Waiting for Sarah

by Bruce McBay, James Heneghan

"I told you. I don't need anyone." "Everyone needs someone. Parents, for instance; everyone needs parents." "I've got no parents." "Everyone's got parents." She thought for a second. "Unless you're an orphan." "I've got work to do. So get lost." "You're not very nice." He scowled. "Just because I'm in a wheelchair doesn't mean I've got to be nice."

Mike's parents and sister are dead and his legs are gone. The horrific accident that shattered his life continues to haunt him. When he grudgingly returns to school and a life that he no longer understands, Mike is bitter and unwilling to participate in school life. To avoid one of his classes Mike agrees to put together a 50th Anniversary history of the school. Looking forward to time alone, he is annoyed when a young girl shows up in the archives on a regular basis. Sarah seems too young to be a student in the school, but her resemblance to Mike's sister and her bubbly personality have him intrigued. She gradually draws him out of his shell and manages to interest him in the archives project, and more importantly, in life itself. As their relationship grows and changes, Mike slowly becomes convinced that Sarah is more than just another student. When he discovers the shocking secret she is carrying, he sets out to give Sarah the peace that she so desperately needs.

Waiting for Sarah is a compelling, convincing story from the masterful team of James Heneghan and Bruce McBay. The two have collaborated on a number of novels in the past. James Heneghan is the author of the bestselling The Grave and Flood.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Supernatural, Romance, Paranormal

170 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Bruce McBay has collaborated with James Heneghan on four books, two of which were published under the pen name B.J. Bond.

As teachers, McBay and Heneghan were both interested in writing books for reluctant readers.

McBay is the department head of Learning Support Staff at a Burnaby Secondary School.

Reviews

[Ann aka Iftcan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mike's family dies suddenly, killed by a drunk driver--who also died. Only Mike is left alive, and he's lost both legs because of the damage to them.

While the author doesn't specifically say so, Mike is seriously depressed, and hitting out at everyone around him. He goes to live with his only relative, his mother's sister, Norma. He still has one loyal friend, Robby, and they are the only 2 he allows near himself. Even doctors, therapists and the visiting teacher are shut out.

Finally, he goes back to school for his senior year, where he will be allowed to graduate with his class, IF he can make up some of the school work he missed.

As part of this, he takes on the job of writing a 50 year anniversary piece for the school yearbook--and a longer report for his history teacher.

He's looking forward to this, since he doesn't like his teacher, who he views as boring and taking all the fun out of history. But with this project, he gets out of the class AND is guaranteed a passing grade if he does a good job.

He acquires a helper, a girl called Sarah. She doesn't let him drive her off, she pushes at him, picking silly quarrels and generally making him come back to the land of the living.

It's what he finds just before Christmas, 1999 that startles him and helps him to finally come out of the depression and to start living again.

A somewhat somber book, which, because of some of the themes I wouldn't recommend for a younger teen--definitely 15 and older for this one.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has really stuck with me the last few years and I always find myself in the library staring at it, wanting to read it again. The first time I read it, I couldn't put it down. I just had to know what happened next! The characters, their emotions, and the obstacles they faced just felt real and it had me completely hooked. Overall, a touching and suspenseful story. I highly recommend it.

[Allise · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was an overall boring book. There's really not much to it besides holding hands with a girl, a history report, and a slight focus on murder. So yeah, don't read this book unless you are a speedy reader who reads anything.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible, boring, I'm surprised I was able to finish it.

[Biraj Jha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book overall

[Veeda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has wayyyyyyy too many plotholes for it to keep my interest. It also very forgettable. The characters are meh, the plot meh. I really don't know where the writer was going with this but even the ~twist~ at the ending couldn't keep my interest. Unfortunately, awful.

[Flynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took a while to get into the book because there were certain scenes that were very played out and it made the book kind of boring, but once Sarah's true identity was revealed the book was hard to put down.

[Lama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its a great book! But also sad

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good young adult read

[Rori Harder · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very predictable and choppy. I didn’t get attached to the characters and many of the feelings and situations seemed forced.

[Anna Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mike's life is turned upside down by a car accident one sunny summer afternoon, when a drunk truck driver crosses the median and kills his father, mother, and sister, and lands him in critical condition. He is angry the whole first half of the book, and rightly so - he's lost his family, his home, his direction, his mobility, and his dreams, and has to deal with loss and recovery.

Then (when he finally relents and goes back to school) he is given an assignment in school (by a student -?!?) to write a history of the school, and if he does it, he doesn't have to be in his history class, he can hang in the library archive room. NONE of this seems plausible for a kid who's already lost a year of school recovering (and being a reclusive ass). The premise was HIGHLY flawed. It wouldn't happen.

But I have to admit, I didn't know that (*SPOILER*) Sarah, the young girl who is 'assigned to help him' wasn't ever assigned to help him. I figured she had cancer, or some degenerative disease, or had lost her family in a similar crash or something. I even briefly entertained the idea that she might be 'gifted' - a time traveler or teleporter. Hey, all the teen books nowadays are. But no - Sarah is the ghost of a murdered student, and Mike helps her see her murderer behind bars, while Sarah helps Mike realize that life is still worth living, even if you have to take a different direction and lose the ones you love along the way.

There were good things to be said about the book. The imagery was good. The writing was... okay, but the author had set it in 1999 (a Y2K angle), and yet used all names from the 60s (Norma, Joanne, Mike, etc) and the tone seemed like from an older era. Part of that might be because the setting was British Colombia, and the wording was... older? Like 'washroom' instead of 'bathroom'. It felt disjointed because of this.

Also, I didn't like how pat everything was. Yes, I was glad Mike didn't commit suicide (half expected it, to have Sarah and him end up together), but at the same time, everything was far too neat throughout in the book. Like the kid with the amputated leg... he talked to Mike and miraculously decided to finally get out of bed. It... doesn't work that easily in real life. Or Mike's overweight friend who is only upset for 1.5 seconds about bullying, then is suddenly insta-happy, like it never happened, or like he has Downs and doesn't have the mental capability to think thru what happened. It was too easy on too many levels. The social workers who come to make Mike think about school wouldn't just let him slam the door in their faces - they'd take legal action on truancy. Stuff was just... meh.

And for the record, two pages is NOT a chapter. The whole book is split up into almost fifty two-page chapters... and it wasn't a big book. Very odd.

[Mango · Rating 3 out of 5]

OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!OMG! SHE'S A GHOST!!!!!

It was an OK book, I guess. It is one of those book that you would read for class, you know?
So yeah, it was OK.

[Kylie Bester · Rating 5 out of 5]

I currently finished reading this book. And it is totally amazing. Near the beggining I always had this question remaining.. Why is the book called "Waiting For Sarah" and who is Sarah. I now know answers to some of my questions. This is a very great book and you may want to understand you need to be mature to read this, as it talks about the main character Mike's car crash with his family. Sarah is a very mysterous, out going, kind girl. Who is in grade 8. I kinda think of her as older since I am in grade 8 myself. So she talks a little like she is 15, 16. But she is my favourite character in this book so far. And you will figure some things out that will make your mouth drop.But I also find that they really dont give you a good answer of the mystery that takes place. (about sarah) There are still questions remaining in my head. But I still recommend this book as the most part, is it's good. I finished this in like 2 weeks. I can't wait to read more of Bruce McBay's and James Heneghan's books. Hope you decide to read this book and descover the madness this beautifully written book contains :)

[Michelle]

When I read the beginning of this book, I was devastated. The accident that him and his family went through broke my heart. He ended up losing his legs, which he then realized that his legs weren't the only things he lost, because he ended up losing his mom, dad, and younger sister. After the accident, he was very stubborn by not eating, pushing away his friends, the staff, and his aunt who is the one who takes care of him now. He is not the happy go lucky person he used to be and he basically thinks he has no purpose in life anymore. Later on in school one of the younger girls from student council comes and asks him to write a history about the school for the yearbook. He turns it down several times, but later takes the offer. While writing about the history he discovers many things and one is a ghost who comes to help him, but then he finds the newspaper article written about her and he can't believe it. Reading this book for me was different, because I don't like to read about ghost, so having it start out with an accident is really the only thing that caught me.

[Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread 4/2025 Original read around 2005

I remember reading this in middle school and it always stuck with me. So I when I found this at a used bookstore I grabbed it right away, also I mean it was 10 cents!

It didn’t quite hold up to my memory of it. I had forgot completely about the murder aspect of it. And I wish there was more of mystery and investigation to it. There was a lot of potential there. Sarah could have led Mike to clues or something. Maybe a bit more suspense on who the murderer was.

Also seniors don’t need to be looking at eighth graders Robbie!! Thankfully there was no romance really to speak of.

I liked the short chapters. It made it a fast read. And by the end it gave me a good nostalgic feel.

I liked that Mike found his place in the world. Also his name was Michael Scott, haha.

Writing wasn’t great, but I didn’t notice that as a middle schooler, so maybe it’s good writing for a middle schooler lol

Content: handful of damns used, ghost, mention of getting fortune told, murder aspect is very non descriptive

[Selina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay. I liked the plot, but I found that it was poorly executed at times. From the beginning, there was a ton of summary instead of scene. The readers were told a lot of things without being able to see them first hand. I found Mike to be incredibly obnoxious. I can understand him being angry, rude, and frustrated, but I didn't see any sort of emotional vulnerability that made me feel like I could root for him. True, he had been in an accident, but if there had been some more introspection instead of just outright anger, it would have been better. He could have had outright anger as a front and shown more of his feelings internally and it would have worked better.

The themes were a bit strange... I was unsure about the relationship between Sarah and Mike before the big reveal. A senior and an 8th grader in a pseudo romantic situation? It just weirded me out.

[Katie K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was emotional and eye opening. I loved it! It was about a boy who lost his little sister, parents, and his legs to a drunk driver. He doesn't know about his family's death till about a month after the accident which really affected his look at life and death. He was a total grump when he went back to live with his aunt and when he went back to school. While working the year book, 8th grader Sarah is assigned to work with him. Sarah has a secret that only she knows. He becomes really close to Sarah and starts to become quite fond of her when all of the sudden she stops coming for a while and when she comes back she is hurt.
I really liked this book and when they say don't judge a book by it's cover, they mean it!

[Pam Masters · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say this is the best book I've read in ages. I found this book while going though my son's school planner (which has a suggested reading each week). This book is listed as a young adult, but I believe this is more for the teen reader than the younger readers (I'd say ages 14+)

The story follows Mike Scott and how he deals with the most horrible time of his life. Along the way he meets Sarah Francis.

This book was one that I could not put down. But when I did, I wanted to pick it up again. I managed to read it in around 24 hours.

I say this is a must read for all!

[Brittany Steckly · Rating 5 out of 5]

For ten years this book has had an imprint in the back of my mind. I can still remember the emotions I felt and how gripping it was. I was several levels behind when it came to reading and because of that reason I disliked reading with a passion. However this single book ignited a spark. The characters were real. The emotions were real. The challenges were real. One of the best books I have ever read.

[Kylee v · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Waiting for Sarah, it made me think beyond the text. I was a very meaningful book, it also had all kinda of emotion in it from happy to sad to angry. There was also lots of surprises, thing I didn't even see coming. It left me hanging in some places in the book that made me want to read more with I thought was very powerful. The author had great word choice, to made the story seem even more meaningful. I would read it again if I had a choice.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

After his devastating accident that left him without his legs, Mike has a negative view towards the world and keeps his distance from everyone in school, but while working in the archives on a special project, a young girl named Sarah brings him around and makes him realize that life is worth living once again.

[Abby Robbins]

This book at the start I really believed it was gonna stink because it was so boring, and it kept dragging on. As it went on though it got really good and I fell in love with the book it was so good. I love when books twist it up so you don't see things coming but really I suggest you read the book. It does have a deeper meaning and Mike oh my, hes a special person.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A touching story about a teenage boy who endures terrible heartache as the result of a car accident. Mike goes through the usual stages of grief, but oddly enough returns to the land of the living through the help of a ghost.

[Malaika]

Oh my goodness I think this was a very good book. At first I was like ehh not gonna be a good book, but by the end I was lovin it. And she's a ghost like woah what!?!? There are many things that happen that you won't expect once you get to the good part you won't be able to put the book down!

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like it. My heart went out to this young man, who losted so much. I think I can understand why he was so bitter. Good story.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best books ever. i could not put it down

[Kyra Ford]

i loved this book

[Tatiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book to death and was sad. It was full of mischief and suspense. I was sad for Sarah and especially about who she really is and her past.

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

:)

[Yana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its the best boook ever!