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The Amazing Edie Eckhart is Amazing For Cerebral Palsy – Book Review

Editors’ Note: This wonderful review of The Amazing Edie Eckhart by Rosie Jones came from 13-year-old Susie, who has cerebral palsy (with help from her Mum). It may contain spoilers for some parts of the story. She was sent a free copy of the book for the purposes of this review. She has been paid the same as all of our contributors, and has promised to spend her entire fee on sweets.


I really like this book because it is relatable – having cerebral palsy as well. It is relatable because there are a few cerebral palsy-related occurrences that happen that I have experienced. One thing that I remember is when Edie calls it ‘Terrible Palsy’ which I have called it before. I feel like Edie is very moving because she doesn’t hold back because of her cerebral palsy.    

The character of Edie is very inspirational because she joined a theatre club, got a lead role, and then did something as ambitious as to change the lead character’s gender. Mr. Murphy is a character that I think is good for Edie because he motivates her a lot when the performance of a Christmas Carol is nearing. 

Mr. Murphy motivates Edie by saying that her performance is not as good as it could be, and as an actress Edie practices until she is the best she can be. I think that it was a good idea because after that conversation Edie works extremely hard practicing her performance to prove Mr. Murphy wrong about her performance skills.

 I didn’t really like Oscar throughout the book because as soon as Edie branches out and finds an interest for her that doesn’t involve him, he becomes quite unsupportive. I think this is quite mean because Edie supports Oscar with his football training and matches. 

However, I ended up really liking Oscar after reading the whole book because he becomes very supportive when he realises how much Edie enjoys the theatre club. I also really like how patient and kind he is when Edie trips over by carrying a mini first aid kit.

 I really like the character of Flora because she is not afraid of being who she is around other people. She is also not scared to stand for what she believes in. I like how she influences Edie to try new things even if it is reading a DC comic instead of a Marvel comic. I found the debate on fictional heroes funny because it would be a normal thing to do with your friends (to have silly debates over nothing). 

I think it is cool how Edie changes Scrooge to be a woman because I think it helps her get into the character much more than she ever could If she played Scrooge as a man. When Edie falls out with Oscar, I believe this is where she gathers her independence that she has during the ending of the book. During the argument with Oscar is when I think Edie gains a lot more ambitious behaviour which leads to the change in gender of Scrooge.

The fact that it is created as diary entries is cool because it has a personal touch. It gives you an idea of how Edie is feeling throughout the book which is especially good at some of the more tense moments in the story. The fact that it is written from Edie’s point of view is interesting because you can read how she felt in different scenarios and you can think whether other characters like Flora or Oscar would have felt acted in a different manner.

The fact that Edie has made friends in the theatre club, like Tom and Poppy, is good because over time she can reach out and be known by their friends. This could help Edie because if Oscar and her stop talking in the future then she has at least three other people (including Flora) that she can go to if she is stuck and needs help with anything.

In case of emergency, at the beginning of the book, Edie only had her family and her best friend Oscar. However now Edie has multiple different people.

She also is supported by Mrs. Adler. I think Mrs. Adler is a good role model for Edie because she feels that she can trust Edie enough to share things about her life which makes Edie comfortable enough to confide in Mrs. Adler at a time of need for Edie when she didn’t really have anyone to talk to. 

I admire this book because it is the first book or film that I have seen that includes a character that has cerebral palsy.


Image: @JosieRones on Instagram


The Amazing Edie Eckhart by Rosie Jones is available from wherever you buy your books or from Amazon here (affiliate link), and makes a great Christmas gift for the young person or not-so-young person in your life. It is available in Print, Ebook and Audiobook formats.


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