Let Him Live

One Last Wish #6

by Lurlene McDaniel

YOU DON'T KNOW ME, BUT I KNOW ABOUT YOU ... I CAN'T MAKE YOU LIVE LONGER, I CAN'T STOP YOU FROM HURTING. BUT I CAN GIVE YOU ONE WISH, AS SOMEONE DID FOR ME.

Being a candy striper isn't Megan Charnell's idea of an exciting summer, but she's volunteered and can't get out of it. Megan's got her own problems to deal with, but when she meets Donovan Jacoby, she finds herself getting involved in his life.

Donovan shares with Megan his secret that an anonymous benefactor has granted him one last wish and that he needs Megan's help. The money can't buy a compatible transplant, but it can allow Donovan to give his mother and little brother something he feels he owes them. Can Megan help make his dream come true?

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Contemporary, Childrens

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Lurlene McDaniel (born c. 1948) is an author who has written over 50 young adult books. She is well known for writing about characters struggling with chronic and terminal illnesses, such as cancer, diabetes, and organ failure.


Other places to find her are...
https://www.facebook.com/lurlenemcdan...
http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/aut...
http://www.youtube.com/user/LurleneMc

Reviews

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Actual Rating: 3.8

This might have been my favorite of the series so far. It wasn't as obvious what the end result would be though towards the end I did kind of have a feeling.

I liked Meg and Donovan. They were both so determined to make other people happy. They accomplished a lot in a short period of time and I felt they were a bit more mature than the characters from the last books. Sure there was a sense of insta-love in this book but I could see how that would happen when someone is so close to dying.

I loved that Meg was able to get the Wayferer Inn project off the ground. That would be such a blessing to so many families in the future. Donovan's spirit could live on forever through that home and the one he bought for his mom that was later turned into "Wayferer One"

[Sierra LeRoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Megan Charnell is a teenage girl who has just lost her best friend, Cindy, who died in a car crash. Her parents get very worried about her. During the summer, her father volunteers her to be a candy striper, and she reluctantly follows through with the plan. She unexpectedly finds a new friend named Donovan Jacoby at the hospital.

I liked how Donovan thought of his mother and little brother almost all the time he was in the hospital and how he used his anonymous gift for his family and not himself. He was very grateful and I liked that. Also, as Donovan and Megan got closer you could see the change in both of them. I love the books where two people meet and they change each other for the better. In this case, he changed her more than she changed him.

This book reminds me of the real world and how people are actually dealing with the problems Donovan is dealing with. There are so many people who are perfectly healthy, and yet there are so many people who are all kinds of sick. I can only hope that one healthy person will meet one who is sick and change each other for the better like Donovan and Megan. There are so many ways for a situation like theirs to end. I think this book can relate to the real world because you never know what will happen, which can also be said for a lot of other books.

Overall, I think this book was okay. I just don't think it was my kind of book. It didn't really interest me, but I liked the relationship between the characters. I don't think it's a book worth reading if you're into a lot of action. If you like simple, little romance novels then I would recommend this to you. I wouldn't recommend the book to any of my friends.

[Mary Bronson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I thought that the plot was great and also the characters. I loved the character Meg. She is such a strong character and her love for Donovan is pure.

[Chanelle S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Megan becomes a hospital volunteer to please her father after Megan’s best friend, Cindy, dies in a car accident. Megan’s been so sad about it that her father thinks volunteering will help her feel better.

Megan’s NOT thrilled about the whole idea. How depressing!

Then she meets Donovan, a 17 year old in the Children’s wing of the hospital, who desperately needs a liver transplant. He’s thin and bent over with the pain. But he’s very cute, too, and really enjoys Megan’s company.

After a few visits, Megan is looking for reasons to keep coming back. She really likes him, too. She finds ways to cheer him up and make his days special, even though he’s stuck in the hospital, and they get closer and closer. As Donovan’s condition worsens, though, the need for a replacement liver becomes more and more urgent.

Can the doctors find a replacement soon enough? If not, Donovan may die.

(REVIEW: This series is a tear-jerker, but there are no controversial issues which would stop a middle schooler from reading it. Basically this is a romance series for 6th-8th graders. Melodrama! Kids who like sad stories and can get past the cheesy cover end up liking this series. This one might get kids thinking about organ donation. A young person dies who would have a liver to donate, but the family refuses to donate it. Megan is furious about it, but her father lets her know that it is the family’s right to refuse to make the gift. It’s a decent book with a bad cover. It’s part of a series called “One Last Wish,” and in each book, a terminally ill person receives a check from the One Last Wish foundation via an anonymous benefactor.)

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was one of my favorites of the series! I think I read this one as a kid but I honestly didn't remember anything other than the cover and that Meg's dad was a doctor.
Meg lost her best friend to a tragic car accident and her therapist and dad think having Meg volunteer as a candy striper at the hospital will help her. She meets Donovan, a 16 year old in need of a liver transplant. His family uprooted to DC from out west to be close to the best transplant hospital but they're poor and in need. Donovan uses his Wish money to buy a house...which his mom converts to a house for other needy families. Meg is a get up and go type and starts a fundraiser to get this house off the ground after seeing the Jacoby's struggles.

It was interesting to see the story told from the healthy teen where the other books followed the narrative from the sick teen's perspective. I liked Meg and Donovan; I was rooting for them and devastated by their struggles. I thought it was inspiring to see two teens want to change the world and stand behind a cause. A refreshing change in this series. I think Meg is one of the teens that comes back in the finale book...if I'm remembering correctly...so I look forward to seeing her again!

[Emma Graves · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was very sad and the ending made me upset but the story itself was very good.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up reading Lurlene McDaniel's books but I somehow skipped over the One Last Wish books. This story was short and sweet.

[Lady Dra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful

I don't know if I have anything bad to say about the book or author, I do know that the author has really capture my love for reading again

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was about Megan was volunteering in a hospital because of her dad and to kill the pain over the death of her best friend. When she was working on the pediatric floor, she met a teenage boy named Donovan, who is in desperate need of a liver transplant and Megan had helped him and accompanied during the time when she was working in the hospital.
I like this book because it is very inspiring and I feel like I can relate to the character in some way but not really. I understand how people feel when they are sick and I think what Megan is doing is very inspiration and meaningful, helping people or get people sick in accompany so they don't feel isolated from the world. I hope I will have the same opportunity that Megan had to do something meaningful in my life.

[Aurora Salazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book it is about about a boy named Donovan Jacoby and he needs a liver transplant.One day in the hospital he meets a girl names Megan Charnell they become friends and Megan visits him all the time. Then one day he gets a letter that is granting him one last wish. At first he does not know what to spend it on, but with the help of Megan they buy a house and it is used for people who have loved ones in the hospital but that live far away so they can stay at the house for a cheap stay. After a while Donovan does not get his liver transplant he needed and dies. This book has touched me and I wanted to be part of the One Last Wish foundation but found out that the book was realistic-fiction.

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Donovan is a patient in the hospital who is waiting on a new liver. When Megan volunteers there and she starts having a strong bond with him she cant help but give him special attention. One day after spending a day outside, when Donovan comes back he finds a note from someone with the initials JWC and a check for one hundred thousand dollars. Donovan puts the money towards a good use which really impresses Megan, who learns how important it is to give and give the gift of kindness and understanding. The book was very in depth with the issue of organ donation. There were moments of Joy and sadness but the story keeps you attached until the unforgettable end. The book also makes you think about becoming an organ donor if you are not already one.

[Mikaela R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the many books by Lurlene McDaniel that I liked. This book is about a girl name Meg who becomes a candy striper at the hospital to get her mind off the death of her friend. Her dad recommended it to her. She then meets a boy named Donovan, who really needs a liver transplant. Donovan and Meg become good friends and Meg starts to fall in love with him. He really wants to have a house for his mom before he dies. Donovan and Meg find the perfect house. But he ends up dying shortly after.

[Ashley W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one more than some others in this series. I think that's in large part to Megan and Donovan actually doing something. They could have bemoaned his illness or spent the rest of his time just enjoying what life he had left. Nothing wrong with that. It's what a lot of her characters do. But instead they decide to do something huge and help other families the way he wished he could have helped his mother. Also, I think his mother was more attentive than some other parents in this series are and that made me feel closer to the characters.

[Paige W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about 3 people Donovan,Meg,and Alana. Meg met Donovan and Alana at the hospital while she was volunteering at the hospital. Donovan is a patient and needs a liver transplant if he doesn't get one he will die. One day Donovan gets this leter in the mail that has $100000 in it. Donovan wants to use the money to buy a house for his mom and brother so they can live closer to the hospital.

[Celeste Salazar]

I think this was an amazing book. To know she can look past his sickness and still love him takes a lot . Especially because they are only teenagers. He's also very brave. He knows money can't help his sickness, so he'd rather spend the money on his mother and little brother who he knows could use it.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though these books are all sad and deal with sickness, Lurlene knows how to spin the sadness into greatness and have something great come out of every story. So while sad books, these books leave you with inspiration.

[Erin Coffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried in this book. Which isn't hard if the book is written well. And I have to give her props, this book was written well. There was nothing to hate at all which is hard to find in books now days it seems.

So this book is pretty great! It's a must read!

[Denise Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as a teen and it is the reason I am and will always be an organ donor. I still talk about it, thought I don't remember much about the book. The basic plot has stayed with me for years.

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

F McDA olw

[Sarai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read many of Lurlene McDaniel's books as a teenager and loved them. I dont know how I would feel about them now but then it was a really nice story that made me cry.

[Melenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

[Mary Bey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Not really much else to say.

[Thelma · Rating 5 out of 5]

in

[Patti-Ann Clarkson]

eh

[Logan]

good sad story. Dovian dying and all.