A Very New Day by Steven Salmon

My Rating: 4/5 Stars!

Publisher: Black Rose Writing 

Published: Febuary 2nd, 2017

Recieved: Netgalley provided an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis: 

A Very New Day is about a boy with Cerebral palsy, who goes to go regular school for the first time in junior high and uses Morse code to write. Rich Trout is unable to use his hands. Instead, he drives his electric wheelchair and writes in Morse code with his head. Rich doubts that he belongs in regular school after being isolated to special education classes only.

He is inspired by Mrs. Tilley, his English teacher, who treats him as a regular student and shows Rich that anything is possible. Rich has one dream, to be a writer. Mrs. Tilley introduces Rich to an author friend of hers, who also has Cerebral palsy, serving as an inspiration and role model.

 

Musings:

As someone who continuously looks for books to open my eyes to what it would be like to live in another’s point of view, I found this book to be absolutely irresistible. Cerebral Palsy is probably one of the most debilitating of all disabilities and I’m sad to say I didn’t know much about it until I picked up this book.  This book is a day in the life following

This book is a day in the life following Rich Trout as he navigates his way through his very first day at a regular school. He encounters people both people who wish to lift him up and others who wish to push him down for only being able to see a disability.

Rich has such an honest way of looking at life. All he wants is to be seen as normal and capable of doing things just like everyone else can. He has such a deep desire for friendship and connections with people. The fact that his muscles would tighten up till he couldn’t talk because of how excited for things he would get broke my heart. It made me happy to see that he develops a few friendships on his first day at school with a few people who seemed to genuinely care about him as a person. The one thing Rich desires more than anything, however, is to write. He wants to be an author that inspires others with a voice that lets others know that no matter what life throws your way that you can accomplish greatness.

A Very New Day is a book for those who wish to learn more about Cerebral Palsy and to generate a larger sense of compassion in their hearts. Sometimes those that appear the most different to us are the most similar of all.

Thanks for reading! This book is one I would recommend to everyone as a part of us all keeping up an awareness of what it might be like to be someone who is born with all odds stacked against them, but who live with such hope in their hearts. Let me know what you think of A Very New Day down in the comments.

-Till next time!