Hey, Dummy

This book is one I read just once, but will always remember, both for its successes and seeming failures... In the beginning, the boy's teacher insists that he get to know the mentally retarded boy he has been mocking (along with everyone else in town, including the parents). You would think, therefore, that Kin Platt is making the statement with the book that we should try to overcome prejudicial fears of people who are different, but the ending of the book undermines this idea completely. Seemingly BECAUSE he befriended the mentally retarded boy, the protagonist loses his mind, giving readers the idea that the entire bigoted village was correct in shunning the boy, because apparently mental retardation is contagious! I'm sure Kin Platt meant to argue that infuriation at intolerance drove the protagonist mad, but in my youthful mind, the argument ended on a strange note of paranoiac warning: "beware, and avoid those who are different than yourself: what they are is contagious!"

I thought this book was interesting because it gives you all the things that you want to read about. You get mystery, suspence, action , and some parts that are funny. Then again it also is very odd at times. Overall I recomend this book to others.