She remembered every horrible detail of the crash—the headlights bearing down on them, the hideous squeal of brakes, the crunch of glass... and later, the terrible, cold feeling as she touched Eric's face and knew he was dead.
How can Andie go on living? She survived; Eric didn't. And she has lost the use of her legs. She is seventeen, pretty... and confined to a wheelchair in her bedroom. She feels she can never leave home, never again have friends, never go anywhere.
Then Andie hears of a way out of her confinement. But it won't be easy. Does she have the courage to try?
Public places are now required to be wheelchair accessible, and this was not true when this book was written. Andie's chair has to be lifted up and down over the curbs by strangers whenever she crosses a street. Nowadays, street crossings are wheelchair accessible. Andie also has to be assisted so that she can get inside buildings.
I have commented about how Scholastic's books are packaged in a misleading fashion. The summary itself is fine. The blurb on the front cover is deliberately misleading, in my opinion. The statement "One reckless moment and her life was changed" gives the impression that Andie might have been responsible for the accident. She wasn't even driving! She had nothing to do with the wreck.
This book is really depressing at first. There's no way it wouldn't be depressing, since Andie is paralyzed. Andie's paralysis is permanent, and she will never walk again.
As Andie experiences personal growth, the story becomes quite compelling. Once Andie begins her stay at the rehabilitation hospital, the story becomes hopeful. I enjoyed following Andie's struggle as she learns to cope with her paralysis. This is an excellent story.
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