Summer on the Short Bus

April 14, 2014
When 17-year-old Cricket's self-serving behavior crosses a line (she hosts a party in the riding stables), her father sends her to Camp I Can for two weeks. There, she's removed from her privileged life and thrust into the role of counselor for teenagers with Down syndrome or cerebral palsyâto Cricket, "a bunch of retards." Meeting Quinn, a fellow counselor (and a Zac Efron lookalike), and an intense roommate temporarily distract Cricket from what she's certain is her own worst nightmare incarnate. But her narrow-mindedness and insensitive comments (she refers to the campers as "dog-faced") alienate her few potential friends. In her debut novel, Crandell draws from her experience raising a daughter with cerebral palsy, sensitively conveying the impact of stereotypes and hurtful comments without resorting to moralizing. Uncomfortable moments, unflinchingly conveyed, are gingerly balanced with a sense of humor. Crandell creates a maddening yet sympathetic character in Cricket, who is realistically slow to learn her lessons in compassion and human kindness. Ages 13âup. Agent: Rachael Dugas, Talcott Notch Literary Services.

March 15, 2014
Constance "Cricket" Montgomery is horrified when, as a semipunishment, her wealthy father nixes her vacation to Maui and sends her to work at Camp I Can "with a bunch of retards" and a strict counselor who knows Cricket mysteriously well. The only thing keeping her sane in a "[h]andicapped hell" of "[s]mashed-in, dog-faces who can actually use the toilet" is Quinn, a Zac Efron look-alike who sees beyond her privileged upbringing and spurs her to notice the funny and poignant "moments" that highlight the campers' human qualities. Cricket's moments, though refreshingly unsaccharine, nonetheless fail to portray the campers as three-dimensional teens. Filtered by her spoiled obliviousness, the campers' jokes and interests--among them Edward Cullen, Hannah Montana and Midol--often come across with a head-patting air of "How cute." Her patronization is especially unsettling considering that she and the campers are of similar age. The campers are little more than Cricket's teachable moments, her change of heart for them notwithstanding--ironically, even as she learns to leave her "posh, fancy bubble," it's still all about her. Though this novel is undoubtedly well-intentioned, it's exasperating, as the emphasis on the message that people with disabilities are people too resigns them to the position of plot devices, not people. Readers who want "moments" should spend time with the campers in Harriet McBryde Johnson's Accidents of Nature (2006), who are already human beings. (Fiction. 13-18)

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May 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-Rich, spoiled, and entitled, the last thing 17-year-old Constance, aka Cricket, wants to do is work as a counselor at a special needs summer camp. She had been planning on spending her vacation in Maui with best friend Katie, but after the ill-advised party she hosted at the riding stables, her furious dad ships her off to Camp I Can for a two-week stint as a counselor. Cricket spends the first part of her stay scheming escape routes while trying to have as little to do as possible with the campers, who, for the most part, have Down syndrome and cerebral palsy. On the bright side, there is fellow counselor Quinn, a Zac Efron doppelganger, who is as nice as he is cute. Over the course of two very bumpy weeks, Cricket develops an appreciation for the camp and its denizens and matures a great deal-largely due to Quinn's positive influence. The special needs kids are not particularly well-developed characters, although they are endearing and quirky-and two weeks is perhaps an unrealistic amount of time for the protagonist's personality transformation. Despite this, the novel is heartwarming and funny, mainly because of Cricket's scathingly honest politically incorrect internal and external dialogue. Highly entertaining-this book will appeal to reluctant readers.-Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn, NY

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