Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Andrews, Jesse    Me and Earl and the Dying Girl       

Amulet see Abrams, Harry      2012  295p  $16.95      978-1-4197-0176-4           hs          Realistic Fiction      

Greg has sailed through high school by being friendly with everyone, and friends with no one except Earl.  That paradigm is upset when his mother asks him to rekindle his friendship with Rachel, who is dying from leukemia.  With films like “Apocalypse Later (With Supersoakers)” and “The Manchurian Cat-idate (With Cats),” Greg and Earl have reached new heights (or depths) in filmmaking.  No one ever sees the films except Rachel.  Things get out of control when Rachel’s love of the films indirectly forces Greg into making a film for her, and becoming a school hero in the process.  The book is funny, a little raunchy, and filled with craziness, but it broaches a serious subject with style and humor. 

Told in conversations, notations, film scripts and storyboards, this novel has just the right touch to entice boys and reluctant readers.  Greg’s humor and the memorable characters, both flawed and quirky, will keep the reader engaged despite the seriousness of the subject. 

While there is nothing overtly sexual about the story, the frequent use of the “f-word,” references to “boobs” and mild sexual fantasies mean that the book is not appropriate for younger audiences.  This is Jesse Andrews' debut novel. 

VG-BN Pat Naismith      Friendship, Leukemia, Death, Filmmaking

 

Schwartz, Ellen. Cellular

Schwartz, Ellen. Cellular
Orca 2010 115p 9.95
978-1-55469-296-5 ms/hs Leukemia - Fiction VG-BN


Brendan is diagnosed with leukemia. In the hospital he meets Lark who is having a bone marrow transplant. She helps him come to grips with his illness. Powerful reading on a hi/lo level about teenagers faced with life-threatening illness. Gr 7+. Brendan, an athletic, good-looking high school student is diagnosed with leukemia. As he struggles to assimilate his diagnosis he goes through phases of anger and is basically a pain to be around. In the hospital he meets Lark, a teenage girl who is having a bone marrow transplant that is her last hope for surviving leukemia. Lark believes in living each day to the fullest regardless of the prognosis and shares her philosophy with Brendan. The two, being the only teens in the pediatric chemo wing of the hospital, form a bond of friendship and help each other through their treatment programs. Although slightly formulaic with Lark dying in the end and Brendan going into remission, this is a powerful look at teenagers with life-threatening illness. Their mental and emotional state as well as the physical effects of chemo and radiation are accurately portrayed. This book is the hi/lo equivalent of a McDaniels or Picoult themes. For grades 7-12. Realistic Fiction McNicol,Lois