ANGIE AND ME

by Rebecca C. Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 12, 1982

Narrator Jenna, eleven, has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis; her roommate Angle, twelve (""but she didn't sound conceited about it""), has blood disease: here, as in Elizabeth-Ann Sachs' Just Like Me (p. 7, J-7), we are confronted with the plight of children hospitalized for the treatment of unusual, potentially disabling maladies. And again there is a mix of bucking against the system and bolstering each other. But otherwise this is a much more conventional story. One of the patients, Wendy, is an obnoxious show-off. One boy has to have a leg amputated; another has a disfiguring head operation. Heartstrings are being pulled here. And Angle, the wizened hospital veteran and solicitous ""busybody,"" will ultimately die. But Jenna's adaptation is well handled--from her initial resentment of her puffy, painful legs (and envy of little gymnast sister Yoyo) to her efforts with crutches and anticipation of a ""movie-star cane."" It doesn't approach Just Like Me, however, in sparkle or depth.

Pub Date: Oct. 12, 1982

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1982

Categories: FICTION