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\n\t\t\t\tBUY ON BOOKSHOP<\/span>\n\t\t\t\tBOOKSHOP<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t& support independent bookstores\n\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/article> \n\n\t<\/center><\/div>Again, this is an absolutely plausible reaction to ableist abuse. I\u2019ve never been attacked this way, but I recognize the shame and embarrassment for being a nuisance or a hassle or somebody else\u2019s problem. Add to that the complicated feelings of violation and betrayal, and his decision not to call for help makes sense. It\u2019s terrible to read (and a little too blas\u00e9 in how it\u2019s written), but it makes sense.<\/p>\nMy issue comes later, after Jamie\u2019s carried back home, after Stevie claims the wheelchair was dumped behind the house. While the grownups confer amongst themselves, Stevie threatens Jamie yet again: \u201cYou tell anybody anything, you\u2019re dead meat. And I\u2019ll torture you before<\/em> I kill you!\u201d We know it\u2019s not an empty threat. We\u2019ve seen multiple times by this point that Stevie is violent. So it\u2019s no surprise that, when asked what happened, Jamie says, \u201cI had an accident.\u201d What is surprising is that this whole ordeal is ever mentioned again<\/em>. In fact, none of Stevie\u2019s abuse is ever addressed. The adults are all either willfully ignorant or completely oblivious, and Stevie never faces even the lightest of reprimands.<\/p>\n Most galling, the book ends with a chapter called \u201cAnd Now a Word from our Tormentor,\u201d wherein Stevie approaches Jamie after he performs a routine:<\/p>\n I scrunch up my face and tighten my stomach muscles so I\u2019m ready to take a good punch.<\/p>\n But Stevie totally surprises me.<\/p>\n Instead of slugging me, he puts out his hand. A little nervous, I take it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not friends, though,\u201d he says as we shake.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely not,\u201d I say. \u201cWe\u2019re mortal enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo the death, bro. Sooner or later, you\u2019re going down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe. But you know what, Stevie?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSooner or later, I\u2019ll get right back up again, too.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n We\u2019re meant to read this as a peace accord of sorts. A hopeful ending where jokes cure the bully of his ways and establish the beginnings of a better relationship. But everything about this scene makes my skin crawl.<\/p>\n Jamie\u2019s first instinct \u2014 understandably \u2014 is to brace himself for an attack, but then Stevie extends his hand. This is meant to be the olive branch, except Stevie doesn\u2019t apologize. He says, \u201cWe\u2019re not friends, though.\u201d And then he follows it up with, \u201cTo the death, bro. Sooner or later, you\u2019re going down.\u201d This isn\u2019t a happy ending. This isn\u2019t good-natured joshing. Not when there\u2019s a history of abuse. Not when Stevie has threatened death before.<\/p>\n Again, Stevie faces zero consequences. He\u2019s never held accountable, and Jamie never gets a chance to process his trauma at his stepbrother\u2019s hands. He never tells, never asks for help, never defies Stevie\u2019s command to keep quiet. The closest he comes is including a joke in his routine about how Stevie is such a bully he once punched a goldfish, which the narrative wants us to see as a lesson about the power of comedy to unite.<\/p>\n Of course, Jamie\u2019s last line is problematic as well: \u201cSooner or later, I\u2019ll get right back up again, too.\u201d Jamie\u2019s putting the onus on himself to be strong, to save himself against Stevie\u2019s future violence (even if they are just \u201cjoking\u201d at this point). Specifically, he\u2019s using metaphorical language where the referent is a physical act Jamie isn\u2019t capable of. It\u2019s an intentional juxtaposition, one that\u2019s subtle but uncomfortable, especially given some of Jamie\u2019s discussions of his disability (which we\u2019ll discuss later).<\/p>\n This scene is especially galling when you think back to Jamie\u2019s initial reaction to Stevie\u2019s abuse. When you remember that Jamie claimed to enjoy being tipped over onto the pavement and left there. When you remember that it made him \u201cfeel normal, and normal feels absolutely amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n Throughout the book \u2014 even outside Jamie\u2019s relationship with Stevie \u2014 being treated like garbage is presented as the only alternative to being pitied and given \u201cspecial treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n First, let\u2019s look at Cool Girl, whose actual name is Suzie \u2014 a name Jamie chooses to ignore in favor of reinforcing the idealized identity he\u2019s constructed for her. Nearly every time Jamie and Cool Girl interact, she dumps her books on Jamie\u2019s lap and expects him to carry them. Jamie doesn\u2019t seem to mind, and he offered to help when they first meet, but the manner in which she simply uses him as a carrying cart is off-putting to me. And the fact that she assumes his consent every time after their first meeting is a clear violation of boundaries. But Jamie finds her behavior \u201ccool\u201d over and over again, even as he says, \u201cI\u2019m just the local bookmobile.\u201d<\/p>\n Her disregard for boundaries extends beyond book-carrying, though. In a scene I find both wildly upsetting and emblematic of the book\u2019s Message, Cool Girl asks Jamie if he is physically able to pee. The question comes completely out of the blue and understandably takes Jamie aback. At first, he\u2019s embarrassed, but:<\/p>\n \u2026once my face goes from code purple to somewhere closer to my normal skin tone, and my ears stop burning, I realize: That\u2019s exactly why I like Cool Girl so much.<\/p>\n She says whatever is on her mind whenever it happens to be there.<\/p>\n With her, there are no soft or squishy words. No special treatment for the kid in the chair.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Of course, they\u2019re both kids and it\u2019s a question I expect plenty of kids might ask their disabled friends (it\u2019s certainly one I was asked). But the fact that the narrative endorses this sort of invasive questioning as ideal<\/em>, even going so far as to have Jamie dismiss his own discomfort of the situation, is unacceptable.<\/p>\n Having said that, there are some genuinely touching moments between the two characters. She encourages him when people say he only won the first round of the competition because of his disability and again when he\u2019s considering quitting after his routine bombs at home. And I very much appreciate that Jamie gets a romantic subplot (spoiler: he and Cool Girl kiss \u2014 albeit in another unsettling scene that we\u2019ll discuss later), but their overall relationship is yet another vehicle demonstrating Jamie\u2019s warped view of normality.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at one other example: Jamie\u2019s solo trip to New York City. From the moment he arrives, he asserts \u201cthere\u2019s very little pity on the streets of the big city,\u201d but the interactions we\u2019re supposed to accept as the opposite of pity \u2014 as the epitome of normal treatment <\/em>\u2014 are all antagonistic at best and violent at worst. His trip ends with this:<\/p>\n A guy mugs me, armed only with a finger pistol under his hoodie. I give him my last two bucks. He hops off at the next stop. I just smile and wave as he runs away.<\/p>\n \u201cGo with God,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n Because he robbed me just like he\u2019d rob anybody else!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Again, violence is shown as the purest way to tell you aren\u2019t being pitied or given special treatment because of your disability. Over and over we see Jamie being grateful<\/em> for his abuse. This is dangerous. It tells disabled kids that they should long for physical and\/or verbal abuse, and that anything short of that is pity. It tells disabled and abled kids alike that abuse is the standard way to interact with others. That it\u2019s expected. That it\u2019s normal<\/em>.<\/p>\n This incredibly dangerous message makes an already vulnerable population even more so, especially since it really can be difficult to tell if someone\u2019s treating you differently because of your disability or if they\u2019re being genuine. You start questioning every compliment, every good progress report, every letter of recommendation, every win. You wonder if you really deserved the good things. It\u2019s hard and complicated.<\/p>\n But what isn\u2019t hard or complicated is that no one<\/em> deserves abuse, violence, or to have their boundaries ignored. Those aren\u2019t markers of equality. And neither respect nor empathy are markers of \u201cspecial treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n I Funny<\/em> doesn\u2019t spend much time (none, really) on the logistical realities of disability, but it does seem interested in the way one interacts with and understands their own disability. This is something I\u2019m also very much interested in as well, so it was nice to see it tackled somewhat head-on. Unfortunately, once again, good intentions can\u2019t surmount poor execution.<\/p>\n Jamie has a complicated relationship with his body and disability, as many disabled kids do. This is probably compounded by the fact that he\u2019s recently disabled (as opposed to someone like me who was born so), although the narrative doesn\u2019t spend too much time comparing Then and Now. I can\u2019t speak to the realism of that part of Jamie\u2019s perspective, but I can on others.<\/p>\n When we first learn of Jamie\u2019s disability, he asks if we (the reader) can handle it and admits \u201csometimes even [he] can\u2019t deal with it (like just about every morning, when [he] wake[s] up and look[s] at [him]self in the mirror).\u201d This discomfort with your body is something I very much related to, as was his belief no girls would ever be interested in him. Body image can be incredibly difficult to navigate when the world tells you that your body is broken, different, wrong. It\u2019s hard to believe you\u2019re worthy of love and even harder to believe you\u2019re worthy of attraction, so I appreciated these being mentioned.<\/p>\n Of course, as I mentioned earlier, Jamie gets a romantic moment with Cool Girl, but the context of that scene is somewhat troubling. Jamie mentions there\u2019s an operation he could get that could cure him. (Well, the text phrases it as he could \u201cwalk again,\u201d but I think it\u2019s fair to assume that\u2019s meant as equaling a cure.) Cool Girl is excited until he mentions it could \u201cmake things even worse\u201d and \u201cparalyze more junk.\u201d After he explains insurance wouldn\u2019t cover it anyway, Cool Girl asks, \u201cWould it paralyze your lips? … Would it make your lips go all limp and floppy?\u201d Jamie is once again confused. Until Cool Girl says she doesn\u2019t \u201cwant to risk it\u201d and leans in to kiss him.<\/p>\n As far as I\u2019m aware, there\u2019s no such surgery, experimental or otherwise, that can de-paralyze someone. It seems to have been included solely to lead into the kiss since it\u2019s never mentioned again. This is supposed to be a sweet scene, but it comes across as creepy and more than a little dehumanizing. Cool Girl reduces Jamie to his body parts (specifically, his lips) and whether or not they would be affected. Her phrasing of \u201call limp and floppy\u201d is especially upsetting as that kind of body movement is often the focus of bullies and even well-meaning folks. (As a brief example, a friend\u2019s mother once told my mom she shouldn\u2019t let me dance because it made me look \u201cr*****ed.\u201d)<\/p>\n This set-up also implies that if Jamie were further paralyzed, he would no longer be attractive and\/or Cool Girl wouldn\u2019t be interested in him anymore. Thus a potentially empowering, encouraging scene where the disabled protagonist gets to have a romantic moment is twisted into something arguably harmful instead.<\/p>\n When you have a complicated and\/or negative relationship with your own body and disability, you might pay particular attention to how you present your disability in public. You might be hyperaware of both how others view you and how you can affect this.<\/p>\n In Jamie\u2019s case, he uses comedy. Many of his jokes (particularly the ones aimed toward the reader) are about his disability.<\/p>\n You look at me, and I know what you\u2019re thinking: \u201cZac Efron without the hot legs.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cYou stood up for this other kid?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I didn\u2019t exactly stand<\/em>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cI\u2019m Jamie Grimm. Maybe you saw my picture on the men\u2019s room door?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This sort of self-deprecating, point-out-the-obvious humor felt very familiar to me. It was one of my defense mechanisms too, though not to the extent it is for Jamie. His comedy starts with his disability but it doesn\u2019t end there. He\u2019s constantly looking for the funniest angle in every part of his life, which I really enjoyed seeing. I also liked that his humor-as-shield was discussed head-on a few times. While I think the disability jokes became a little much at times, the way humor was used and presented as a coping mechanism was one of the most successful parts of the book for me.<\/p>\n One of the other few decent elements was the illustrations throughout. We see Jamie in his chair at least every few pages. It\u2019s refreshing to see visual proof of a character\u2019s disability included, especially given the lack of representative covers. Unfortunately, these rare positives can\u2019t outweigh the extremely dangerous negatives.<\/p>\n Before reading, I figured I would recommend the book even if it lacked nuance or had some inaccuracies, because we have so few stories \u2014 especially lighthearted ones \u2014 with wheelchair-using characters. I Funny <\/em>had the potential to fill a giant gap and to provide sorely needed representation. Not only did it fail to meet those goals, but it\u2019s a dangerous narrative wrapped up and presented as \u201cgood messages.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We have so few stories \u2014 especially lighthearted ones \u2014 with wheelchair-using characters that I’d hoped I’d be able to recommend I Funny<\/i>, but it’s a dangerous narrative wrapped up and presented as \u201cgood messages.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":2956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_generate-full-width-content":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[255,74],"genre":[5],"age_category":[6],"disability":[256,257],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2955"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2955"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7010,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2955\/revisions\/7010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2955"},{"taxonomy":"genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/genre?post=2955"},{"taxonomy":"age_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/age_category?post=2955"},{"taxonomy":"disability","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disability?post=2955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Interacting with and understanding disability<\/h5>\n
Self-perception<\/h5>\n
Self-presentation<\/h5>\n