TITLE: Zac and MiaAUTHOR: A.J. Betts
RELEASE DATE: May 2016
PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
PAGES: 292 pages
GENRE: Realistic Fiction
OVERALL RATING: 4/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 8-12
SUMMARY: Zac has leukemia, after a bone marrow transplant, he is counting down the days he has to spend in the hospital til his immune system is back up so he can return to a normal life on his olive farm in Australia. Mia has osteosarcoma and isn't accepting her cancer as easily as Zac. Mia is angry; she screams at her mom, pushes her boyfriend away, and plays loud music in the hospital room next door. When Zac tries befriending Mia and showing her that her chances of survival are high, they embark on an adventure that ends up changing both their lives forever.
FAVORITE QUOTE: "When I was little I believed in Jesus and Santa, spontaneous combustion, and the Loch Ness monster. Now I believe in science, statistics, and antibiotics." (Betts, )
WHAT I LIKED: This book showed two different reactions to living with cancer. Zac understands cancer is a part of his life and has learned to deal with all of the shortcomings. Mia will not accept the fact that she has cancer, even hides it from all of her friends. Overall, this is a great way to show there are always two ways to handle a situation: deal with it or hide from it. Only one of those reactions is going to make the situation better.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Reading a book about two kids with cancer, you know the ending is not going to be "happily ever after". So other than the fact that ::spoiler alert:: someone dies, the book was a really great read. But doesn't every one hate when reading a book and investing time into a character only to see them not survive till the last page?
WHAT I LIKED: This book showed two different reactions to living with cancer. Zac understands cancer is a part of his life and has learned to deal with all of the shortcomings. Mia will not accept the fact that she has cancer, even hides it from all of her friends. Overall, this is a great way to show there are always two ways to handle a situation: deal with it or hide from it. Only one of those reactions is going to make the situation better.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Reading a book about two kids with cancer, you know the ending is not going to be "happily ever after". So other than the fact that ::spoiler alert:: someone dies, the book was a really great read. But doesn't every one hate when reading a book and investing time into a character only to see them not survive till the last page?
READALIKES: The Fault In Our Stars by John Greene
BOOK TRAILER:
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