Author: D. Nicole King
Source: Contest Win
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Release Date: April 8, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn
Dear Diary,
Leukemia’s been my life since I was eleven. Now, six years later, I want my life back. Only I’m not sure what that is.
The test results came back today. 22,000. Which means I’m officially out of remission—again.
I have three options:
1. Another round of chemo.
2. A super-new experimental drug.
3. Dump it all— forget the meds and treatments and enjoy the time I have left.
I think I know what I want.
Then, in walks Damian, changing everything.
I mean, everything.
He’s got his own set of issues. It binds us together, you know? We understand what it’s like to lose what matters most in seconds.
Still, the last thing I need is to have someone else to crush if I can’t fight hard enough. And the last thing he needs is someone else to grieve.
Never mind. I’m down to two options now.
Somehow I know that whichever one I choose, the result will be the same. With the sand in my hourglass seeping to the bottom, I hope there’s enough left to show Damian that life’s worth living. Worth fighting for.
Worth dying for.
Love Always,
Kate
Ger ready for an emotional ride with this one. I started tearing up about half way through and by the end I had tears running down my face and could hardly read the pages through them. It's hard to talk about this one - it's going to hit everyone a little differently and some more personally than others.
Kate has leukemia - she's come out of remission again for the second time so she gets geared up to do her third round of chemo treatments. I had always heard that these really sucked, but watching how they destroyed her system was really an eye opener. Somehow she manages to remain mostly positive (more that I would be able to in her situation) and keep fighting. Part of her motivation is Damian. At first she thinks she needs him, but then she realizes how much he needs her. Now she has to live and keep fighting - or it will destroy him completely.
There is a very sweet love story mixed in here, but I shy away from calling it a romance. It's far more than that. To say Damian is struggling is a massive understatement. And some of the things he puts Kate through and does to himself are awful - it will offend some, but what I saw was a hurt young man trying anything and everything to find a way to make it go away.
Kate and Damian have a very special bond by the halfway point of the book. A bond that you don't want to see broken by anything. This is when I started tearing up - things take a turn - for the worse, and Kate is forced to make a very tough decision. I won't tell you more or I would completely ruin everything. The best part of this book is its capability to really make you feel.
So sit back, get some comfort food and a box of tissues. You'll need them for this ride, and it will be one you never forget.
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