Friday Memes: Counting Thyme by Melanie Conklin

Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader and Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice.

Counting Thyme by Melanie Conklin. 300 p. G.p. Putnam's Sons, April, 2016. 9780399173301.

Publisher synopsis: Newbery-winning Rules meets Counting by 7s in this affecting story of a girl’s devotion to her brother and what it means to be home

When eleven-year-old Thyme Owens’ little brother, Val, is accepted into a new cancer drug trial, it’s just the second chance that he needs. But it also means the Owens family has to move to New York, thousands of miles away from Thyme’s best friend and everything she knows and loves. The island of Manhattan doesn’t exactly inspire new beginnings, but Thyme tries to embrace the change for what it is: temporary.

After Val’s treatment shows real promise and Mr. Owens accepts a full-time position in the city, Thyme has to face the frightening possibility that the move to New York is permanent. Thyme loves her brother, and knows the trial could save his life—she’d give anything for him to be well—but she still wants to go home, although the guilt of not wanting to stay is agonizing. She finds herself even more mixed up when her heart feels the tug of new friends, a first crush, and even a crotchety neighbor and his sweet whistling bird. All Thyme can do is count the minutes, the hours, and days, and hope time can bring both a miracle for Val and a way back home.

With equal parts heart and humor, Melanie Conklin’s debut is a courageous and charming story of love and family—and what it means to be counted.

First line: When someone tells you your little brother might die, you're quick to agree to anything.

Page 56: The main side effect of Val's new cancer drug was pain. I read that online, Mom and Dad didn't like to dwell on the "downside," as they called it. I wished they trusted me enough to tell me what was going on, but they didn't. I had to look up what was happening with Val on my own, although there wasn't as much information as you might expect. Not many kids got neuroblastoma. More people won the lottery.