When a short bus carrying disabled school students pulls to a stop, the people on board are greeted by a gang of privileged kids who heckle them and aim to do worse. We learn the story through Richard, an injured student who is left in a coma by the gang. He tells the tale about how his friend Matt, a student with Downes Syndrome, comforts him and what happens in the surprise ending.
The title bothered me at first until I read the book. Then I understood why Staecker used that name. Those who you first think of as bright turn out to be overcome by the tards.
Without a doubt, TARD is one of the best books I’ve read in awhile. Staecker has a commanding knowledge of the disabled and shows them as able to think for themselves.
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