This witty, heartfelt story about perseverance in the face of adversity is perfect for fans of R. J. Palacio, Cammie McGovern, and John David Anderson. Noah Savino has been stuck in a wheelchair for months. He hates the way people treat him like he’s helpless now. He’s sick of going to physical therapy, where he isn’t making any progress. He’s tired of not having control over his own body. And he … control over his own body. And he misses playing baseball—but not as much as he misses his dad, who died in the car accident that paralyzed Noah.
Noah is scared he’ll never feel like his old self again. He doesn’t want people to think of him as different for the rest of his life. With the help of family and friends, he’ll have to throw off the mask he’s been hiding behind and face the fears that have kept him on the sidelines if he ever wants to move forward.
more
I loved this book! There is so many reasons why I loved it and those reasons kept mounting as I read it. I’m only sorry that it took me a while to find this book and now, I’m wondering what else this author wrote that I should be reading.
In the beginning pages of Mascot, you will meet Noah who is adjusting to life in a wheelchair. Noah was with his father in a car accident, were his father was pronounced dead and now, Noah is a paraplegic.
From his tone, Noah isn’t happy with the way his life is headed. During his weekly physical therapy sessions, Noah’s passive/negative remarks have him moving nowhere, whereas another patient in the room, who Noah has been watching, is slowly making progress. His former teammates taunt and bully him, every chance that they get. The pitcher, once his close friend is the leader in this cruel act. Once a star catcher on the school’s baseball team, Noah can’t use his legs anymore. With his father gone, he must rely on his mother for everything and the way things are going, Noah feels this might be a long time.
When Ruben enters the picture, this book just blew up. Ruben cracked me up! Ruben, a.k.a Double Wide or Dee-Dub, arrives in his true form. When he was first introduced to the class, I had many thoughts going through my head as Dee Dub basically says the honest truth without any filters. Like Noah thought, Dee-Dub was crazy or a total genius that knows that being a new kid he can get away with anything. I think he was a little bit of both.
Ruben ends up sitting next to Noah and they form a friendship. Ruben is now associated with Noah which gets the attention of everyone especially the baseball team. I wondered how Ruben would handle the harassment now that he was a part of it. Noah and Ruben were now a pair but could they do anything against a team? We meet Alyssa, who is a friend of Noah’s. I thought she was one tough girl. Noah needed to start hanging around her more as she would teach him something, for she was not taking any gruff from anyone.
Ruben was not afraid of speaking his mind and now, Noah finally has someone to talk to. Ruben helps us, as readers, get to know the characters as he’s not afraid of talking to them and inquiring into the lives of each of them.
What a remarkable, outstanding book! I loved the characters as they felt realistic and I liked how they felt a variety of emotions. There were fears and bleak situations but they worked through them. Now to see what else I need to read by this author.
Wonderful. Poignant. Beautifully written. Perfect voice. Do not miss this book. Mascot is a masterpiece.
Mascot is the kind of book that makes me want to dress up in a costume and loudly tell the world about it.