This particular book happens to be a long-time favorite of mine but one that I recently re-read and felt like sharing. Petey by Ben Mikaelsen tells the story of Petey Corbin, a man who has severe cerebral palsy. The book opens when Petey is just a child, only a year or two old, during the 1920’s. A time when cerebral palsy was an unknown diagnosis so Petey was instead diagnosed as an idiot and his family was told there was no hope for him to ever be much of anything. Following the common tradition for the time Petey was released into the care of the state hospital for Montana, a hospital that was really more of an insane asylum. It was here that Petey would spend his next fifty years as he struggled to learn to communicate, however limitedly, with the world around him. He made friends with fellow patients and caretakers, experienced his entire youth and formative years, and tried desperately to figure out what exactly was the purpose of his life and being born the way he was.
I have always liked this book as it is both incredibly moving and inspiring as well as incredibly heartbreaking. One of my close friends actually cried while reading it so fair warning. The thing I like about this book is it helps to show exactly how resilient people like Petey can be, as well as showing them exactly how intelligent they can be. One of the defining things in the early parts of the book is people repeatedly underestimating how intelligent Petey actually is. Something that often frustrated him and his close friends. Yet Petey did his absolute best to not get overly angry or bitter about his lot in life and often helped show those around him how to remain hopeful and optimistic even when everything was trying to make them be anything else. The character of Petey may have had trouble communicating but his story really resonates and I can only hope that it helps other people learn to be more respectful of people like Petey. With the book mainly revolving around Petey we really get to know him over the course of it and I feel like I came away a better person for having done so. The plot of the story is fairly simplistic as it really only tells the life story of Petey but by keeping it that simple we instead get to delve pretty deep into who Petey was as a person. The portrayal of Petey was incredible as it showed exactly how limited he was and yet also showed exactly how determined he was to not let those limitations actually limit his enjoyment of life and his ability to make connections with the people around him. It helped highlight how Petey is able to focus on the important things in life such as the people around us as well as our ability to enjoy the simple things in life. This book is by far one of the most powerfully moving books I have ever read and one that I will treasure for the rest of my life. It definitely earns the full five stars I am happy to give it.
This book is a kids story actually though it may not sound like it. In terms of genre it is probably realistic fiction or something similar. I know that it may not appeal to a lot of younger readers as not many of them enjoy that genre or books about difficult topics like this but I would still strongly encourage them to read it anyway. The specific age range I would recommend is probably about ages ten to twelve at the youngest though it could still be read and enjoyed by any readers older than that. There is very little content that should make it inappropriate for readers that young so I hope you will consider reading it and sharing it with younger readers that you know. I will warn you that this is a sad book and that kids who read it may have questions so be prepared for that. Otherwise I hope you enjoy it and feel free to share your thoughts about it in the comments.