Believe

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY DEC 3, 2012

When Rutgers junior Eric LeGrand collapsed on the field in October 2010 after a tackle gone wrong, his football career, along with his ability to walk and care for himself, disappeared. Paralyzed from the neck down, LeGrand had to depend fully on nurses and his mother, whose devotion helps form the heart of this wrenching yet uplifting story. Adapted from an adult memoir, published simultaneously, the book's tight structure builds tension, with LeGrand's narrative shifting between life before and after the accident. He starkly details the physical and emotional effects of becoming paralyzed (for example, feeling brutally cold even in midsummer and the agony of not being able to scratch his nose). Despite the reverberations of the accident, the moment of the tragedy isn't the climax of the story rather, it's LeGrand's decision to move forward with courage. LeGrand's faith and optimism power through even the darkest details of his slow recovery, yet he still honestly explores what the accident has cost him. The author's ability to reexamine and reinvent himself despite a debilitating setback may motivate readers to seize their own ambitions. Ages 8 12.