Four out of Five Magical Coffee Cups
A young boy, Henry, loses his hearing due to an illness, and his family is convinced that sending him to a home for the “unteachable” is their best option. His parents don’t really want to do this, but they want to do what is best for him, and many people they assume know more than them tell them it is the best choice. It was very frustrating to read how quickly the people in charge decided that this child was “unteachable.”
This book is also written in verse. It is a fast read.
Oh, this book was heartbreaking. I told many people about it, and many refused to read it, knowing it would be too much for them. They knew this book would either make them cry or make them angry. I get it; you need to make your own decisions. But read this post to the end if you want a bit of a spoiler.
Yes, it is a sad story, but it’s not horrible. Some other reviews say that the book could have gone much deeper than it did to show all that was happening in schools like these at the time. The story was told from Henry’s perspective, so it stayed at the surface level. Yes, he was sad, but he didn’t fully understand what was happening and couldn’t explain. Yes, he wanted to go home, but he was so young that he didn’t fully understand everything happening. I liked this innocence in the storytelling. The book is called “All He Knew,” so it really is all that he knew at the time.
This book reminded me of so many stories I have heard from others about a family member from a few generations back being mistreated because of a disorder/disability/illness/etc. I have listened to stories about family members not being allowed to be buried in a particular cemetery because the deceased had epilepsy. The family was told that a demon must have possessed the deceased, and that is what caused the epilepsy. What?
Somewhat of a spoiler…
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This book is not all doom and gloom. There is happiness in the end. I promise!
Literary Coffee 