The Crazy Man

Twelve-year-old Emmaline and her mother are desperate for help with their farm and agree to take on Angus who has just been released from a hospital for patients with mental illness. At first they have the same fears and prejudice as people in town, but they come to learn that Angus is gentle and extremely knowledgeable. Thanks to him they have the best crop they’ve ever had. The most heroic point in the story is when one of the locals, Harry Record, leaves Angus far from town during a snowstorm with the expectation he will die. But as Angus struggles… show more.

I couldn’t put this book down—not just because of the beautiful free verse in which it’s written but also because of the gripping story. After Emaline suffers a serious injury in a farming accident, her father, feeling responsible, abandons her and her mother. That’s bad enough. But when Emaline’s mother hires a patient from the local mental hospital to help on the farm, their neighbours treat him with prejudice and suspicion. Emaline’s courage and compassion filled me with hope, showing what one person can do to fight stereotypes and hatred—responses our world can surely use more of these days.