Lizard by Dennis Covington

Covington, Dennis. Lizard. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books, 1991.

Lizard is a book about a boy who was born with a physical deformity of his face. He lives with a woman who decides he needs to go to the Leesville Louisiana State School for Retarded Boys even though he is not mentally disabled. He runs away with a traveling play and in the process learns about himself and what it means to have compassion for people and have people care about him.
This book started a little slow. The boy is relatable, however his home life is very complex and it is hard to understand the relationship he has with the woman he lives with. Once he goes to the State School, there is some great characters introduced but there is not much development of these characters. When Lizard escapes he is able to learn how to use his deformity to his advantage as well as learn that he must accept this deformity and understand it is part of his identity. I really like the the text is not rigid but flows and is just how I would imagine the characters to talk like.
This book is a good piece of diverse literature because it helps the reader become more aware of the troubles someone with a physical deformity would encounter during everyday life. The reason I would be hesitant to read it in a class is because there are some sexual references that are what a normal teenage boy learning about himself may encounter. This book creates a lot of complex relationships that are very believable and make it a real page turner.