Life Magic

by Melrose Cooper

"An excellent bibliotherapy book to help middle-schoolers talk about AIDS and cope with the death of a loved one." - Booklist

Crystal's older sister, Janelle, just won second place in a writing contest, and her younger sister, Roxann, was picked to sing a solo in the school play. It's difficult to be in the middle of two gifted sisters – especially when Crystal thinks she has no talents of her own.

Then Uncle Joe comes to town and Crystal finds comfort in their friendship, and starts to feel special. But when she is told that Uncle Joe is dying of AIDS, she must come to grips with his illness. In the process, Crystal learns a lot about her strong family, about life, and most of all, about herself. Full of hope and optimism, this coming–of–age story explores life and death, and one family's struggle to stick together through hard times.

126 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 1996

About the author

The pseudonym of Virginia L. Kroll to accomodate her tremendous output as an author.

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended young adult novel that portrays the hardship on middle school children when their family members are suffering from AIDS.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about a girl whose uncle dies of AIDS. I was frustrated because there was no discussion of AIDS itself. I think that should have been included otherwise, why was his disease significant?