Ellen’s Case
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Published by: Atheneum
Release Date: October 1, 1995
Pages: 208
ISBN13: 978-0689319341
Synopsis
Ellen Gray’s younger brother, Barry, has cerebral palsy. But how did he get that way? Did it just happen… or was it the doctor’s fault? There is only one way to decide: a malpractice trial. At first, Ellen wants nothing to do with it. Then she meets Jack Frazier, her mother’s lawyer, and she is riveted. The trial quickly becomes the most important thing in her life—and not only because it is going to decide Barry’s future. Ellen’s life is in the balance, too.
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Book for the Teen Age Young Adult Services of The New York Public Library
“Few if any novels for young people revolve around court cases, and none have the zest and impact of Lois Metzger’s captivating tale. Ms. Metzger proved herself to be a master of the young-adult novel with her first book, the sensitive and intelligent Barry’s Sister… Ellen’s Case, equally insightful and resoundingly well written, continues the involving and illuminating tale of the Gray family as it goes public with a very private concern… enriching our perception of the marvels of human nature.”
— The New York Times Sunday Book Review
“Metzger once again demonstrates exceptional skill at building and then peeling back the intricate layers of her characters.”
— School Library Journal
“The trial is the core of the story, and it is riveting: the confrontation between prosecutor and defense, the public faces of judge and jurors, the strain of testifying, the medical information, the surprise, the tension. It makes you wonder why there aren’t more YA books about the human drama of the courtroom.”
— Booklist
“The courtroom drama, a genre not usually found in children’s books, is quite absorbing; Metzger is good at weaving tasty and intriguing bits of courtroom strategy and gossip into the story, and the adversarial nature of such a proceeding makes it naturally suspenseful.”
— The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Long a staple of adult media, the courtroom drama is equally gripping in this fascinating novel for young adults, a sequel to Barry’s Sister… Readers will be breathless with suspense by the time they reach the ending.”
— Notes from the Windowsill
“A fine and detailed story of a girl’s first crush on an older man and her involvement in her handicapped brother’s court case. For the first time Ellen begins to understand that the case is not so much about her brother’s future as her own.”
— The Midwest Book Review