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A Story about Cancer with a Happy Ending
I think about everything I'll miss if they tell me I'm going to die . . . my mom, my dad, my sister, cookies, TV shows I'll never get to see the end of, walking outside when it's really nice, the smell of fall, the starry sky on a full moon, my grandparents, my grandpa's lasagna, kissing Victor, Victor's eyes, Victor's voice, Victor's smell, Victor's hands . . . Victor.
A teenage girl heads towards the hospital waiting room where the doctors are going to tell her how much time she's got to live. As she walks, she thinks about her journey up to this point . . . the terrible decor in the hospital, wearing a headscarf, the horrible treatments, but also being with her friends, family, and her new boyfriend Victor. This is a story about cancer with a happy ending. It's about life, love, and especially, hope.
A teenage girl heads towards the hospital waiting room where the doctors are going to tell her how much time she's got to live. As she walks, she thinks about her journey up to this point . . . the terrible decor in the hospital, wearing a headscarf, the horrible treatments, but also being with her friends, family, and her new boyfriend Victor. This is a story about cancer with a happy ending. It's about life, love, and especially, hope.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published April 27, 2012
5 people are currently reading
1648 people want to read
About the author
India Desjardins
49 books342 followersIndia Desjardins raffole du chocolat, n’aime pas déménager, invente tout plein de raisons pour ne pas aller en camping, fait au moins trois gaffes par jour, a un cerveau totalement incontrôlable et peut-être aussi quelques neurones d’écureuil implantés par erreur à son insu. Là s’arrête la comparaison avec Aurélie Laflamme, un personnage sorti tout droit de son cerveau incontrôlable (il faut bien que ça comporte certains avantages!).
Petite, elle écrivait des romans pour le simple plaisir d’écrire, sans savoir qu’elle allait un jour en faire un métier. À l’école, elle n’a jamais été la plus douée en composition écrite, mais c’était pourtant ce qu’elle préférait en terme de devoir-obligatoire-qui-compte-pour-50%-de-la-note-finale. Son amour de l’écriture l’incite ensuite à choisir le journalisme.
À vingt ans, cette fille native de Québec déménage à Montréal pour étudier en communications. À la même époque, elle devient journaliste pour le magazine Cool, qui s’adresse aux adolescents. Elle travaille ensuite au Journal de Montréal, à la section Arts et Spectacles, et pour d’autres publications, comme Clin d’oeil.
En tant que journaliste, elle réalise plusieurs entrevues avec des artistes, mais découvre rapidement qu’elle a beaucoup d’affinités avec les jeunes et qu’elle a envie d’écrire pour eux. Elle crée alors la chronique Le journal intime de Marie-Cool, qui sera publiée de 2001 à 2008 dans le magazine Cool, ainsi que la chronique Miss Jiji, qui sera publiée dans le cahier Week-End du Journal de Montréal, de 2003 à 2005.
Ces expériences lui rappellent à quel point elle aime écrire de la fiction et elle se lance dans l’écriture de son premier roman Les aventures d’India Jones, sans savoir s’il sera publié. Ce roman humoristique, qui raconte la vie d’une jeune femme dans la vingtaine à la recherche de l’amour, ne trouve pas rapidement preneur. Essuyant plusieurs refus, la recherche d’un éditeur sera longue et périlleuse. Les Intouchables acceptent finalement de le publier en 2004 et le roman est très bien accueilli par la critique et le public. Par la suite, elle entame Le journal d’Aurélie Laflamme, un projet qui lui tient énormément à coeur puisqu’il s’adresse aux adolescents, un public qu’elle affectionne particulièrement.
Elle se consacre désormais exclusivement à l’écriture de ses romans.
Avec plus de 650 000 exemplaires vendus au Québec depuis sa sortie en 2006, Le journal d’Aurélie Laflamme s’est hissé au premier rang des séries les plus populaires auprès des jeunes. Le premier tome Extraterrestre… ou presque ! a par ailleurs été adapté pour le cinéma en 2010. La série est également publiée en France depuis octobre 2010, aux éditions Michel Lafon jeunesse, où elle reçoit un accueil des plus chaleureux.
[www.aurelielaflamme.com]
Petite, elle écrivait des romans pour le simple plaisir d’écrire, sans savoir qu’elle allait un jour en faire un métier. À l’école, elle n’a jamais été la plus douée en composition écrite, mais c’était pourtant ce qu’elle préférait en terme de devoir-obligatoire-qui-compte-pour-50%-de-la-note-finale. Son amour de l’écriture l’incite ensuite à choisir le journalisme.
À vingt ans, cette fille native de Québec déménage à Montréal pour étudier en communications. À la même époque, elle devient journaliste pour le magazine Cool, qui s’adresse aux adolescents. Elle travaille ensuite au Journal de Montréal, à la section Arts et Spectacles, et pour d’autres publications, comme Clin d’oeil.
En tant que journaliste, elle réalise plusieurs entrevues avec des artistes, mais découvre rapidement qu’elle a beaucoup d’affinités avec les jeunes et qu’elle a envie d’écrire pour eux. Elle crée alors la chronique Le journal intime de Marie-Cool, qui sera publiée de 2001 à 2008 dans le magazine Cool, ainsi que la chronique Miss Jiji, qui sera publiée dans le cahier Week-End du Journal de Montréal, de 2003 à 2005.
Ces expériences lui rappellent à quel point elle aime écrire de la fiction et elle se lance dans l’écriture de son premier roman Les aventures d’India Jones, sans savoir s’il sera publié. Ce roman humoristique, qui raconte la vie d’une jeune femme dans la vingtaine à la recherche de l’amour, ne trouve pas rapidement preneur. Essuyant plusieurs refus, la recherche d’un éditeur sera longue et périlleuse. Les Intouchables acceptent finalement de le publier en 2004 et le roman est très bien accueilli par la critique et le public. Par la suite, elle entame Le journal d’Aurélie Laflamme, un projet qui lui tient énormément à coeur puisqu’il s’adresse aux adolescents, un public qu’elle affectionne particulièrement.
Elle se consacre désormais exclusivement à l’écriture de ses romans.
Avec plus de 650 000 exemplaires vendus au Québec depuis sa sortie en 2006, Le journal d’Aurélie Laflamme s’est hissé au premier rang des séries les plus populaires auprès des jeunes. Le premier tome Extraterrestre… ou presque ! a par ailleurs été adapté pour le cinéma en 2010. La série est également publiée en France depuis octobre 2010, aux éditions Michel Lafon jeunesse, où elle reçoit un accueil des plus chaleureux.
[www.aurelielaflamme.com]
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 270 reviews
April 16, 2019
Desjardins was encouraged by a ten-year old to write a cancer story with a happy ending and so here it is. Would you be more or less likely to read it if she had just titled it A Story About Cancer? This story, fictional, deals with a girl of fifteen who has been living with cancer since she was ten. The story begins as she and her mother and father walk to the doctor's office: "In just a few minutes, they're going to tell me how much time I have to live."
The narrative trick Desjardins plays at this point is to delay your hearing the answer until the very end. Periodically she returns to that long slow walk to hear the news, but we already know how it ends. It's like a Bunuel film, we walk, then we do something else, and then we walk again, and then we do something else, and then we keep on walking, seemingly endlessly. And walking to what? Whatever comes.
What we learn in this spare, evocative graphic story that also seems like a cross with a picture book for all-ages is what it feels like a young person to be living with cancer. How helpless you feel in each trip to the doctor. One nurse suggests that having a positive attitude is better for her and all around her, but many days she just thinks about what it will mean for her to die. That is always with her. She also thinks about her struggles with what seems like peripheral details such as the colors and smells of hospitals. Who knew interior design would be an obsession in a life or death story, but who loves hospitals, why should that be a surprise.
In the process she loses her best friend in the hospital to cancer, so of course, death is all round her and not just in her imagination. She also meets and falls in love with a boy, which makes things easier, in many ways, of course. At one point she is asked by her doctor how she is doing and she says she feels a little nauseous and dizzy lately. When? All the time, or in particular circumstances? "I told her that I almost always felt that way when I was with Victor. . . Anne burst out laughing and crossed out the notes she had just written. Then she turned to me and whispered, 'It sounds to me like you're in love.'"
I like the elegant, muted watercolors of Marianne Ferrer that promote reflection and a range of emotions, mostly leaning to hopeful. Because this is what Desjardins and Ferrer are also trying to tell us, if we get sick, as difficult as it is to hear, that being hopeful, that helps. I like the little Chagall moments Ferrer conjures--ach, that flying kiss near the end, so sweet!--and a few Matisse-like cut-outs, too.
Here's a happy, hopeful ending: Eight out of ten children who are diagnosed with cancer today are cured, Desjardins says.
And here's another happy ending: That ten-year-old girl who asked for the cancer story with a happy ending? Well, she lived long enough to read it; she also shared with Desjardins that she developed a relationship with a boy during her struggles with cancer, and the best yet: She's still alive, as of the printing of this book. That's a happy ending.
The narrative trick Desjardins plays at this point is to delay your hearing the answer until the very end. Periodically she returns to that long slow walk to hear the news, but we already know how it ends. It's like a Bunuel film, we walk, then we do something else, and then we walk again, and then we do something else, and then we keep on walking, seemingly endlessly. And walking to what? Whatever comes.
What we learn in this spare, evocative graphic story that also seems like a cross with a picture book for all-ages is what it feels like a young person to be living with cancer. How helpless you feel in each trip to the doctor. One nurse suggests that having a positive attitude is better for her and all around her, but many days she just thinks about what it will mean for her to die. That is always with her. She also thinks about her struggles with what seems like peripheral details such as the colors and smells of hospitals. Who knew interior design would be an obsession in a life or death story, but who loves hospitals, why should that be a surprise.
In the process she loses her best friend in the hospital to cancer, so of course, death is all round her and not just in her imagination. She also meets and falls in love with a boy, which makes things easier, in many ways, of course. At one point she is asked by her doctor how she is doing and she says she feels a little nauseous and dizzy lately. When? All the time, or in particular circumstances? "I told her that I almost always felt that way when I was with Victor. . . Anne burst out laughing and crossed out the notes she had just written. Then she turned to me and whispered, 'It sounds to me like you're in love.'"
I like the elegant, muted watercolors of Marianne Ferrer that promote reflection and a range of emotions, mostly leaning to hopeful. Because this is what Desjardins and Ferrer are also trying to tell us, if we get sick, as difficult as it is to hear, that being hopeful, that helps. I like the little Chagall moments Ferrer conjures--ach, that flying kiss near the end, so sweet!--and a few Matisse-like cut-outs, too.
Here's a happy, hopeful ending: Eight out of ten children who are diagnosed with cancer today are cured, Desjardins says.
And here's another happy ending: That ten-year-old girl who asked for the cancer story with a happy ending? Well, she lived long enough to read it; she also shared with Desjardins that she developed a relationship with a boy during her struggles with cancer, and the best yet: She's still alive, as of the printing of this book. That's a happy ending.
January 30, 2021
J’ai écouté la version audio lue par Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse en feuilletant l’album. Quelle belle experience, j’ai adoré ce moment. La voix douce et posée de Sarah-Jeanne accompagnée des effets sonores aide vraiment à entrer dans l’histoire. Les illustrations sont magnifiques et nous font bien ressentir les émotions ressenties. Je me suis procuré l’album afin de l’utiliser en réseau avec Oscar et la dame rose. 🍎Je pense peut-être à faire écrire une liste de choses qui manqueraient à mes élèves s’ils devaient mourir, un peu comme le fait le personnage dans l’histoire.
May 16, 2019
This was almost perfect, and very beautiful. The author met a 10 year old girl with leukemia who was tired of reading stories about girls with cancer who have sad endings, so the author wrote this book for her - a guaranteed happy ending.
January 23, 2019
Cute little quick read to tell the story of a cancer patient who has a happy ending.
This would be a good book for young cancer patients to show that there can be light at the end of the tunnel.
This would be a good book for young cancer patients to show that there can be light at the end of the tunnel.
September 26, 2020
histoire touchante et douce qui reflète bien la réalité et la maladie 💫. ça fait tant de bien de lire quelque chose de positif sur le sujet.
January 18, 2019
When I saw this book I was really sure to have already read it in French (in its original version), but after verification and when I started reading it I realize I never did. I’m really happy to finally have the chance to do it. This is a very emotional story. I live a similar story myself, has the boy character, while my girlfriend at the time, now wife, has cancer at a young age, so reading this book bring back a lot of memories. It describes really well the situation and the thinking of the person who had cancer, especially the part where the girls is tired of always being said how strong and brave she is. This is one example, but truly, everything is well done without being over dramatic. Big surprise and a must read!
January 17, 2019
Beautifully illustrated, this graphic novel sheds a light on what it is like to live day to day with cancer. It only makes up 49 pages in total so it’s an incredibly short read, but the artwork and color theme are pleasing to the eye. I’m giving it three stars because I can’t imagine this is something I’ll think about months from now and remember, let alone want to purchase, but in the short time that it took me to read it - I liked it. The ending was sweet and like the title says, there is a happy ending.
A Story About Cancer (With a Happy Ending) goes on sale January 29th if you wish to pick up a copy. Thank you India Desjardins, Marianne Ferrer, and Quarto Publishing Group (Lincoln Children’s Books) for supplying me with an illustrated ebook copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
A Story About Cancer (With a Happy Ending) goes on sale January 29th if you wish to pick up a copy. Thank you India Desjardins, Marianne Ferrer, and Quarto Publishing Group (Lincoln Children’s Books) for supplying me with an illustrated ebook copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
October 18, 2020
Read this in French. Really beautiful illustrations and story.
March 21, 2022
Bon, déjà en partant, le duo India Desjardins et Marianne Ferrer me réjouissait et me donnait un très bon indice que ce roman graphique allait être plus qu’excellent.
Ma prédiction était bonne. Vraiment bonne, en fait. Wow. Quel livre. Un récit qui aborde un thème trop peu abordé selon moi : la maladie chez les adolescents. Les mots utilisés pour décrire le sentiment d’impuissance, de peur et de découragement de l’adolescente souffrant de leucémie étaient forts et nous permettaient en même temps de vraiment bien imaginer son état psychologique - sans toutefois le comprendre complètement puisque je ne crois pas que personne ne puisse saisir l’ensemble de la situation tant qu’elle n’est pas vécue. Et, évidemment, la petite touche d’amour d’India Desjardins au récit a ajouté du beau à cette histoire qui, comme vous vous en doutez bien, se termine positivement.
Les illustrations, quant à elles, sont magnifiques. Bien que les couleurs utilisées aient été peu nombreuses, celles-ci amenaient une ambiance au récit, parfois sombre, parfois lumineuse. Marianne Ferrer a un talent indéniable pour les illustrations, pour rendre un texte vivant et accrocheur, mais surtout, percutant. Elle réussit à mettre en image des situations qui ne peuvent s’exprimer par des mots.
Bravo à ce duo de femmes incroyablement talentueuses!
Ma prédiction était bonne. Vraiment bonne, en fait. Wow. Quel livre. Un récit qui aborde un thème trop peu abordé selon moi : la maladie chez les adolescents. Les mots utilisés pour décrire le sentiment d’impuissance, de peur et de découragement de l’adolescente souffrant de leucémie étaient forts et nous permettaient en même temps de vraiment bien imaginer son état psychologique - sans toutefois le comprendre complètement puisque je ne crois pas que personne ne puisse saisir l’ensemble de la situation tant qu’elle n’est pas vécue. Et, évidemment, la petite touche d’amour d’India Desjardins au récit a ajouté du beau à cette histoire qui, comme vous vous en doutez bien, se termine positivement.
Les illustrations, quant à elles, sont magnifiques. Bien que les couleurs utilisées aient été peu nombreuses, celles-ci amenaient une ambiance au récit, parfois sombre, parfois lumineuse. Marianne Ferrer a un talent indéniable pour les illustrations, pour rendre un texte vivant et accrocheur, mais surtout, percutant. Elle réussit à mettre en image des situations qui ne peuvent s’exprimer par des mots.
Bravo à ce duo de femmes incroyablement talentueuses!
May 11, 2019
This was a beautiful story about someone going through cancer.
The feelings they have during treatments, and how people react when they see someone has cancer.
I thought the illustrations fit perfectly with the story.
I loved the tones from the colours as they go from dark to light.
All in all it was a good read
The feelings they have during treatments, and how people react when they see someone has cancer.
I thought the illustrations fit perfectly with the story.
I loved the tones from the colours as they go from dark to light.
All in all it was a good read
May 25, 2019
Please don’t be discouraged by my rating - 3 stars is good for me & this was such a cute, heart warming book!
This month seems to be the month of graphic novels for me?
Anyway, not complaining!
This was just a cute story - I saw it in my library, picked it up & read it quickly.
It’s nice to know you’re getting a happy ending :)
This month seems to be the month of graphic novels for me?
Anyway, not complaining!
This was just a cute story - I saw it in my library, picked it up & read it quickly.
It’s nice to know you’re getting a happy ending :)
January 20, 2022
J’ai ce livre ce matin dans le cadre de mon travail auprès d’enfants ayant le cancer et j’ai été très touchée par la justesse des sentiments décrits. Ce n’est pas un secret que j’ai moi-même traversé un cancer en 2021, une autre histoire de cancer qui finit bien. C’est important que les livres destinés aux grands enfants et aux ados ne soient pas juste des histoires crève coeur mais aussi des récits où on apprend que c’est possible de s’en sortir malgré les épreuves. Une belle lecture, je ne lis pas souvent des romans graphiques jeunesses mais je recommande sans hésiter!
January 19, 2019
This is a thought provoking reflection on what it is like to be treated for cancer. The speaker is a teenager, who has been, as the title tells us, a happy ending, so I'm not giving anything away here.
But it isn't so much that the ending is given away, since it is, but her reflections on what her life has been like while she's been treated. How her hospital companion died, no matter how hard she fought to live.
How telling someone to be strong is not the best thing to tell someone.
How cancer doesn't care if you are strong or not.
A lot is packed into this graphic novel like picture book.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
But it isn't so much that the ending is given away, since it is, but her reflections on what her life has been like while she's been treated. How her hospital companion died, no matter how hard she fought to live.
How telling someone to be strong is not the best thing to tell someone.
How cancer doesn't care if you are strong or not.
A lot is packed into this graphic novel like picture book.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
March 15, 2020
The title says it all: if you avoid cancer narratives because (like the girl to whom this book is dedicated) you fear that the main character will die in the end, there’s no need to worry here. The narrator of this short illustrated novel has had leukemia since age 10 and now, at 15, is awaiting her next hospital appointment with dread. The doctor could tell her that she only has a short time left to live, which would be all the crueler now that she and Victor are in love. Instead, she learns that she is cured. Sweet enough, but neither the writing nor the drawing was distinguished for me.
April 10, 2019
The title tells you pretty much all you need to know about this story of a teenager with leukemia (though the journey to that ending is not without much sadness). This was filed with the graphic novels at my library, but it is more a picture book for the middle school or YA crowd. Well intentioned and well done, with some quirky but fitting art.
January 27, 2019
Thank you netgalley, for providing me with the arc of A Story About Cancer With a Happy Ending!
You can read about my thought at https://3mmakatariina.wordpress.com/2...
You can read about my thought at https://3mmakatariina.wordpress.com/2...
April 24, 2020
| Reader Fox Blog |
I'm not sure whether this is my mistaken preconceived notions regarding how the story would go, but A Story About Cancer (with a Happy Ending) by India Desjardins and illustrated by Marianne Ferrer was a lot darker than I thought it would be. I guess the inclusion of a happy ending didn't mean that the story would follow a less dejecting tale in the beginning. And yet, I still can't help feeling as though I expected quite a bit more optimism, hope, and happiness peppered throughout the book. That is not to say, of course, that this isn't a good story. It is. The book follows the tale of a young girl, diagnosed and receiving treatment as she navigates the world of living as a cancer patient with the potential of an early death looming over her.
I'll be honest, some parts of the story were difficult to read through, leaving me feeling rather upset for a while afterward. It really does, at times, break your heart. And I think that's to be expected from a story like this. The account of the girl's experiences, the near entirety of her life, is one you follow through with her. You empathize and can almost feel a lot of the pain yourself.
And, of course, you expect a happy ending. This isn't a book where you get blindsided by a lack of happy ending, which is incredibly nice. Any reader can figure out how it will end, of course. I do feel that the ending came a bit too quickly and went by faster than I'd have liked, especially after the grey feeling you get from the majority of the book.
While I wasn't a huge fan of the artwork, it definitely added to the story in a unique way. I can be pretty picky when it comes to illustrations of people and it can tend to take away from the story for me. But all in all, A Story About Cancer (with a Happy Ending) is definitely a book worth reading, especially if a person feels it would help them navigate their own story.
I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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I'm not sure whether this is my mistaken preconceived notions regarding how the story would go, but A Story About Cancer (with a Happy Ending) by India Desjardins and illustrated by Marianne Ferrer was a lot darker than I thought it would be. I guess the inclusion of a happy ending didn't mean that the story would follow a less dejecting tale in the beginning. And yet, I still can't help feeling as though I expected quite a bit more optimism, hope, and happiness peppered throughout the book. That is not to say, of course, that this isn't a good story. It is. The book follows the tale of a young girl, diagnosed and receiving treatment as she navigates the world of living as a cancer patient with the potential of an early death looming over her.
I'll be honest, some parts of the story were difficult to read through, leaving me feeling rather upset for a while afterward. It really does, at times, break your heart. And I think that's to be expected from a story like this. The account of the girl's experiences, the near entirety of her life, is one you follow through with her. You empathize and can almost feel a lot of the pain yourself.
And, of course, you expect a happy ending. This isn't a book where you get blindsided by a lack of happy ending, which is incredibly nice. Any reader can figure out how it will end, of course. I do feel that the ending came a bit too quickly and went by faster than I'd have liked, especially after the grey feeling you get from the majority of the book.
While I wasn't a huge fan of the artwork, it definitely added to the story in a unique way. I can be pretty picky when it comes to illustrations of people and it can tend to take away from the story for me. But all in all, A Story About Cancer (with a Happy Ending) is definitely a book worth reading, especially if a person feels it would help them navigate their own story.
I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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December 1, 20242024 reads: 316/250
this graphic novel follows a teenage girl with cancer as she heads toward the hospital, where she will find out whether she’s cancer-free. she recalls her journey up to this point, including the good and bad parts. i really liked the art in this book. i also appreciated how hopeful this story was. i’d recommend this to anyone looking for a YA graphic novel.
this graphic novel follows a teenage girl with cancer as she heads toward the hospital, where she will find out whether she’s cancer-free. she recalls her journey up to this point, including the good and bad parts. i really liked the art in this book. i also appreciated how hopeful this story was. i’d recommend this to anyone looking for a YA graphic novel.
January 24, 2019
This is a graphic novel about a girl who has cancer and tries to deal with it. It does have a happy ending, as the title says so.
I really enjoyed reading this. I felt emotionally attached to this story, even though it is extremely short. Also, the illustrations are simple, but really beautiful and gives a good representation of the girl's battle with cancer.
Really loved reading this!
I really enjoyed reading this. I felt emotionally attached to this story, even though it is extremely short. Also, the illustrations are simple, but really beautiful and gives a good representation of the girl's battle with cancer.
Really loved reading this!
July 8, 2019
So sweet! What a great book for kids and parents to read. I really think this book gives insight about how to treat someone with cancer and what to say. It has all the right feels. We need more books like this one!
February 11, 2020
Une histoire ben cute avec une fin heureuse comme l’annonce le titre. Même s’il n’y a pas eu de surprises, il y avait quand même des moments percutants émotionnellement. J’ai apprécié la simplicité des dessins qui accompagnent joliment la narration.
March 26, 2019
Quick read about a young teen who has cancer and is about to learn if she is in remission. Great book to include in a library. I loved the artwork.
November 30, 2020
Je savais que l'histoire se terminerait bien, mais pourtant, j'ai eu le cœur noué tout au long de ma lecture. J'ai adoré le jeu des illustrations et la justesse des propos. 💗
July 17, 2023
Le titre dévoile la fin, mais c’est la route qui vaut la peine et non la destination finale selon l’adage, non? Avant-dernière page sublime.
January 27, 2024
We love a happy ending. ❤️
November 23, 2019
An emotional, beautiful, thoughtful, and sad book about cancer with a happy ending. We need more of those.
January 19, 2023
Livre audio.
March 20, 2023
C’était doux et beau, c’est une histoire qui donne espoir. Je ne donne pas plus de 3 étoiles, car ce n’est pas une histoire qui va me marquer, mais je la recommande !
June 4, 2019
This is the story of a teenage girl who was diagnosed with leukemia at age ten, and after five years of treatment is walking back down the familiar and unwelcoming corridors of a hospital to find out her prognosis. While she and her family wait on a bench outside the doctor’s office, the reader is given glimpses of the years preceding this moment including time spent in the hospital, a favourite nurse, a friendly face in the cancer ward, meeting a boy that becomes a boyfriend, but above all else, the constant pressure she has been under of disappointing her family if she doesn’t stay strong. The protagonist takes issue with words of encouragement that adults, including her parents, use as a form of pep talk that typically have the opposite effect of what’s intended. The author has created a character for this story who is scared and angry but also joyful and wise beyond her years. Although the story ends happily as the title foretells, the journey of this young girl is filled with unease about her condition and fear about her uncertain future. In addition, the illustrations throughout the book bring this story to life and highlight the emotional roller coaster that this sweet girl has been on for so long. Sometimes she floats across the pages with limbs that are splotched in green and grey patches, to emphasize the progression of her disease, but this is mixed in with other more colourful pages, that include waves of lavender, which depict her yearning for love and life outside the cold hospital walls. In the end, India Desjardins captures the experience of childhood cancer with empathetic prose while conveying respect for how terribly serious this disease is. While this graphic novel is a dreary, gripping, heart-wrenching story told through profound artwork - it will both torment and inspire hope among all who read it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 270 reviews