Tag Archives: Cancer

Review: Tell Me Something Real by Calla Devlin

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Historical, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

tell-me-something-realTell Me Something Real
Calla Devlin
Simon & Schuster / Atheneum

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Her mother’s cancer dominates Vanessa’s life. Alternative treatments in Mexico are the only hope for her mom, whose cancer is terminal. While Vanessa tries to anticipate her mother’s every need and keep her sisters (foul-mouthed Adrienne and saint-obsessed Marie) together, she also dreams of a day when she can pursue her own dreams. She pours out her grief in her music and counts the days until she’ll hear back from music schools about applications she’s secretly sent out.

Then two new members join Vanessa’s family group—a boy whose cancer is in remission and his overprotective mother. As Vanessa and Caleb begin to fall in love, a terrible betrayal rips her family apart. Vanessa and her sisters must sift the wreckage for the truth and discover how to heal.

I started reading this book feeling a little anxious about the whole betrayal aspect. It’s always a gamble, right? You don’t want the character you fall in love with to be the guy who suddenly turns out to be the villain. So it’s a risky thing to read a book where you know something like this will happen and it’s going to be REALLY BAD.

That said, I felt like Devlin handled the betrayal part with real care and power. I was shocked by what happened (I had a short list of things I imagined the betrayal might be, and it turned out to be none of the things on my list) and definitely identified with the girls as they scrambled to piece together their own feelings and care for one another. I liked all three of the sisters. Marie’s obsession with saints fascinated me, especially juxtaposed against her relationship with her mom.

I loved that there are honorable adults in the story. Not all of them are honorable, but as the girls endure this betrayal, it shakes their faith in who the good guys are and who they can trust, especially where adults are concerned. I liked that as I looked around at the cast of characters, there were respect-worthy role models there for the girls to fall back on. We all need that. We all need mentors who’ve gone before us who can encourage us to keep seeking the truth and moving forward. So that really resonated with me.

Just before this book I read One Paris Summer which also features a young talented pianist. It was interesting reading each character’s different reactions to the same composers (some I was familiar with and some I wasn’t) and why certain pieces were significant to them. Both girls found music to be a way to express their grief and strong feelings about the changes in their lives. They’re very different stories, but I felt like both did justice to the healing power of music.

This book is darker than One Paris Summer, but has some real thought-provoking ideas in it. See the content description below to decide whether this book is a good fit for you or your readers.

Cultural Elements

Vanessa and her sisters drive with their mother across the Mexican border to receive cancer treatment that’s illegal in the United States. A nurse named Lupe takes care of Vanessa’s mom, and a cook named Rico dotes on the girls. The major characters are white, middle-class Americans.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.

Romance/Sexual Content
Vanessa states that Adrienne and her boyfriend have been sleeping together for a year. Vanessa herself is a virgin, but when she begins seeing her first boyfriend, she feels this might change. She exchanges kisses with him, and at one point he reaches under her shirt/bra. At one point Adrienne makes posters sexually denigrating to her ex-boyfriend.

Spiritual Content
Marie idolizes saints listed in a book. She quotes them and collects cards with the saints pictured on them. She especially loves the young virgin girls murdered for their strong faith, like Joan of Arc. At one point the family decides a Catholic school may be the best place for Marie because she’ll receive some understanding for her love of saints while also having the structure she desperately needs to survive the tumult at home.

Violent Content
Mild violence. Adrienne has some angry outbursts. One of the girls remembers her mother slapping a nurse and becoming agitated when a doctor tries to draw blood for tests.

Drug Content
Vanessa’s mother receives alternative treatment in Mexico considered by US doctors to be harmful, even toxic. Caleb believes the treatment is harmful and wants to discontinue it, but at seventeen, he doesn’t have the right to refuse treatment his mom requires him to have.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: Zac and Mia by A J Betts

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

Zac and Mia
A J Betts
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group
Published July 24, 2013

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Trapped in the ICU at a hospital near Perth, Australia, Zac is desperate for any distraction. Anything that will get his mum to leave him alone for a little bit. Anything new to ponder. When the newest patient on the adult cancer ward turns out to be a surly but gorgeous girl, Zac attempts to reach out to her. Mia is all fire and fury, but Zac doesn’t give up. He remembers those early days of denial and anger. All he can do is tell her it’ll get better and hope he’s right.

The bond between the two seems dissolved when Zac is discharged, but still he can’t help thinking of her, hoping she made it through her recovery. Mia emerges in his life once more, still the angry, frightened girl. Zac’s desperate attempt to reach her changes his own life.

While a contemporary novel about two teens battling cancer probably sounds eerily similar to another popular story, Zac and Mia bears some surprises. Far from the supportive, team-oriented family one expects to surround a cancer-diagnosed protagonist, Mia’s single mom is as angry and resentful as she is. Zac’s own loving family comes with a few fabulous quirks, not least of which is the ownership of a popular olive farm and petting zoo.

I liked the off-beat nature of the narrative. Betts ignores stereotypes of kids-with-cancer stories and plows new ground. This is a story which delves deep into what it means to be a true friend to someone experiencing cancer treatment and the life-altering outcomes. It’s packed with warmth and heart, a great choice for readers who enjoyed The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E Smith.

Profanity and Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity, moderate frequency.

Sexual Content
References to sexual behavior, but no details.

Spiritual Content
Characters briefly discuss what happens after death. Zac is a pretty staunch atheist, but Mia believes there must be something more, that our souls continue after death, perhaps in heaven.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
Brief references to teen drinking – though since the story is set in Australia, it’s legal to drink alcohol at age 18.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: Canary by Rachele Alpine

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Canary
Rachele Alpine
Medallion Press
Published

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Sixteen year-old Kate still reels from the recent loss of her mother. Now she and her brother Brett communicate with their emotionally-absent father through a series of post-it notes. When Dad lands a new job as basketball coach at a ritzy private school, he opts to transfer both kids to the new school.

Kate, determined to adjust and desperate to reconnect with her father, begins attending basketball practices and cheering from the stands. That’s when she meets Jack, a gorgeous and popular star player and boyfriend of any girl’s dreams. But the thrill of being Jack’s girlfriend soon loses its shine when she discovers several unsavory habits of his. Jack pressures and Kate bends, pressing herself into the mold he expects her to be. Then with one drink, everything changes. Those who should protect her wound her instead, and Kate begins to unravel.

But beneath her tumultuous emotions and failing hope, Kate finds a steel resolve within herself. Instead of being destroyed by bullying, she finds her voice and dares to make herself heard, no matter the consequences.

Canary is a raw and beautiful story. At intervals, Kate’s often poetic and poignant blog posts appear, adding another layer of depth to an already fascinating story reminiscent of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak or Sarah Dessen’s Just Listen. Fans of Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher may also enjoy this novel and its bold attention to the devastating problem of bullying in schools and communities today.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
No F-bombs, but regular use of other swear words.

Sexual Content
Several references to sex and some jokes about aberrant sexual behavior. A girl discusses pressure to engage in sex with her boyfriend. She succumbs to his persistent requests. At a party, a boy drugs and attempts to rape a girl who is barely able to fight him off. The scene is pretty brief and without a heavy number of details. The instance sparks rumors, rude comments, and general mistreatment toward the victim.

Spiritual Content
Brief reference to heaven in the context of a funeral conversation.

Violence
During the assault, the boy shoves the girl, bruising her. Several boys bully another boy in the cafeteria. Students also harass the assault victim.

Drug Content
Several scenes features parties at which teens consume alcohol. A boy slips a drug into a girl’s drink, rendering her disoriented and helpless.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

The Fault in Our Stars
John Green
Dutton Books
Published January 10, 2012

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Sixteen-year-old Hazel has lived the roller coaster ride of a terminal cancer diagnosis for the last three years. Now, each breath comes with a price, and she cannot go anywhere without a small portable oxygen tank in tow. Meds prevent the tumors from growing, for now.

At a weekly support group, she listens to tales of other teens fiercely battling cancer. Listens but remains apart, until the unexpected entrance of Augustus Waters.

Augustus draws Hazel out of her self-imposed seclusion with his unflappable visionary nature. He is in many ways the opposite of the quiet, brooding Hazel, and her perfect foil. As the two begin to know each other, they swap favorite novels, and Augustus falls headfirst in love with Hazel’s pick, a novel about cancer called An Imperial Affliction. As the two discuss the book, its philosophical brilliance and painfully tantalizing unanswered questions, their bond deepens.

Terrified of causing the destructive grief that must result from falling in love with someone with a terminal diagnosis, Hazel pulls away from Augustus. He pursues her relentlessly, even spending his wish from a cancer organization to take Hazel to Amsterdam to meet the author of her favorite novel (seriously, what literary lover can resist this kind of wooing? Talk about big guns.)

Amsterdam is everything and nothing Hazel could have hoped for: her dreams dashed and come true at the same time. In response, she must decide how to live her life and what she believes about herself, others, and eternity in the face of faithlessness on the part of humanity and the universe.

John Green has proved his valor as a writer worthy of tackling the deep emotional and cosmic issues with earlier novels, but this novel may yet be his most incredible work. This novel tackles the big human questions about life, love, and loss, exploring at once what they mean and how one responds to them. All this and yet the story remains poignant and breathtaking and sometimes quite hilarious. And tragic. This is another one to read with tissues handy.

Also worthy of note: The Fault in Our Stars the movie will hit the big screen in 2014.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Infrequent but extreme.

Sexual Content
Main characters watch a young couple kiss and briefly fondle over clothing. One scene (without graphic detail) implies that the characters have sex.

Spiritual Content
As the characters face the reality of their diagnoses, they wonder about and discuss what happens after death. Hazel does not believe in God or heaven. Augustus believes in a more nebulous Something beyond.

Violence
While this isn’t violent content, it is only fair to mention that there are some heavy descriptions of different medical treatments and their side effects as well as the dying process. These are critical elements to the story, but some sensitive readers may find them too intense.

Drug Content
Augustus has an unusual habit of hanging a cigarette from his mouth which he never lights, but instead revels in the metaphoric significance of this action. Gus and Hazel sip champagne over a fancy dinner. Hazel and Augustus undergo various cancer treatments involving different types of medications.

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