Terry Trueman’s Stuck in Neutral is about a boy who has Cerebral Palsy and yet loves his life. Shawn McDaniels has a lot of problems but he remains optimistic. His CP has left him totally disabled; he is unable to walk, talk, eat, or communicate. Although Shawn acknowledges that there is “Bad News” about his existence, he focuses on the positives in his life. Shawn loves his family deeply and appreciates people. Shawn finds the sensory world of hearing, smell, taste, and inner life, which is filled with his memories and great journeys of his seizures. Shawn is a very loving person. Everyone can see this by how Shawn loves his family and appreciates people. You can see this throughout the book, like Cindy teaching Shawn how to read. Because of Cindy, Shawn now knows how to read, and he now obscene more in the world around him. He loves his father because of what he has done for Shawn. He had Shawn go on a fair ride with him because he felt bad for him, Shawn also appreciates the poem that was made for Shawn and is now a famous poem (pg.29), and lastly, Shawn has trust in his father because they have double-jointed thumbs and every time he sees Shawn, he would always first pull back his fingers. The reason Shawn’s dad does this is because they have something in common and Shawn loves this special connection (pg.52). But lastly Paul. Paul because he stood up for Shawn when he was getting attacked by the hoodlums. Shawn says, “I’ve never seen Paul like this before, he looks like a monster” (pg.94). These are the reasons why he loves his family the most. Shawn finds the sensory world of hearing, smelling, taste, and touching interesting. Shawn has a very distinct personality. Shawn loves the site of the paintings that he has seen, the feel of the sponge and water on his back when he is taking a bath, the sound a 1966
Ford Mustang and the taste of smoked oysters and chocolate pudding (pg.84). He has always loved when his