Sometimes, I can be quite picky about which types of books I read. As a mom, I tend to shy away from stories about the deaths of children or kidnappings or childhood illnesses. As a single mom, I stay away from books about things like breast cancer or spontaneous brain aneurysms...things that can strike at any moment and leave my kids orphans. So imagine my surprise when I read two different stories, back-to-back no less, that tackle several of those subjects. The first book, Before I Die by Jenny Downham, is the story of Tessa, a 16 year old girl dying of leukemia. She decides that before she goes, there are just some things that a girl's gotta do...like sex and drugs and criminal behavior. I lived Jenny's life and looming death right along with her throughout this book. It was eerie, how Downham was able to put herself (when she's obviously alive and kicking) into the character of someone who isn't going to make it..Now, I'm sure you're thinking that this sounds like a real downer of a book, and don't get me wrong...it's difficult to get through, and not something that all of us are going to want to experience, but the writing is just so impressive, that I kind of felt like, "If Tessa is going through this, at least I can read about it." The relationships that Tessa has with her parents, and her brother and her best friend, not to mention her new love are incredibly realistic. If you've ever experienced the loss of someone due to a lengthy illness such as cancer, you'll identify completely. I have to say, that the end of this book caused me to literally break down. I don't often cry when reading books, but I was a hot mess after finishing this one.
Since I hadn't suffered enough devastation with Before I Die, I then picked up The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan. This is a memoir about a young mother (!) who is diagnosed with breast cancer(!!). Oy. She comes from a very close family full of love and laughter and amazing childhood memories. She goes on to marry the perfect man and live an upper class existence on the West Coast. She finds the lump, begins the treatment, and is dealt the news that her beloved dad (who I want to adopt as my own father) has bladder cancer. If you haven't started running from this book yet, then stay put. I began the first chapter and thought, "Please, I don't want to like this book. I want to walk away and read some Junie B. Jones, or Ann Coulter for some gut-rumbling chuckles (at Junie's cuteness and Coulter's idiocy.) But I couldn't do it. This book goes between time frames, jumping from chapter to chapter between her childhood and adult life. By the end...you want to be a Corrigan. You want to hang out with your own family...even that strange uncle that smells like eggs. As the saying goes, I laughed, I cried, I checked for lumps in the middle of Chapter 6.
I can now say that after getting through these two books, I am headed over to the Juvenile Fiction section of my library for a good princess book. They were heavy reads, but I feel as if I've gotten past something and will now be able to be more open-minded with the titles I choose. If I've opened myself up to more book possibilities, what can be wrong with that?!?
Since I hadn't suffered enough devastation with Before I Die, I then picked up The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan. This is a memoir about a young mother (!) who is diagnosed with breast cancer(!!). Oy. She comes from a very close family full of love and laughter and amazing childhood memories. She goes on to marry the perfect man and live an upper class existence on the West Coast. She finds the lump, begins the treatment, and is dealt the news that her beloved dad (who I want to adopt as my own father) has bladder cancer. If you haven't started running from this book yet, then stay put. I began the first chapter and thought, "Please, I don't want to like this book. I want to walk away and read some Junie B. Jones, or Ann Coulter for some gut-rumbling chuckles (at Junie's cuteness and Coulter's idiocy.) But I couldn't do it. This book goes between time frames, jumping from chapter to chapter between her childhood and adult life. By the end...you want to be a Corrigan. You want to hang out with your own family...even that strange uncle that smells like eggs. As the saying goes, I laughed, I cried, I checked for lumps in the middle of Chapter 6.
I can now say that after getting through these two books, I am headed over to the Juvenile Fiction section of my library for a good princess book. They were heavy reads, but I feel as if I've gotten past something and will now be able to be more open-minded with the titles I choose. If I've opened myself up to more book possibilities, what can be wrong with that?!?
