Jamie's Review Of Send Me A Sign by Tiffany Schmidt

Book/Author: Send Me A Sign By Tiffany Schmidt
Publisher/Year: Bloomsbury 2012
How I Received It: Was provided by the publisher for review via NetGalley

Summary:

Mia is always looking for signs. A sign that she should get serious with her soccer-captain boyfriend. A sign that she’ll get the grades to make it into an Ivy-league school. One sign she didn’t expect to look for was: “Will I survive cancer?” It’s a question her friends would never understand, prompting Mia to keep her illness a secret. The only one who knows is her lifelong best friend, Gyver, who is poised to be so much more. Mia is determined to survive, but when you have so much going your way, there is so much more to lose. From debut author Tiffany Schmidt comes a heart-wrenching and ultimately uplifting story of one girl’s search for signs of life in the face of death..

Just reading the description alone I felt this was going to be an emotionally tough book I'd have to brace myself for. A girl finds out she has cancer? Devastating! Trying to bottle up that secret and keep it to yourself? So incredibly sad and a possible ticking time bomb waiting to explode! I was prepared. Tissues and all! I will say that I didn't need the tissues and I'll tell you why below!

I truly enjoyed this novel despite some times I just was exasperated by it! I didn't mean to lay in bed all day and read it but it just happened. Whatcha going to do? Laundry & dishes be damned! I just was so absorbed in this story, frustrations and all, -- her journey with accepting her situation, when she was going to tell her friends, how her friends were going to take it if she told them, the whole situation with her & Gyver and ultimately what was going to happen with her life after this diagnosis. It was all written in a way that you found yourself just flipping page after page because you just need to know what happens!

I LOVED Gyver. So much. Talk about a swoonworthy guy! I rooted for Mia and Gyver so hard. It just made me do all sorts of hands to my chest swoony sighs and "Awwws."

I do think, and have chatted about it with others who have read this, that I wished that mayyybe Mia didn't rely on Gyver SO much. I mean, I get their relationship, but this is where I just wanted to jump in the book and talk to Mia about some things. About how she really needs her girl friends. And how she's going through a hard time and relying on ONE single boy could be disastrous. I kind of wanted Mia to stop focusing on the boys so much (though I know it made her feel so normal) and fight for herself and find some strength within. But at the same time, as soon as I put myself in her shoes and how it must feel to go through this -- I tried to cut her some slack. I remember how my mom hated telling people about her cancer because everyone starts treating you differently in their own various ways. Some want to smother you, some don't know what to say and they just act awkward, etc. But not going to lie, it was hard to stomach how she dealt with it.

I'm going to WARN you that you are going to battle with Mia in your mind because sometimes she is just so DARN SELFISH and made her life so much more complicated! You are going to want to yell at her. I did. She's not really that sympathetic. Which I thought that was kind of interesting because you feel so torn because you are supposed to feel bad for her in a way. That little debate in my head was kind of interesting because I know how much my mom just wanted to not be treated all fragile like BECAUSE she had cancer. So the fact I was making excuses for her just made me have a very interesting dialogue in my head.

Send Me A Sign was one of those books that pulled and tugged at your heart but not in the punch-you-in-the-gut-way that some "cancer books" might. It seemed a bit more subtle perhaps because of the way Mia was dealing it and how she seemed more focused on the boys in her life. It seemed almost at a distance in some places because of her approach to dealing with it. But then came those moments where your heart just radiated from the hurt and the heaviness. Just in the right places.

Tahleen reviews: "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" by Jesse Andrews

Title: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Author: Jesse Andrews
Publisher: Amulet, 2012


Rating: 3.5 stars

Greg Gaines has managed to perfect the near impossibility of being voluntarily invisible in high school, being generally friendly with everyone and never overly friendly with anyone. Except Earl, which is a different story since Earl generally wants to windmill kick everyone in the head and swear a lot, and except for Rachel, who gets leukemia in their senior year of high school. Greg's mom, who likes to insert herself into Greg's life in as many ways as she possibly can, decides Greg needs to be friends with Rachel, since when they were like 12 he sort of accidentally dated her when they were in Hebrew school.

Basically, this is the story of Greg's senior year, told by him, and how Rachel got mixed up in it, and how his life got completely screwed up as a result.

I'll warn you straight up: this book is full of curse words and disgusting language. Earl has the dirtiest mouth, and Greg's isn't pure as snow either. But that said, I started to enjoy it after a while. At first I was kind of turned off by it, but it has this rhythm, and plus it's just hilarious. I mean, I started thinking in Earl-speak toward the end, which is awesome and just ridiculous if you know me.

The situations in this book might seem like they're going to be heartfelt and eye-opening for our main character, but as he'll tell you at least once a chapter, this book is anything but sentimental. Greg wants nothing to do with this from the start—he hasn't talked to Rachel in years, and it ended on really awkward terms back then anyway. He really has no idea how to act around other people that aren't Earl except to try to make them laugh, and though he succeeds sometimes, a lot of the time he'll put his foot in his mouth and just say completely idiotic things that blow up in his face.

And honestly, it was kind of nice. This is not a coming-of-age story. Greg does not really grow up here. He realizes stuff about himself, but he's still kind of a jerk throughout most of it.

Earl is pretty awesome, but no miracles happen to him either. Earl is a tough kid who'll beat you down if he feels like you deserve it, but he's got a good heart and knows the right thing to do, and won't be afraid to do it. He'll cuss like a sailor all the while, but whatever. People aren't perfect.

This is a bizarre little book, but I liked it. Even though Greg doesn't seem to think he learned much from the experience, if anything he learned how to avoid these situations in the future, it doesn't really matter. We see what unfolds, and that's what counts.

And did I mention this book is mainly funny? How often do you find a book about a dying girl that's so full of humor, and gross humor at that. Like, you don't even want me to tell you. I don't even want to tell you. Just... just go read it. If you're curious.

Disclosure: I got this e-book from NetGalley.

Tahleen reviews: "Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick

Title: Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie

Author: Jordan Sonnenblick

Publisher: Scholastic, 2004

Rating: ★★★★

Steven Alper's life is fairly typical of your average 8th-grader. He plays drums (and he's really great, not to mention dedicated), he gets decent grades, and he's annoyed by his (totally adorable) 5-year-old brother Jeffrey. But Steven's life, and those of his family, are thrown into a whirlwind of hospitals, medications and constant anxiety when Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia. Not only does Steven have to process the fact that his younger brother may not live to see middle school, he has to deal with a father who can no longer communicate, a mother who must quit her job to care for her younger son, and Jeffrey's own fears and uncertainty of what will happen to him. And he still has to worry about grades and stuff. That's a lot for a 13-year-old to deal with.

It's not easy to write a funny book about cancer, but Sonnenblick did. Let me just clarify: the cancer is not funny, but humor is still a part of the writing and is present in the characters' lives, despite the grim issues Steven has to deal with. Steven has a keen sense of humor, and I often found myself smiling while reading certain passages. His voice is also perfect, and I love that he's so intense about his drumming, and so fiercely protective of Jeffrey (even if he doesn't realize it).

The way Steven's parents deal with the news and Jeffrey's treatment are wildly different. While his mother drops everything, including her job as an English teacher, to take care of Jeffrey and learn everything she can about his disease and the treatment, his father shuts down emotionally and immerses himself in his accounting work. The Alper's financial situation is dire because of Jeffrey's leukemia, and Steven becomes very aware of this.

Sonnenblick never forgets his main character is in middle school and is just trying to get by without looking like an idiot (he's not always successful). His grades start to slip, and his image is still super important to him (keep an eye out for the school dance scene). 

And the "girls" part in the title? Those girls are Renee, gorgeous neighbor and girl of his dreams; and Annette, friend and fellow musician (basically she's a piano genius). I loved watching Steven's relationship with both girls grow and change over the course of the year—not only do we learn a lot about each girl and their little complexities, we learn a lot about Steven by how he reacts to each one. Also, he can be super clueless when it comes to girls, but hey, I guess that's understandable. He's only 13, after all.

Alternately funny and heartbreaking, this is a great read. There aren't many books that tell the story of the sibling of a cancer patient, and I'm very glad to know this one exists. Humor is so important to have in the face of tough times, and this book serves as a good reminder of that, especially for teens who don't know what to do when faced with such horrible, life-changing things.

Disclosure: I bought this book from my local bookstore.