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Accidents of Nature

3.55 of 5 stars 3.55 · rating details · 251 ratings · 61 reviews

I'm in the middle of a full-blown spaz-attack, and I don't care. I don't care at all. At home I always try to act normal, and spaz-attacks definitely aren't normal. Here, people understand. They know a spaz-attack signals that I'm
excited. They're excited too, so they squeal with me; some even spaz on purpose, if you can call that spazzing . . .
An unforgettable coming-of-a...more

Hardcover, 240 pages

Published May 2nd 2006 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (first published May 2006)

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Mar 30, 2012 Sue rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, late-20th-century

This book is set in 1970 from the POV of a teen girl with cerebral palsy who is attending a summer camp for disabled teens for the first time. She has always striven to be considered "normal" and when faced with a camp full of others with disabilities and a militant camper versed in Marxist theories, she begins to question her long-held beliefs. The subject matter is important for young people. Having grown up in a world of disability awareness and personal rights, it was uncomfortable to see th...more

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Oct 20, 2010 Christina rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book is a good description of how it feels to have a disability, espeically cerebal palsy and mental retardation..The book is about a gropu of disabled group of teens who are at Camp Courage for ten days. Jean and Sara feel welcomed to a place where they fit in, and the camp gives them a new perspective on what it is like to be normal or disabled. They call themselves "crips" (or crippled), and other nicknames.

I would not purchase this for my school, even if I was a high school librarian....more

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Apr 06, 2011 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Kate by: Teen Book Club selection

Shelves: 2011, age-ya, teen-book-club

Jean has cerebral palsy, but likes to think of herself as normal. Then she is sent to Camp Courage, aka Crip Camp, and meets Sara, another girl with CP who feels very strongly about the way the "Norms" treat the "Crips." As Jean observes the other campers, she begins to question whether it is better to identify as Norm or as Crip.

I could not help to compare this book to Izzy, Willy-Nilly, which I read last month for the same book club. Izzy and Jean seem to have similar personalities and thought...more Jean has cerebral palsy, but likes to think of herself as normal. Then she is sent to Camp Courage, aka Crip Camp, and meets Sara, another girl with CP who feels very strongly about the way the "Norms" treat the "Crips." As Jean observes the other campers, she begins to question whether it is better to identify as Norm or as Crip.

I could not help to compare this book to Izzy, Willy-Nilly, which I read last month for the same book club. Izzy and Jean seem to have similar personalities and thoughts: both do their best to please their families and present a cheerful face to their condition. Jean has been a poster child for telethons, being a pretty, blond, crippled child. They both also have it ingrained that they will be married when they get older, and both have to revise their expectations of love and marriage due to their conditions - this view probably being due to both books taking place in the 70s and early 80s. However, Izzy, Willy-Nilly felt very old-fashioned, being written back then, and was essentially a problem novel about a girl who is in a terrible accident that leaves her with an amputated leg. Accidents of Nature is much more complex than the problem novel I imagined it would be.

Part of this is that due to the book's description, I imagined, going in, that Jean was very close to "normal." However, she is wheelchair-bound and needs people to feed, clothe, and bathe her. Jean has always thought of herself as "normal," which is why she is so shocked to find that she is one of the more disabled campers next to others who might be an amputee like Izzy, or a girl who has seizures, or someone who has bad asthma. Even the MR campers seem more abled than Jean, and I as a reader was brought along as Jean realizes this different reality of her condition. It was also disconcerting for me, both as a "normal" and as someone who is used to political correctness, to hear terms that I've been taught are not PC thrown around so casually. Campers are generally called "Crips" and campers with CP are generally referred to as "spazzos" or as having a "spazz attack." MR or mildly disabled campers are called "walkie-talkies" (as they can walk and talk), and autistic kids are called "aussies." There is a description of a camp dance where the counselors dance with the campers, and a discussion about how some counselors flaunt their "normal" sexuality and whether this is because they don't even see the campers as having any sexual urges at all or because they feel powerful to have this sexual power over the campers.

While searching for discussion questions for the book club before reading the book, I discovered that the author is also disabled, and most of her life was focused on protesting the treatment of the handicapped (in particular, Jerry Lewis's telethons). The character of Sara is clearly based on herself. This could be a powerful book for a "Crip" to read as it does not condescend to them or treat their condition as a problem to be solved. This is, however, a more mature read. There is some strong language, sex is discussed, and there is one scene where Jean imagines what it would be like to have sex - nothing graphic though.(less)

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Mar 12, 2011 Stevecrandell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: people-with-disabilities, grades-9-and-up

Jean is 17, and has cerebral palsy. She can’t walk, can’t feed herself. She can’t even wipe herself when she uses the bathroom. But she can tell the world who she is. Jean describes her spasms, and her disgust with her rebelling body. She also shares her high school success and plans for college, as well as her fantasies of love and sex, and a life that could somehow approach “normalcy.”

The story is set at a summer camp for disabled people. Jean portrays her campmates with the same discerning e...more

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May 09, 2010 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, realistic-fiction

I have not read many books about characters who have disabilities...because there aren't that many out there. And honestly, I stumbled upon this one by happy accident.

The main character, 17-year-old Jean, has CP and is spending part of her summer away from her family (at Camp Courage) for the first time. Jean has successfully gone to a "norm" school all her life, and has always done her best to negotiate the realities of "norm" life, getting good grades and having "norm" friends. At Camp Courage...more I have not read many books about characters who have disabilities...because there aren't that many out there. And honestly, I stumbled upon this one by happy accident.

The main character, 17-year-old Jean, has CP and is spending part of her summer away from her family (at Camp Courage) for the first time. Jean has successfully gone to a "norm" school all her life, and has always done her best to negotiate the realities of "norm" life, getting good grades and having "norm" friends. At Camp Courage, however, she meets fellow "wheelchair-crip" and 8-year camp veteran, Sara, who has always gone to a "crip" school and who has a very different perspective on the world.

As Jean participates, and Sara usually refuses to participate, in the camp's "everybody wins" activities over the following 10-day period, they both try to negotiate what it means to live within the hegemonic "norm" culture as "crips." Is it better to try to fit in? Or is it better to recognize your limitations and settle for less than the ideal? Or is it best to rebel against the system (represented by Mr. Bob, the camp director, and Sue, their counselor) by completely refusing to accept the "norm's" definition of "normal."

While writing from the perspective of a self-reflective and internally-motivated first-person narrator, Johnson somehow manages to keep this novel moving forward at a steady pace. The "Talent Night" climax rings true for anyone who has ever attended a traditional "sleep-away" camp, and the campers' characters shine as unique, quirky, and totally worthy individuals throughout the novel.

The only reason that I wouldn't give Accidents of Nature 5 stars is that the 1970s setting was a bit distracting for me. I understand that Johnson took 12 years to write it, and that she might have lived through some experiences that were the basis for this novel when she was growing up in the 1970s. But for the book to be published as a fiction novel in 2006...a more contemporary time-period would have made this important story more accessible for young adults today.(less)

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Jun 23, 2011 Ally rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone. Especially those going into PSW or special education careers

*mild spoilers ahoy*

Loved this book. Well, okay, some of it rubbed a bit too raw, and the scene of the counselors teasing the campers sexually made me absolutely sick to my stomach, but only because it was so true. It's gritty and sharp and smart and mean, but it's also real and sort of sweet, in it's way. The scene with Robert yelling about the canoe made me cheer right along with the campers, and though I found Sarah an insufferable know-it-all about as often as Jean did, she was also so reali...more

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Jun 10, 2009 Alisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks

There's something about female Southern narrators that drive me nuts. I almost stopped the CD after the first 10 minutes, but am glad I carried on.

This is your basic summer camp story, with friendships, swimming, and macaroni art, culminating in the big end-of-camp talent show. But since this is "Camp Courage" for kids with disabilities, everything got a new slant. Narrator Jean, goes to 'norm' school, is a veteran of telethons, and thinks that 'inside' she is just like everybody else. Her new...more

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May 07, 2010 Anne Broyles rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Seventeen-year-old Jean has lived with cerebral palsy her entire life, attends "normal school" and does not think of herself as "different" until she goes to Camp Courage (nicknamed Camp Crip). For the first time in her life, Jean is confronted with differently-abled peers. Her new friend, Sara's caustic humor and in-your-face attitude spark internal changes in Jean.

This book's characters are quirky, strong, and believable. The plot moved quickly and kept me fascinated. The main character is not...more

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Jun 11, 2009 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: minority-author-or-topic, disability, ya, childrens

This book is extremely good in it's own right, but definitely the best that I have read that falls into the genre about disabilities (not that I've read many, and not that many even exist). I think that it's well worth its while for anyone to read for an honest, funny, sharp novel about that gives insight into the disabled community/culture. The novel isn't sentimental, and impressed me with its non-Pollyanna-type ending and the author's description of the main character's sudden coming-of-age m...more

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Nov 22, 2010 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-books

This unique young adult book takes place in 1970 at a camp for children with disabilities. The book is fantastic. This is a population not often the focus of a story and you are in the mind of one of the girls in the story. One of the campers is frustrated by how society always wants them to be "normal" kids and wants to rebel and force people to see them as people. The book really provides a platform to begin thinking about how we look at people with disabilities. Why can't we begin to value th...more

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Apr 11, 2010 Jamie rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is about 17 year old Jean who has cerebral palsy. Jean gets around in a wheelchair and attends “normal” school. In fact, Jean doesn’t really know any other disabled person. For the first time, Jean attends Camp Courageous, otherwise known as “Crimp Camp” by the campers. While at camp, Jean meets Sara, a girl who has different ideas about people and society. Sara is disrespectful to others disabilities and is angry about the way disabled people are treated. As Jean learns about people o...more

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Sep 01, 2011 Georgina Windebank rated it 4 of 5 stars

this book is about a seventeen year girl named jean
jean has cerebral palsy and is wheelchair-bound,
but tries to live a normal life as possible.
She then arrives at camp Courage and meets a girl called Sara,
she welcomes her to 'crip camp' and also nicknames her
'spazzo'.
Sara is full of rage and revolution against the unthinking condescension of the able-bodied and her company, Jean's world view shifts.
The camp session is only ten days long,
but that may be all it takes to change a life forever.
I...more

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Feb 15, 2010 Marcia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

The story of handicapped teens at a summer camp. The talk of "Crips" "MRs", "Norms" and "Spazes" was weird at first; the author suffered from a neuromuscular disease and clearly had first hand knowledge of what life was like for these teens. I liked that it showed a population that is hardly ever featured in books. I liked that they showed these teens having the same kinds of feelings and desires that all teens have. It focused on the campers day as they participated in the way that they were ab...more

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Feb 11, 2011 Lucia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-on-cd

This young adult novel addresses the history of the treatment (or lack thereof) of disabled Americans in the 1960s. It is poignant, funny and sad throughout and it really slides into home for this reader. It is told from the perspective of a young teen with CP. Listening to the audio book allows the "reader" to hear the voices of all, especially the young girl with Cerebral Palsy. The descriptions of the different disabilities at Camp Courage are true to form, very realistic, and sad in how it w...more

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May 13, 2012 Dani rated it 3 of 5 stars

filled with humor, a little bit of disability pride, some negative stereotypes that are placed on people with disabilities (and the one's that people with disabilities place on the nondisabled, too) For note, there are many terms while historically accurate may come across as offending, but overall the purpose of the story is to show that people with disabilities do not want, (nor do they deserve in my opinion) pity, charity or anything like a telethon (more on that in the text) But, it is impor...more

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Feb 24, 2010 Becca rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-books, ethics-philosophy, fiction-not-otherwise-specified, favorites, disability-readings

Harriet McBryde Johnson may have looked at her life as being "too late to die young;" however, she died younger than she should have and her unique, powerful voice was lost to us. I tend to be skeptical about freshman novels, skeptical about the first person, skeptical about authorial self-inserts and skeptical about manifestos parading as novels. Accidents of Nature falls into all of the above categories; however, it is transcendent.

First and foremost, for a lawyer with no formal training on cr...more

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Jun 29, 2008 Alana rated it 5 of 5 stars

A must read for people with disabilities and our allies...teens and adults, and parents who want to guide their children with disabilities into a positive future equipped to live full lives of dignity and choice.

Harriet McBryde Johnson "gets it" and explains it to the rest of us through the thoughtful and passionate Jean, a young woman with cerebral palsy staying for the first time at a sleep-over camp for "cripples." Set in 1970, Jean meets the militant, the meek, and everything in between amon...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Mechele R. Dillard for TeensReadToo.com

Jean feels fantastic about her place in the world. Why shouldn’t she? She’s seventeen, an honor student at Crosstown High School, her friends are great, and her family supports all of her dreams. But this summer, Jean spreads her wings, away from the cocoon of her parents, friends, and her small town, and spends time at Camp Courage--“Crip Camp,” as the campers sarcastically refer to it--a camp for children with physical and mental disabilities,...more Reviewed by Mechele R. Dillard for TeensReadToo.com

Jean feels fantastic about her place in the world. Why shouldn’t she? She’s seventeen, an honor student at Crosstown High School, her friends are great, and her family supports all of her dreams. But this summer, Jean spreads her wings, away from the cocoon of her parents, friends, and her small town, and spends time at Camp Courage--“Crip Camp,” as the campers sarcastically refer to it--a camp for children with physical and mental disabilities, and she finds her confidence is shaken. For the first time, Jean must admit that, because of her cerebral palsy, she is different from the other kids at her high school.

Set in 1970 with an epilogue to bring the reader into the year 2000, ACCIDENTS OF NATURE is an excellent overview of how kids with a range of challenges--cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, amputations, autism, asthma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy--feel condescended to by the world. For example, to make sure no one feels bad at the camp carnival, everyone
wins a prize at the games. Jean and her friend Sara refuse to play, on the basis that there is no challenge in playing a game if one is certain to win. The games then become a metaphor for Crip life, as Jean muses:

"When the games are rigged, does it make everyone a winner--or no one? … I believe in competition. The program seems to be that handicapped people aren’t up to it; we can only pretend to be winners. I don’t want to pretend. I want to achieve, really achieve. Or I will take my disappointments just like anyone else."

Johnson captures the pain, anger, and fear of being shunned by the “normal” world in the character of Sara, and explores the naiveté of thinking that no one notices one’s differences in the character of Jean. Weaving the two together through the bond of friendship, Johnson creates a captivating, educational storyline.

The overwhelming negative of this book--and the reason I am awarding four stars instead of five--is the epilogue. Without giving away the ending, I’ll say that I’m not sure what the author was thinking when she wrote this epilogue; I can think of no other way to describe it but as frustrating, aggravating, and absolutely annoying. Ms. Johnson, what were you thinking?

Still, ACCIDENTS OF NATURE is an excellent book, overall, and well worth a reader’s time; I recommend it with a strong four stars. (less)

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Oct 01, 2007 Cat rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

I picked this book up at random (well..mostly to increase the circulation of our audio books and because listening to audio books has become something short of an obsession.). I had no idea what it was going to be about and to be honest I almost stopped listening after the first few minutes.

I was sure I wouldn't be able to relate to this book for two reasons. (1) It takes place in the 70's, a decade I didn't have the pleasure to live through. (2) It is about the disabled.

However, I pursued thi...more

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Sep 30, 2007 Shelley rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: youth

I try pretty hard to stay away from books and movies about people with special needs. It's so rarely done right. (My one exception is Al Capone Does My Shirts which is brilliant as a book and as an example of sibling life.) So I was nervous about this one, but the author has CP, so I figured it was worth a shot.

I liked Sara, who was very clearly the author stand-in. And the Talent Night skit was the most brilliant thing I have ever read - The Telethon to Stamp Out Normalcy (take THAT, Jerry Lew...more

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Kelly I don't usually read books like this either (my son is autistic, my brother has Down Syndrome) and I probably won't read this, based on your review. I...more
Sep 30, 2007 08:25pm

Shelley That's true, the social change. There are still camps like this, though - I know Easter Seals does one the whole summer before our AAC camp gets the l...more
Sep 30, 2007 08:38pm

Alana I've been surprised that people don't like this book and that they don't understand why Johnson set the book in 1970. As someone who went to a camp ve...more
Jun 22, 2008 09:45pm

Apr 02, 2010 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This was another book I listened to on CD, while driving. I really loved the narrator's ability to capture the speaking style, and I thought the characters were strong and the story had depth and humor and believability.

The age group for this story is probably around high school or junior high age, but it was a good story for a drive, and I liked it. The dilemmas and challenges were not resolved in a simplistic manner, and I appreciated the mistakes and recoveries that the characters made.

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May 17, 2010 Melody rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: heard

Nuanced and engaging portrait of that moment in time before people got that telethons suck. Also before people got that "mixing the races" was no big deal. The narrator's syrupy southern accent was a bit distracting, as were the Mary Sue tendencies of Sara, but overall I enjoyed the story of Jean's awakening. I dug the insight into the struggles of Jean, who has CP, to communicate, and how it felt when her body didn't go along with the wishes of her mind.

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Dec 19, 2011 Adamh rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book "Accidents of Nature" is a good book. It is an easy read but it is a little bland at times. The book showed a different point of view then any I'm have heard before. The book changed my point of view on people that are called special or crippled. One thing I have learned when I was reading this book is that just because you try to bring change doesn’t mean you will be successful.

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Apr 06, 2012 Dawn rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 15, 2012 Amy marked it as to-read

*didn't finish*

"It's like we're two walking people, a pair of walking friends, strolling side by side. If I need help, Monty's here, but I'm not depending on him. I'm not depending on anyone. Well, except the horse, but to the horse I am master. That's what the big animal believes and by believing makes it so" (80).

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Nov 04, 2012 Krystl Louwagie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An interesting look into the life of a cerebral palsy girl who has been raised to think of herself as "normal" all her life (going to conventional public school, etc.), but then attends camp for other disabled teens and learns how others have dealt with their disabilities, and what's it's like to be surrounded by people who might be more like her, etc. A type of growing that usually happens in every teen and young adult life sometime. This book as got intelligent characters and dialogue.

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Apr 12, 2009 Jill rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

Adults who have worked with anyone with disabilities will enjoy this book and find truth in it. A must-read for those wishing not to dictate the revolution, but asking the disadvantaged what they want us to do to make the world better. I'm not saying that well, but luckily, this book does!

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Aug 27, 2012 Lucy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Speaking from a handicapped person's perspective, especially in a time fueled by such discrimination, is innovative and unique. Loved the style and plot! I just wasn't the biggest fan of the way it was written.

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Sep 18, 2012 Mckinlay rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: couldn-t-finish

i have a really low tolerance when it comes to books. if 26 pages in i've already found stuff to be fairly offensive and i have no desire to keep reading, i stop. that's exactly what happened with this book.

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Oct 26, 2011 Liz Ballif rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: engl-420

Meh. This book was okay, but in the end nothing had really been resolved. None of the characters had changed. I wanted to know what Sara was doing the things she was doing, but nothing was ever explained.

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About Harriet McBryde Johnson

Harriet McBryde Johnson (July 8, 1957 - June 4, 2008) was an American author, attorney, and disability rights activist. She was disabled due to a neuromuscular disease and used a motorized wheelchair.

Johnson, who was born in eastern North Carolina, lived most of her life in Charleston, South Carolina.

In 2002, Harriet Johnson debated Peter Singer, challenging his belief that parents ought to be abl...more

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