I decided to read this book again, because as I was starting its sequel, The Tiger’s Child, I really felt like the first three chapters were taken straight from the first book. So much was vividly familiar, I thought- when is it going to get to the new narrative? how much is she going to retell? So I went back to the first one to see how repetitive it was, and realized right away that she had just marvelously summarized the first book, but it was done so well, with all the most important bits related, that I had thought it was entire. Anyhow, I was gripped again by the story from when Shelia was six years old. A very intelligent but also emotionally disturbed little girl, she was put in the author’s special education class as a temporary measure- the courts decreed sending her to a mental institution after she was caught harming a younger child (she set a three-year-old on fire). At first she didn’t speak and acted wildly out of control, but soon the teacher realized she was quite smart, and her actions deliberate (she knew just how to get perfect revenge on anybody). With a lot of patience and work, she was able to get through Sheila’s barriers, gain the child’s trust, and start to teach her. Sheila could already read and do math problems on her own, but where she lacked was emotional control. She’d been neglected and abused, had never known kindness from adults. The author provided as much as she could, all the while knowing that maybe she should keep more distance- but feeling that she had to help as much as possible. She delighted in watching Sheila unfold, learning new things, having new experiences, and as the end of school year approached, fought with the courts to keep Sheila out of the institution. Felt that this child could have a much brighter future if just given the chance.
This book isn’t long, but it is full of details that bring the classroom alive, the interactions of Sheila with the other children (all with mental or emotional problems), and with her teacher and the aides. Their discussions on difficult topics. Their battles over paperwork (Sheila refused to do it- violently). The delicate matter of trying to give Sheila some much-needed items (like clothing) without offending her father. And a lot from the adult’s perspective, how she tried different teaching and discipline methods when something didn’t work, for example. How much effort she made on this child’s behalf, admiring her tenacity. The other children in the class (there were eight) are rather flat characters, only a few of them stood out to me as individuals, this story is so focused on Sheila. It does make me curious to read more of the author’s works though- they’re all about troubled children.
