In the Clear

Darleen R. Golke is a high-school teacher-librarian in Winnipeg,
Manitoba.

After succumbing to polio on her seventh birthday in 1954, Pauline Teal
endures a long and painful period in institutions, only to face, five
years later, an overly protective mother at home and heedless peers
calling her “Polio-Pauline.” Although “Paulie” shares her
father’s passion for hockey, she finds having a heavily braced left
leg devastating to her playing ambitions. But with the help and support
of her aunt, her father, and her “former best friend,” Henry, she
overcomes adversity and, in spite of her disability, succeeds in facing
life with courage and a determination to be as “normal” as possible.

Paulie narrates her experiences, alternating chapters describing her
present life at home (1959–61) with chapters detailing her past
experiences in medical institutions (1954–55). In her incarcerated
period, she faces not only the devastating “iron lung,” but also
senseless cruelty from caregivers and the cold impersonality of
institutional life. She describes the sudden onset of polio, the
indignities of spinal taps and tests, the confinement in the iron lung,
the gradual release from paralysis, and the long months of
physiotherapy. Confiding her feelings only to her fellow patients,
Paulie is labeled an “elective mute” by an unfeeling nurse.

As she sorts through her experiences, Paulie gradually comes to
understand and accept her limitations; after conquering her fears, she
is able to take her future into her own hands. The themes Carter
explores—coming of age, coping with parents and peers, overcoming
adversity and handicaps—will resonate with middle-school readers.
Recommended.