Because of A Book - Lauren Becker

 

Today's Because of A Book guest is the lovely Lauren Becker from Shooting Stars Mag.  Lauren's going to tell us a little about herself.

I run Shooting Stars Mag, a multi-purpose magazine online with a main focus on all things entertainment. I do write-ups for the show Royal Pains on Teen Scene Mag, I do reviews for Romantic Times Magazine, and have written for Sadie Magazine and Venus Zine in the past.

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As far as I can remember, my parents never read to me. This is important because it's how most book-lovers start out, isn't it? Therefore, I don't have a favorite book from when I was "yay-high" and listening to my parents at night. However, as far as I can remember, I've loved to read. Going to the library doing school was one of my favorite things to do and I'd always find a new book to bring home and check out. Orphan of Ellis Island, Little House on the Prairie, BFG, Tears of a Tiger, and many, many more.

The point I'm getting to is that I don't have just one amazing book in my life, unless you count Harry Potter...because it definitely made up my childhood. I don't want to focus on that one though, so I finally decided to tell you about Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman. When I was in middle school, my sister checked this out from the library and I thought it looked really good so I decided to read it after her. It became a favorite of mine from that point on and I even have my own copy for my personal library.

Stuck in Neutral is about a boy named Shawn who has cerebral palsy. He can't go to the bathroom by himself, he can't talk, and he has a really hard time eating...just to name a few symptoms. Basically, Shawn just sits there and everyone else has to live his life for him. However, Stuck in Neutral is told in Shawn's point of view. It gives Shawn a personality, a voice. He isn't some mindless kid that everyone believes him to be...he has crushes, hopes, fears, and more. One of his main fears is that his dad wants to kill him because he believes that Shawn is in pain from his seizures...but really, the seizures set Shawn free. I won't go into detail, because it's a book everyone should be able to read for themselves. It's pretty short too, for those of you who don't have much time.

I love realistic fiction and this is definitely one of the first ones that I read that really stuck with me, so I think it's an important book in my life, in my childhood.

-Lauren Becker

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About Stuck in Neutral:  Shawn McDaniel is an enigma and a miracle--except no one knows it, least of all his father. His life is not what it may seem to anyone looking at him. Not even those who love him best have any idea what he is truly like. In this extraordinary and powerful first novel, the reader learns to look beyond the obvious and finds a character whose spirit is rich beyond imagining and whose story is unforgettable.

My life is like one of those "good news-bad news" jokes. Like, "I've got some good news and some bad news--which do you want first?"

I could go on about my good news for hours, but you probably want to hear the punch line, my bad news, right? Well, there isn't that much, really, but what's here is pretty wild. First off, my parents got divorced ten years ago because of me. My being born changed everything for all of us, in every way. My dad didn't divorce my mom, or my sister, Cindy, or my brother, Paul--he divorced me. He couldn't handle my condition, so he had to leave. My condition? Well, that brings us to the guts of my bad news.

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