Title: The Double Life of a Wheelchair User
Author: Rob Keeley
Publication Date: November 28, 2025
Genre: MG
Buy The Double Life of a Wheelchair User
What Goodreads has to say:
“It was quite an ordinary day when Will discovered he would be going to two schools”...
...but go he does, and it is the beginning of an extraordinary adventure for the young writer of Marlowe Park. For a whole year, Will is at two schools at once. And things grow more complicated, once he has a girlfriend at each.
With friends and enemies at both schools, teachers to please and bullies to beat, from the Bicycle Reflector Club to the Santa delivery, Will is in for a busy and exciting year. But one day, he has to decide where finally he wants to be...
A fun, enlightening collection of twelve linked short stories taking place in both a mainstream school, and a school for students with disabilities. The book is based on author Rob Keeley’s own childhood experiences of transferring from special to mainstream school.
What I have to say:
I've been a fan of Rob Keeley's since he invited me to read his MG ghost story Childish Spirits and it blew me away. The Double Life of a Wheelchair User isn't a ghost story, but it has the same charm, humor, and sweetness that made me fall in love with his earlier books. So, needless to say, I loved it.
At the start of the story, Will attends a school for children with disabilities. A good writer and exemplary English student, he gets invited to start attending the fancy Station Road school, where he'll test whether a wheelchair user can succeed at a school for "normal" kids.
Chaos ensues.
For one thing, Will quickly gets himself a girlfriend at Station Road. That's great...except that he already has one at Marlowe Park. When both girls visit his home on the same day, things get complicated.
Then there's Sam, the school bully at Station Road, who sees Will as easy prey.
There's also Will's creative imagination, which sometimes gets him into trouble.
But in the end, his tender heart, natural spunk, and ability to laugh at himself see Will through. Sure, there are some growing pains, and you may find yourself cringing at some of his actions, but if you remember that awkward phase between childhood and adulthood, you won't begrudge him too much.
While most of the book is lighthearted and humorous, it has its serious moments. About midway through the book, one of Will's classmates at Marlowe Park passes away unexpectedly. Will, who argued with the boy right before his fatal accident, now has to grapple with his guilt, knowing he'll never get to apologize.
The novel also shows some of the challenges that, for children like Will, are often just part of life, whether it's getting bullied by ableist jerks or putting up with plaster casts and other inconveniences.
While it had its serious moments, I read most of this book with a smile on my face. Will's antics are very amusing, especially when his imagination carries him away. At one point he thinks he's gone through a time warp and assumes that the fate of the world now rests on his shoulders.
According to the author, this work is semi-autobiographical, and I enjoyed seeing that shine through. I don't know just how much is based on the author's own experiences (I hope the two girlfriends part is true), but Will's spunk and creativity definitely seemed to be drawn from life, and I imagine the author knows from personal experience the difficulty, and sometimes the fun, of balancing two worlds.
"Write what you know" is sound advice. At the end of the day, I think this may be one of my favorite books by Rob.
I was going to give it four stars only because a book has to like, blow my mind to get a five-star rating. But then I realized I'd given a bunch of Rob's other books five stars and I liked this one at least as much as those, so I have to be consistent. What can you do?
(No, Edward, of course it doesn't beat Childish Spirits.)
Rating:
No comments:
Post a Comment