Children’s books are a great read (yes, even for adults), they often have plenty of meaning in them, regularly blending real‑life challenges with everyday adventures and have a way of connecting with young readers. The Double Life of a Wheelchair User by Rob Keeley is a perfect example. This engaging middle‑grade reader follows Will’s story. Will is a bright and determined wheelchair user whose life takes an unexpected turn when he finds himself attending two very different schools at the same time. What begins as a simple timetable change quickly becomes a year full of new friendships, surprising opportunities and the kind of growing‑up moments that shape who he is.
The Double Life of a Wheelchair User, written by Rob Keeley, is a collection of twelve stories that are loosely linked and follow the life of Will, a wheelchair user, who regularly attends a school for students with disabilities before transitioning to a larger mainstream school. It is based on the childhood experiences of the author.
This story follows the life of primary school age wheelchair user Will. He attends a small school for children with disabilities and is very happy there. A talented writer, he has lots of friends there (and even a fiancée) but one day he gets called in to see the headteacher and it is the start of a new adventure for him. It has been decided that he needs to stretch himself and his current school can’t fulfil all his needs so is offered the chance to attend a larger mainstream school a couple of afternoons a week – he jumps at the chance. And for a whole year he attends both schools, making new friends, getting a second girlfriend, learning a lot more and lots more complications that come with both schools and new friends.
Overall, I have loved reading about Will and his school adventures, going from a small school with 78 pupils to a larger 400+ pupil school – we follow Will in things like the wheelchair dance, the bicycle reflector club, a Santa delivery and a school trip with unexpected results.
The story isn’t just a tale of a school student and the adventures he gets into. It is 12 interlinked stories that span a school year and Will growing as a person. It looks at his experiences of trying to deal with two schools, two lots of school friends and two girlfriends, ultimately have to make a big decision – what school to attend full time. Furthermore, it also touches on how some frustrations of wheelchair users such as the inconsiderate drivers who take up disabled spaces (when not required by them) as well as how some problems are overcome (like his Niagara Falls shower) – but what I liked about the story is that while it is centred around a wheelchair user and disability it doesn’t focus on this or force disability down the readers throat – it treats the children in the story as children rather than just disabled children. Written by an author who uses a wheelchair, it feels authentic, warm and wonderfully relatable, offering readers a thoughtful look at independence, confidence and the ups and downs of finding your place in the world.
For me, the varied characters are excellent. While most have disabilities, they are treated the same as characters in any other book and the disabilities are not made a big thing of – they are just children dealing with life just the same as non-disabled children, they just have a disability that they deal with.
The situations Will finds himself in, everything from dealing with school bullies and hospital stays, love and death, are emotional, fun, entertaining and a joy to read.
The Double Life of a Wheelchair User is not a story of disability and wheelchairs, it is a story of a boy with new, exciting and even emotional challenges he must face. It is also a story of independence, acceptance and friendships. Plus it also gently touches on the different challenges that children with disabilities need to overcome in their daily lives.
I thought The Double Life of a Wheelchair User was an excellent story. It was fun to read, had humour in the right places as well as looking at more emotional themes when a fellow pupil and friend passes away. It all feels very authentic which makes it a perfect page turner for middle-grade readers.
Highly recommended.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £11.99 (Paperback) / £3.99 (Kindle)
For more information, visit www.robkeeley.co.uk. Available to buy from Amazon here.
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