Harriet McBryde Johnson may have looked at her life as being "too late to die young;" however, she died younger than she should have and her unique, powerful voice was lost to us. I tend to be skeptical about freshman novels, skeptical about the first person, skeptical about authorial self-inserts and skeptical about manifestos parading as novels. Accidents of Nature falls into all of the above categories; however, it is transcendent.

First and foremost, for a lawyer with no formal training on creative writing, Johnson has an unbelievable knack with characterization. Her characters are understated, but unique; flawed but sympathetic. Even characters that disagree with her point of view are granted strengths. The message in Accidents of Nature is very similar to that of "Too Late to Die Young;" however, in novel format, it is somehow easier to understand -- that Johnson is suggesting an approach that is taken to all people with disabilities, not just razor sharp Southern ADA lawyers who happen to be disabled. And while groups such as Disability is Natural are beginning to champion similar movements, Johnson is one of the first and one of the loudest to take her approach to the disability movement. Accidents of Nature is guaranteed to challenge how all of us think disability and Johnson makes it clear, by inserting a caricature of herself, that even she is not above reproach.

I read this in a sitting, but it will stay with me for a long, long time. ( )

In the audio version reader Jenna Lamia brings the story to full, well-rounded life. At this disability summer camp, the kids are not to be pitied or praised for their courage, but accepted as who they are, foibles and all. Very sharp story; characters are funny and human.

Jean has cerebral palsy and attends a regular high school in North Carolina. In the summer of 1970 she attends a camp for kids with various disabilities. It's her first experience being around so many others who are also handicapped. She meets Sara who has muscular dystrophy and is in her eighth summer at Camp Courage. Sara is an intelligent, opinionated activist when it comes to demanding respect for people with disabilities. She agitates in the camp against the patronizing, everyone-is-a-winner attitude of the camp staff. Jean, who has more experience in the "norm" world than Sara, doesn't always agree with her ideas but they do change her perspective on the world as a "crip." Author is also disabled. ( )

Nuanced and engaging portrait of that moment in time before people got that telethons suck. Also before people got that "mixing the races" was no big deal. The narrator's syrupy southern accent was a bit distracting, as were the Mary Sue tendencies of Sara, but overall I enjoyed the story of Jean's awakening. I dug the insight into the struggles of Jean, who has CP, to communicate, and how it felt when her body didn't go along with the wishes of her mind. ( )

Excellent characterizations, engaging story. ( )

Having always prided herself on blending in with “normal” people despite her cerebral palsy, seventeen-year-old Jean begins to question her role in the world while attending a summer camp for children with disabilities.

Thought-provoking story that challenges the reader’s prejudices and assumptions about people with disabilities. Written by real-life advocate, Harriet McBryde Johnson, who herself attended cross-disability summer camps as a teenager.

A funny, angry, iconoclastic camp story not just for young adults. The only caveat I have is that the publishers have not made it clear that the time is the 1970s. References to MRs (mentally retarded people) and a tendency to condescend towards the African American campers will seem egregious to the modern-day reader if not forewarned.

The title comes from Eleanor Roosevelt:

“Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, But beautiful old people are works of art”
7.5 Hopefully this book will pique your curiosity about the author who was also a, lawyer, public speaker, disability rights activist, famous for (among other things) boycotting the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy telethons. ( )