this; her writing was very awkard and unintelligible at times. By doing this she left us a glaring reminder of these characters' difficulties.
Overall I would have to sadly not recommend it. It is not an acqurate or nice portrayal of how great Special Ed students can be!
