Shattered - C. Lee McKenzie
SHATTERED is an amazing book that deals with a tough subject: what it's like to come to terms with a physical disability. I had initial reservations about reading it, fearing it might be too grim. But last summer I had the good fortune to read a weekly series of blog posts in which Ms. McKenzie introduced 12 of the main characters. By the time she posted the final one showcasing her heroine, Libby Brown, I was hooked. The story is about a girl--a champion skier and contender for the Winter Olympics--who becomes disabled, but rises above adversity with the help of new friends who have been through similar experiences. We watch as Libby suffers some of the lowest lows of her young life, and then as she scores small victories that lead her toward a return to the ski slopes--albeit on a "sit-ski"--and a new goal: a spot on the U.S. Paralympic ski team. Along the way, she learns a second sport, rowing, that teaches her an important skill: how to succeed as a member of a team. [Spoiler Alert] While most of the book is a first-person narrative in Libby's voice, one of its most intriguing plot threads is a revealing series of third-person cutaways called "The Arrangement." Through these, we discover that the accident leading to Libby's injury--she collided with an out-of-bounds snowboarder while on a downhill run--was no accident. It was an arranged hit job. If you're up for a mystery, you'll stretch your detective muscles trying to figure out whodunit. A final dividend that SHATTERED pays the reader is an O. Henry ending--or two. And after all, who doesn't like surprises?