A Story About Cancer (with a Happy Ending)

Quebecois author Desjardins (Le Journal d’Aurélie Laflamme) opens her story about a 15-year-old leukemia patient waiting for a meeting with her doctor, who will tell her and her parents “how much time I have left to live.” In the five years since her diagnosis, the girl explains, the threat of death has hung over even ordinary adolescent conflicts. She grieves over the loss of her hospital comrade in arms, Maxine, and chafes against her mother’s vocal insistence that “I was strong... I was going to survive this struggle.” Ferrer uses surreal imagery in purples and greens to convey the girl’s experiences, as when grief renders her limbs limp. Funereal gray wash gives way to rust red during moments of warmth, especially when she falls in love with Victor, the unflappable boyfriend whose support sustains her. As the title promises, the news is good. The first-person narration lends an introspective sense of calm to the dark circumstances, and the sensitivity with which Desjardins imagines the girl’s emotions and familial relationships makes the journey personal. Ages 10–14.[em] (Feb.) [/em]