Book Review: Flowers for Algernon

I vaguely remember reading this book in high school. I love the title of this book, and when I saw it in the library, I decided to re-read it.

I didn't remember much from my high school reading, only that it was a good book, and a tear-jerker. Not much has changed.

Algernon is a lab mouse who has undergone a surgical procedure that has dramatically increased his intelligence. He's much smarter than Charlie, a mentally disabled young man with an IQ of 68. Charlie will be the first human to undergo this procedure. The surgery is a success, as day by day Charlie becomes more intelligent. Soon his IQ is higher than anyone had thought possible...and soon he is the only one to understand that the surgery is flawed. Soon, Algernon begins to deteriorate, and Charlie is in a race against time to find a way to fix the flawed experiment.

This book is heartbreaking as we learn more of Charlie's history and his relationships with his family and friends. It also looks at ethical and moral issues in lab testing and how we treat the mentally disabled. Even Algernon tugs on the heartstrings.