Daniel lives in Athens, Georgia. He works as a social media manager for a regional airline, mainly dealing with irate football fans on game weekends. He has a loving mother who gives him his space and a best friend who comes over daily. He’s also in a wheelchair. Daniel has a good routine going, a routine that is interrupted when he realizes he might’ve witnessed a kidnapping. As the campus town he lives in is turned upside down searching for the missing girl, Daniel becomes entangled in an email correspondence that could lead to more questions than answers.
While I thought the plot progression was good, it wasn’t anything I was massively impressed by or sucked into. What I liked the most about the story was what I learned about SMA (spinal muscular atrophy) and how Daniel adapts to and lives with his condition. According to a Kirkus Review, Leitch took inspiration from his son’s friend who was diagnosed with SMA as a toddler. I found these were my favorite moments of the book, especially because it wasn’t specifically about SMA. It wasn’t about the disease or how resilient Daniel was to live his life in spite of it, but through the narrations of his life and the storyline I learned a lot about SMA and how those living with it are treated.
While I thought the book was fine and I enjoyed reading it, I thought the insight into life with SMA was really powerful, forcing me to acknowledge misconceptions and assumptions I didn’t realize I had. The ending seemed slightly unrealistic although not terrible, but I would recommend the book for the unique perspective it gives on a disease I had never heard of and how those living with it are not the victims they’re made out to be.
2% Rating: 6.5/10
Recommend? Possibly
Re-Read? No
Time: 1:45