Me Too

by Vera Cleaver

Hoping to expunge neighborhood prejudice and to do something everyone else has failed to do, a twelve-year-old desperately tries to teach her retarded twin.

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

After her first book, The Nurse's Dilemma (1966), most of her magazine articles and 16 novels for children were written with her husband, Bill.

Together, they produced more than a dozen novels for young adults. Their subject matter reveals a particular interest in mountain children who have both physical and mental problems. The Cleavers were three times nominated for the National Book Award, and their novels made multiple appearances on the American Library Associations list of "Notable Books." Settings often mirror the Cleavers' place of residence.

After Bill's death, Vera Cleaver wrote Sugar Blues (1984) and Sweetly Sings the Donkey (1985).

Reviews

[6thbreed · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a waste of time. I can't believe I read through this entire book on the hope that it might have some semblance of a happy ending. Do you want to hear the most depressing synopsis of your life?
Girl has autistic twin sister. Father leaves because of autistic sister(and because he's a horrible human being). Paper-thin character of a mother who's never around takes autistic sister out of autistic school leaving girl to take care of her. Girl has a plan to make autistic sister so smart that when the father *possibly* comes back, he won't be able to tell the difference. Girl has best friend leave her because his family doesn't want him hanging around with a girl with an autistic sister. Girl has a bunch of different neighbors and adults tell her subtly or not so subtly that they don't want her hanging around because of her autistic sister. Girl calls her sister names as she keeps trying to teach the autistic sister to no avail. As girl is teaching autistic twin, she realizes the autistic sister loves everyone but her father and the girl. Autistic sister gets hurt at the names and runs away into the forest and has somehow grasped that her father hated her. Girl follows autistic sister into forest when a gigantic sinkhole opens up, and she has to grab on to a tree. As girl is hanging there, she realizes her autistic sister will never be able to grasp the concept of self preservation or change for the better in any way. She just is the way she is. Through amazing turn of events, she is able to get out of sinkhole after scaring her sister away from the dangerous edge by calling her names. Book ends with girl being strangely calm about her circumstances and that her father is probably never going to return. Autistic sister goes back to school, and actually shows joy because she sees one of her friends that girl thought was imaginary. Girl feels twinge because she knows autistic sister will never love her, and that she's lost her as a possible friend. Girl writes down one of the random notes that she's been writing at odd moments throughout the book that are possibly supposed to have great symbolism and propel the plot forward?(But if they do then they are failing at it miserably.) "I said life was sesquipedalian. I was wrong. It is longer than a foot and a half. And it is more awkward than awkward. Everybody should have to rescue themselves from a swallow-hole. Then they would know this." The End.

What in the world did I just read?! What was even the meaning of that last line? What was the point of the whole book besides to give the reader a feeling of hopelessness and despair? I'd recommend to give this book a hard pass!!

Other Negative Content: Takes the Lord's name in vain occasionally. There was a character that claimed she could talk to the dead and visited random people's funerals. The main character just had super violent thoughts about people, like tying them up to train tracks, etc. There is an instance where a brother beats his older sister up. (Regardless of how rude she is being, a brother DOES NOT hit a sister unless she's genuinely physically hurting someone.) Really, terrible nonexistent parental figures. Some hinky thoughts about Christianity. Just terrible attitudes towards autistic people, and other people in general. And honestly, the main character herself wasn't even that nice.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young adult read I grabbed from the library. Easy read, made it through in a day. I enjoyed seeing headstrong Lydia begin to understand that she could never change Lornie. There’s actually--so much Lydia can’t change. She can’t bring her dad home and she can’t fix her sister. There’s a certain heartbreak to her realization that she has been pushing her sister away by trying to fix her, and Lornie does love people, but it’s clear she resents her sister for trying to change her.