Five Feet Apart by Rachel Lippincott. Unabridged downloadable e-audiobook. ~7 hours. Narrated by Joy Osmanski and Corey Brill. Simon & Schuster Audio, November, 2018. 9781534437357. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library. Own hc.)
Stella is a high school senior who has CF, cystic fibrosis. She has managed her disease like a champ, even going so far as to develop an app to schedule her many meds and has achieved some online fame as a YouTube vlogger. She's also on the transplant list.
Enter new patient and CF bad boy, Will, whose b-cepacia infection has knocked him off the transplant list. Now he's counting the days till his eighteenth birthday when he will cease all treatment and walk out of the hospital to live a little before dying.
We all know where that's heading, don't we? I purchased this book as requested by a student. I had no idea this was a screenplay turned into a book. Teens who love sick lit like, The Fault in Our Stars (which I did not), and are not overly concerned with medical inaccuracies* (which drive me bonkers) or the use of tired romantic tropes will love this book. To be fair, my teenaged self would've loved this. I'm sure the movie had its fans who failed to notice the medical goofs and plot holes thanks to photogenic actors, swelling music, a cool soundtrack and lots of close-ups.
*OMG! The medical inaccuracies! These three were the most egregious among many.
Girl with 27% lung function flying up four flights of stairs w/o O2? In what universe?
Girl with 27% lung function has infected g-tube and manages to keep it hidden from her doctor and nurses? Not a chance.
Girl with 27% lung function undergoes surgery with general anesthesia and survives? Okay probable, but is transferred totally loopy from recovery to her room in a WHEELCHAIR? Patients are never released from the recovery room in a wheel chair or as out of it as this character was.
Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick. 272 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc., October, 2004. 0439755190. (Own)
#tbt celebrates the fifteenth anniversary of Jordan Sonnenblick's debut novel, Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie. This first-person novel is a TMS favorite. Steven relates the story of his eighth grade year starting at graduation, then flashing back. When his younger brother, Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia, the entire family dynamic shifts. Everyone is rightfully worried about Jeffrey. Steven tries to keep this news hidden from his friends and teachers. He just wants to get through eighth grade and get better at drumming. But fear and financial worry as well as treatment setbacks for Jeffrey take a toll on everyone. At turns poignant and hilarious, readers who don't like sad books will fall in love. Readers who do, will find a new favorite. The voice is captivating from page one.
Most of Sonnenblick's books are favorites here at TMS. There is a companion novel called, After Ever After. BTW, if you are looking for a great author visit, Jordan's visits are outstanding. He really connects with students. Visit his website for details about his visits.
Counting Thyme by Melanie Conklin. 300 p. G.P. Putnam's Sons, April, 2016. 9780399173301. (Own)
I reviewed this as an arc here; but this is what went on the morning announcements today:
This one is a TMS favorite. If you like sad books, especially sad books with a side of funny, you should consider reading Counting Thyme by Melanie Conklin. Thyme Owens' little brother has cancer and her whole family's life has been turned upside down. She wants what's best for him; but can't help but be a little miffed about the family's move clear across the country so that Val can be part of a drug trial. She misses her grandmother and bff and doesn't want to make friends in New York City because she'll be back home soon.
Counting Thyme by Melanie Conklin. 300 p. G.P. Putnam's Sons, April, 2016. 9780399173301. (Review from arc received courtesy of publisher.)
If Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie (by Jordan Sonnenblick) were to have a younger sibling, it would be Counting Thyme. Debut author, Melanie Conklin has delivered a winner. Through Thyme, her sensitive and articulate eleven-year-old narrator, Conklin meticulously chronicles life in a family after the unthinkable - a cancer diagnosis.
Thyme Owens has had to move away from her beloved grandmother and bff in San Diego clear across the country to New York City because her brother, Val was accepted into a cancer treatment trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering. In a rather memorable first line she says, "When someone tells you your little brother might die, you're quick to agree to anything." While she is totally supportive of her brother and can sometimes soothe him when no one else can, she can't help feeling pangs of resentment. Her mother, in an effort to acknowledge all that Thyme has given up, regularly gives her slips of paper when Thyme pitches in to help, a sort of time iou, which Thyme saves in a jar. Unbeknownst to everyone but her bff, Shani, Thyme intends to amass enough time to return to San Diego to visit Shani.
New York City, with its scary subway system, dirty streets and bone-chilling cold does not appeal to Thyme. Neither does her nasty downstairs neighbor, Mr. Lipinsky. She doesn't want to like Mrs. Ravelli, the housekeeper her mother hired to help out. Nor does she want to make friends at her new school or get too involved in activities because she will be gone before the end of the school year. She needs to be back in San Diego in time to celebrate Shani and her birthdays in March.
Sure, some familiar ground is trodden here, but middle grade readers cannot get enough and the writing is lovely. The dialogue and friendship dramas are spot on. If you have readers who beg for sad, especially sad with a side of funny, this is one to give them. Counting Thyme has HEART. Don't miss this spectacular debut.
