Finding a Cynthia Voight novel in the "Free to a Good Home" box in the lunchroom seemed promising, even if the back cover made it sound like the basis for a very ordinary teenage angst movie: How I Overcame My Disability and Learned to Grow. This book rises above that because, despite the rather cliched plot, the characters are nuanced and the writing is very, very good. ( )

After going on a date with a senior, a car accident causes fifteen-year-old Izzy to lose one of her legs. After that night, she must start building a new life and overcome the difficulty of suddenly having a physical disability.

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This book exemplifies a tragedy that could very well happen to young adults. The plot is incredibly believable, and feels so real that readers can place themselves in the story and imagine what it would be like if they were Izzy. Because of this, Izzy, Willy-Nilly is an eye-opening experience to readers who may have experienced a similar situation or know someone who had been severely harmed in an accident.

As Izzy tries to hide the amount of pain she is in as a result of the amputation, readers can empathize with how difficult it is to lose a limb, or have any sort of physical disability. Therefore, this book can not only teach students about the struggles of suddenly having a physical impairment, but can also teach students that even though someone has a disability, they are still able to recover and be independent.

Overall, I think the most impactful lesson of this book centered around teenage drinking and driving under the influence. The peer pressure Izzy was under in this book is something that most students will encounter as they reach higher grade levels; therefore, it is important that they can be exposed to such a realistic story of a girl who gave into peer pressure and ended up losing her leg because of it.

Izzy, Willy-Nilly
Author: Cynthia Voigt
Copyright 1986
Simon Pulse, New York

This chapter book is suitable for grades 6-8
Genre: Amputees - Fiction / Physically Handicapped - Fiction ( )

In this book was good and was about a girl named Izzy. She had it all, a family, friends, and a place on the cheerleading squad. But crumbles when a date with a cute senior ends in a car crash and looses her right leg. Her life will change for ever. Suddenly meets a girl named Rosamunde, and offers Izzy a friendship. Rosamunde was a friend like Izzy's old life but is the only person who can help Izzy face her new life. Izzy,willy, nilly surprised me when Izzy lost her leg in the accident, and her family is so supportive but her friends don't seem to know how to act around her, which is making izzy feel special. I would hate if someone did that to me. ( )

Setting: Izzy’s home, the senior party at John Wintersize’s house, the hospital, 1986
Review
The story explores physical disabilities as well as the physical ideals held up by society and media for teens. Fifteen-year-old Izzy (Isobel Lingard) begins the novel as the “ideal” high school student – pretty, popular, a cheerleader who has lots of friends. Then, she accepts an offer for a date with Marco, a senior who drove her home from the football team’s party, even though he had been drinking beers all night. Marco drove the car into a tree that resulted in Izzy’s right leg to be amputated.
After the accident, Izzy’s life changes, she becomes a broken-spirited young woman; her self-image is shattered as she faces the life altering consequences of a sudden physical disability.
Half the story relates to the many obstacles she has to overcome. Friends are drifting in and out of her life and eventually stop coming around her. Except, Rosamunde, a brainy acquaintance from the Latin Club who doesn’t seem to care what other people think. She is different from Izzy’s previous group of friends. She dresses to be comfortable and speaks exactly what she is thinking. She helps and encourages Izzy to express herself and overcome her depression.
Critical Analysis
The author’s protagonist Izzy faces this life altering disability (her leg being amputated) after an accident. The sudden physical disability unleashes a host of reactions from the main character and from her friends and family members. These reactions reflect society’s perceptions of disabilities; and its influence of the formation of the main character’s identity as a disabled youth. The characters in this book were so believable, from Izzy, struggling with her disability to Rosamunde, her new supportive friend who helped her recover and face the reality of her predicament.
Character Analysis
Rosamunde: Izzy’s new best friend who looks beyond Izzy’s handicap and sees the real person underneath.
Suzy, Lisa, and Lauren: Izzy’s former friends. They cannot get past the fact that Izzy is missing her leg. They are “disgusted by her new look” and can’t relate to her new disability. These girls are very superficial and only concerned about outside appearances.
Marco: He was the “popular football player” that any girl would die to go out with. He was very irresponsible and drank too much alcohol. He does not want to take responsibility for being the cause of Izzy’s new found disability. He becomes her enemy and there is a lot of conflict and blaming between Izzy’s character and Marco’s because his character was not hurt at all in the car accident even though Izzy was not drinking and he was.
Francie: Francie is Izzy's sister
Mrs. Lingard: Izzy's mom at first is not close with her daughter. She does not know how to break through to her daughter. But after the accident the mother becomes Izzy’s new confidant and best friend. A strong mother-daughter bond evolves with these two characters each looking deeper into one another and becoming very close.
Value to Teen Readers Today
You need to make your own wise choices and not let the “popular group” dictate to you what to do because the wrong choice may be life altering. A middle school student may want to read this story because they can relate to be pressured by their peers to go with the “in crowd” instead of doing what’s safe or right. ( )

I thought this book was well written. It portrayed the difficulties Izzy faced in a believable fashion without being melodramatic. It was obvious that the author did research to make the novel believable, but it didn't sound like a medical article. Izzy was portrayed as a little nicer than average, but she had enough faults to make her realistically human. This book was a little different from many young adult novels in that Izzy came from a supportive two-parent family, but I think she had enough issues to face with her medical issues, friendships and adjustments, that it would have been unwieldy to also include divorced and/or otherwise missing parents. ( )