Book Descriptions
for A Story about Cancer with a Happy Ending by India Desjardins and Marianne Ferrer
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Author Desjardins once met a ten-year-old leukemia patient who was tired of stories about cancer in which the protagonist dies; the girl asked for one that included humor, romance, and a happy ending. Desjardin’s narrator is a white teenager diagnosed five years before. About to learn if she’s in remission, she reflects on her experience across her treatment. “I wanted everyone to treat me like a normal person. Not feel sorry for me, or tell me how strong I was, or that I could beat this disease.” Her friend Maxine did die, “and definitely not because she wasn’t strong enough or didn’t fight hard enough.” The narrative explores the impact of being sick on her and her parents, including moments that are funny and moments that reveal the deep emotional toll; her friendship with Maxine, whom she met in the hospital; and her relationship with Victor, a boy she met at a high school party. Victor once came with her to the hospital when she got sick at school. “We laugh about it now because he tells everybody (except my parents, of course) that the first time he ever saw my butt was through the crack of a hospital nightgown!” The voice, and the art, mostly somber-toned but with a lightness of form, are affecting, while the title makes clear the ending is never in doubt. (Age 12 and older)
CCBC Choices 2020. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2020. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
When visiting a hospital in Montreal, Quebec, a few years ago, best-selling author India Desjardins met a 10-year-old girl with leukemia. The girl told her she that she was fed up. All the stories about children like her who had cancer had sad endings, so she didn’t want to read them. She asked India to write a story about cancer with a happy ending instead, one with laughter and romance. India did, and the story became this book.
I think about everything I'll miss if they tell me I'm going to die…my mom, my dad, my sister, cookies, TV shows I'll never get to see the end of, walking outside when it's really nice, the smell of autumn, the starry sky on a full moon, my grandparents, my grandpa's lasagna, kissing Victor, Victor's eyes, Victor's voice, Victor's smell, Victor's hands…Victor.
A teenage girl heads towards the hospital waiting room where the doctors are going to tell her how much time she's got to live. As she walks, she thinks about her journey up to this point…the terrible decor in the hospital, wearing a headscarf, the horrible treatments, but also being with her friends, family, and her new boyfriend Victor.
While this story has a happy ending, the girl offers an honest account of what it feels like to be a teenager with cancer. Like how she just wants everyone to treat her like a normal person and stop telling her how strong she is—especially her mom. And how, even though everyone is telling her to stay positive, she sometimes loses hope and even wants to die to make the pain go away. Dreamlike illustrations elegantly convey the emotional complexities.
Like the girl in this story, the girl that India met at the hospital is now cured. She also fell in love during her illness. Today, around eight out of ten children who are diagnosed with cancer are cured. This story was written to give any child who has cancer hope.
I think about everything I'll miss if they tell me I'm going to die…my mom, my dad, my sister, cookies, TV shows I'll never get to see the end of, walking outside when it's really nice, the smell of autumn, the starry sky on a full moon, my grandparents, my grandpa's lasagna, kissing Victor, Victor's eyes, Victor's voice, Victor's smell, Victor's hands…Victor.
A teenage girl heads towards the hospital waiting room where the doctors are going to tell her how much time she's got to live. As she walks, she thinks about her journey up to this point…the terrible decor in the hospital, wearing a headscarf, the horrible treatments, but also being with her friends, family, and her new boyfriend Victor.
While this story has a happy ending, the girl offers an honest account of what it feels like to be a teenager with cancer. Like how she just wants everyone to treat her like a normal person and stop telling her how strong she is—especially her mom. And how, even though everyone is telling her to stay positive, she sometimes loses hope and even wants to die to make the pain go away. Dreamlike illustrations elegantly convey the emotional complexities.
Like the girl in this story, the girl that India met at the hospital is now cured. She also fell in love during her illness. Today, around eight out of ten children who are diagnosed with cancer are cured. This story was written to give any child who has cancer hope.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.