Sixteen and Dying

One Last Wish #5

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.

It's hard for Anne Wingate and her father to accept the doctors' diagnosis: Anne is HIV positive. Seven years earlier, before blood screening was required, Anne received a transfusion to save her life, and the blood was tainted. Now Anne must deal with the inevitable progression of her condition. When an anonymous benefactor promises to grant a single wish with no strings attached, Anne decides to spend the summer on a ranch out west and live as normally as she possibly can. The summer seems even better than she dreamed, especially after she meets Morgan. But Anne hasn't confided in Morgan about her condition, and when her health begins to deteriorate, she suddenly leaves the ranch.

Is there time for Anne and Morgan to meet again?

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

176 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

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

[Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

the greatest book of all time

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was pretty different than the other titles thus far in the One Last Wish series. Anne has HIV, contracted from a blood transfusion before blood-testing was a thing apparently. She's 16 now and just wants to enjoy the time she has left so takes her dad with her to a Colorado ranch. She meets a handsome cowboy named Morgan who may or may not have Huntington's. Anne refuses to take AZT which will prolong the inevitable downward spiral of AIDS because she just wants one last summer to be "normal". So she gets really sick anyway and has to cut her summer short.
I hated Anne, she was whiny and a flake. Morgan was super awkward when he asked to sleep with Anne when he previously had sworn off of her for thinking she was stuck up. I did think the comparisons of then vs. now was interesting in how far HIV/AIDS research has come, but it was irritating that Anne just didn't take AZT cause she didn't feel like it and everyone just let it go. The only part about the ending I felt sad about was the father who lost his wife and now his daughter and had a reflection on how now he'd be all alone. I am interested if we ever find out if Morgan followed up on getting tested for the diagnosis...cause I remember him coming back for the finale book.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Actual Rating: 3.8

Another quick read by Lurlene McDaniel who at one time I would have called my favorite author. The characters are still young and the story line is very straight forward but it is enjoyable nonetheless.

Anne is a mature, level headed 16 year old who contracted HIV through a blood transfusion without knowing it. She seemed to have a good head on her shoulders and a good attitude towards death and dying. The only thing that shows Anne's true age is her defiance to do what the doctors suggest she should do. She insists on living a month drug free, pretending like she does not have this life threatening disease. She decides she wants to go live on a big ranch in Colorado for a few weeks where she meets Morgan. He's not too nice at first because he assumes she is just like all the other rich girls that comes to this ranch his family owns.

As it turns out, Morgan has a 50/50 chance of having a life threatening disease and by the time he finds out that Anne is dying he has fallen for her and wants to do everything in his power to make her last weeks as good as possible. In the end Anne passes away in the comfort of her home surrounded by the ones that love her.

Oh, and I didn't realize this book was published so long ago until I read the part about Anne's father looking something on the internet.. It was referred to as "a modem, a special phone, on his home computer that tied into the university's system, so he could call up a bank of reference libraries." LOL

[Emilie W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne Wingate is a mere sixteen year old girl when the doctor diagnoses her as HIV positive. Years before blood screening was required, Anne was in a car accident and received a blood transfusion tainted with HIV. Her HIV was dormant but now Anne is sixteen and dying. It is a struggle for her to accept an inevitable progression of her condition, but following her disheartening diagnosis Anne receives a One Last Wish sponsorship from an anonymous benefactor. She and her father leave for a Western dude ranch to spend their summer living life every day to the fullest. It is here that she meets Morgan, but how will Anne confide in him about her condition?

Key Issues: romance, adventure, tragedy, and truth

Character:
Anne: an HIV infected sixteen year old girl chasing her last wish

Attention-getting Quotation(s):
“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.”

Other interesting information:
McDaniel has a son diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Thus, her writing career consists of many novels about a high-school-age heroine that contends with a mortal threat. She had more than forty novels written at last count.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

It's hard for Anne Wingate and her father to accept the doctors' diagnosis: Anne is HIV positive. Seven years earlier, before blood screening was required, Anne received a transfusion to save her life, and the blood was tainted. Now Anne must deal with the inevitable progression of her condition. When an anonymous benefactor promises to grant a single wish with no strings attached, Anne decides to spend the summer on a ranch out west and live as normally as she possibly can. The summer seems even better than she dreamed, especially after she meets Morgan. But Anne hasn't confided in Morgan about her condition, and when her health begins to deteriorate, she suddenly leaves the ranch.

Is there time for Anne and Morgan to meet again?

[La'Dearia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was another awesome book that I really like by my favorite author Lurlene McDaniel. This book was so good, I couldn't put it down. This book was about a girl named Anne who was in a tragic car accident.The car accident caused her to need a blood transfusion if she didn't recieve it Anne would have died because she lost alot of blood in the car accident. When the doctors gave Anne the blood transfusion they didn't know that the blood carried the AIDS virus.The doctors didn't find out until the blood was inside of Anne's body. This is now changing Anne's life forever because she has this life threaten virus. I have notice that the author in all of her books talk about how people or about how peole are about to die. If you read any of her books they will all have those two things in common. At the end of this story yes Anne did die from the blood transfusion whiched caused her to recieve AIDS.

[Brittany Durrant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anne Wingate is only 16 years old when she finds out she is HIV positive. Since Anne is an only child, and her mother died when she was young, Anne is all her father has left. She was told HIV could not be cured and it would eventually turn into AIDS. Her only hope of living longer than expected is taking a medication called AZT. AZT is her best option for treatment. There are some side effects that go along with this medication like depression and nausea. She doesn't want to live her life being depressed, so she asked her dad if they could wait until after summer was over because he promised her they would go to a ranch this summer. Since she chose to wait, she is putting her health in danger.
I really enjoyed the book a lot. I think this book would be great for anyone who has dealt with any type of trauma or loss because they could relate or learn from Anne's experience.

[Madi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cry in pretty much all of Lurlene McDaniel's books, but this one was much different. I bawled like there was no tomorrow. I just felt so incedibly bad for the dad. I felt sad for Anne too, but she surprisingly handled it well considering that she knows she is going to die and she cannot be cured. You know she feels bad that shes leaving her dad all alone, but it was also heartwarming that she is going to be with her mom again. great book

[Mikaylah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had been hoping the girl would overcome her disease in the end but I ended up crying when I was done. It was eyeopening for me though. If you need a good cry read this if you hate sad stories avoid this one at all costs.

[Mary Bronson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this was a great book. I thought Anne and Morgan are great together. This was a powerful and sad book. By the end I was crying.

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another installment of the One Last Wish series, the storyline in this book was slightly different than the usual cancer-theme familiar with McDaniel's other books. Anne is sixteen years old and has been diagnosed with HIV after she received a blood transfusion several years ago (prior to the requirement of having blood donations screened). In order to slow the progression of the disease, Anne's doctors recommend she go on treatment right away, but Anne has other plans for herself. After receiving a letter and check from a mysterious JWC to fulfill a wish, Anne and her father take a trip to Colorado to spend the summer on a ranch. There, Anne meets Morgan, the nephew of owners, who has his own mysterious history he isn't ready to share. When Anne becomes sick she and Morgan realize her situation is escalating faster than they realized.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I have the very old Bantam Books, Especially for Girls edition. And it's 139 pages. So where Goodreads gets it's page numbers sometimes makes me wonder.

That aside...I've read the entire One Last Wish series when I was younger, basically when they were written. I loved them then and I still love them. You can't put today's structure of medical instances and knowledge into twenty plus years ago reality. These stories were very much real to me then and I feel the same way now.

I love these stories. I always will.

[Anna (Bananas) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d forgotten all about these books. I remember liking this. It was interesting that she tackled HIV. Of course somebody dies, which is the norm for the author’s books. That was of course a bummer and I didn’t pursue further reading LOL. But you knew what you were getting into with her books. Surely this was useful for readers who were processing a death or loss in their own lives.

[Tori Strother · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this series in middle school. You do not have to start any particular book from this series as they are all different stories. This one was a good read with an interesting and tragic tale. If you are wanting a good cry and to finish reading and look at your life in a whole new appreciative perspective this series is for you.

[Kaitie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lurlene McDaniel used to never fail to make me cry. I read these books when I was high school and loved them, and even after reading them as an adult, I’m glad my feelings towards these books haven’t changed too much. While it wasn’t as amazing as I remembered, this book was still heartbreaking and beautiful. A solid read from McDaniel.

[Laura Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading this book in middle school. I love the story and how it makes you think about life.

[Crystal Ellyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sixteen and Dying Review

I read this book when I was a teenager and it made me emotional back then! This book still pulls at the heart strings!!!!

[Lady Dra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful

1985 is not that far away when aids and HIV was death sentence and now with new medical treatment people with HIV and aids can think about the future

[Carole Catterall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book. Hard to put down. Looking forward to reading the 2nd one.

[Adriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book that got me into reading!!! I will always have a special place in my heart for this book!!

[Angel (Bradford) Tweed · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I gotta say is what a tear jerker.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, so we have a girl with HIV being urged to start live-saving treatments, but she whines about how she JUST WANTS TO BE NORMAL FOR ONE SUMMER, takes her One Last Wish money and runs off to a ranch where she meets a handsome jerk and rides horses. So of course she's got AIDS when she comes home and she's gonna die pretty soon.

I DO understand that a 16-year-old girl would rather spend her last summer having a good time than sitting in a hospital feeling the side effects of AZT, but her summer fun got cut short anyway because thanks to her stubbornness, she got sick and had to go home. So...would staying in the hospital have changed much? I dunno, but it was kinda cringeworthy watching her be a stubborn ass and having it kill her.

The love story wasn't awful, but it wasn't much to write home about. Morgan's a dick, Anne thinks he's hot, they fall in love and he watches her die. But his story was kinda sad, mainly because it reminded me of Hannah from Everwood. I loved Everwood.

Marti was your typical "my parents MADE me do it because they want me to be WHOLESOME it's so UNFAIR" types, but apparently Skip is a better boyfriend for her than her last one? So...okay.

Anne's dad being a professor was neat, but I was glad when Anne called him on his "you are a delicate teenage flower I must protect from male hormones" crap. (One of my BIGGEST pet peeves ever is people acting like women are vulnerable little woobies and that male sexuality will destroy their precious purity. SPARE ME.)

Overall...eh. It was okay. Not horrible, not TOO inspid but not something I'd keep on my shelf.

[Jessica Leatham · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story is about a young girl who learns that because of a tainted blood transplant she received as a young girl, she is HIV positive. While lying in a hospital room, depressed at the life that she will never get to live, she receives $10,000 check with a note that she is to use for whatever she wishes. She and her dad go to a dude ranch where she feels free. When she meets Morgan, the nephew of the owners of the ranch, she can’t help but be attracted to him and flattered by his attention towards her. Following their rocky initial meeting, they form a mutual respect and attraction. As their relationship progresses, she decides to keep her medical condition a secret. However, just as her relationship with Morgan progresses, so does her sickness. She gets so ill that she is forced to leave the ranch and go home. Morgan is puzzled over her absence, but her strength of character inspires him to deals with some of the problems that he has carried around with him for so much of his life. It is a story about relying on self and others in order to overcome the inevitable obstacles that life presents to us. In my opinion, it was basically a teenage romance seen through the lens of Anne’s illness. The story is a little predictable and pretty fluffy at most times, but I can really seen young girls really enjoying this story.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read, Sixteen and Dying is a young adult novel about 16-year-old Anne, who contracted HIV from a tainted blood transfusion she received when she was ten. After she's diagnosed, she receives a letter from someone known only as JWC, giving her a check for $100,000 to spend on whatever she wants, one last wish. Anne decides to use her money to take a vacation in Colorado at a horse ranch. There she meets 18-year-old Morgan, who has a secret of his own, and the two connect. However, when her health begins to slip, she returns to New York without a word to Morgan. After he unexpectedly shows up at her home, she finally tells him the truth.

Lurlene McDaniel has written many books about death and disease, and one could possibly say that all her books are about the same thing. However, I've always liked her books, they're interesting and sincere and they tackle themes that are lacking in plenty of YA novels. McDaniel is a strong storyteller, and even though they aren't exactly ground breaking, her books provide a kind of comfort for readers who are facing similar experiences with life changing illnesses.

[Aurora Salazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Sixteen and Dying is my favorite book from the One Last Wish series, it is about a girl named Anne Wingate and a boy named Morgan Lancaster. Anne is diagnosed with HIV Positive because when she was just a child she was in a car accident. She had lost a lot of blood and needed some urgently. The blood that had saved her life was now causing her problems with life or death. One day she gets money from the One Last Wish Foundation to spend on anything she wants. Anne decides to go down south to Colorado where she meets a guy named Morgan. At first Morgan is very interested in her and starts following her, but one day by accident she gets cut by hay and stars bleeding badly, Morgan wants to help but she knows it is to risky to let anybody be harmed by the blood she had so she went to her father and they left Colorado to go back home.Morgan is still confused and asks for permission to follow Anne and find out what happened to her. When he finds her again, she looks nothing like she did when she had left Colorado. He knows Anne loves poetry and reads to her everyday until one day Morgan and Mr.Wingate wake up and find Anne dead. She had died in her sleep.

[Araceli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sixteen and Dying was the first book I read from the author Lurlene McDaniel. After I read this book I knew I had to continue reading more of her works.

Anne is a girl who is HIV positive. She became infected with HIV when she received a blood transfusion. This was all before blood was checked. She has been given a wish. She decides that she wants to spend time on a ranch. She meets a boy named Morgan who she begins to have feelings for. When she leaves the ranch, Morgan decides to follow her. When he meets with her again he notices that she looks nothing like she did before. He spends time with her every day until one day they have found she has died in her sleep.

I think this book is intended for middle school age and older. It deals with tragedy and love. I think the themes of this book is acceptance and love. Throughout the book we see the love of family and friends. We also see how Anne accepts what is happening to her. She knows there is not much she can do about it and just lives every day to the fullest. I would have this book in my classroom library. I think it is a book many students will enjoy as much as I did.

[Falon · Rating 5 out of 5]

im 16 years old and reading this book really change me. this book is about a girl that 16years old named Anne who gets in a car crash with her mother. her mother passes awaay and she ended up losing alot of blood. the doctors gave her blood and ended up giving her AIDS. When Anne finds out about her sickness and she finds out its killing her she gets a letter from JVC giving her 10 000 dollors. knowing her time on life is limited she asked she dad to go for a trip to Colordo so she can live the last few months of her life on a ranch. her father worrying about her health, leaning to say no, she expolans how much this means to her, he says yes. The trip starts out hard to handle and new but it doesnt stop her from living her live to the fulliest. During the trip she finds love in new for live, friends and family.

i learn to never take live for granded and to appricaite everything and everyone, you never know how long you have...

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always, Lurlene McDaniel's does a thorough job of portraying what it is like for those who have a potentially terminal illness. She really gets into the emotional struggles of the ill and their families/loved ones. I think the one thing I've noticed however, is that often times the parents disappear from portions of the stories. This story is no different. At the ranch, the father becomes almost non-existent now and then. This, of course, makes it easy for Anne to do things she's not supposed to, resulting in her getting sick faster than she would have otherwise (most likely). Anyway, I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in YA dramas involving dealing with illness. Despite writing stories that usually end with someone dying, McDaniel's manages to make them hopeful.

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne finds out some devastating news, she learns at sixteen she is HIV positive. The doctors find out that a blood transfusion she had many years ago is what caused it. Anne decides to not let it get her down and after receiving a one hundred thousand dollar check from a mysterious JWC, she goes on a trip with her father to a ranch to get away from everything. At the ranch she has a lot of fun and meets a guy named Morgan. She soon falls in love with him even though she can never fully be with him. As her health worsens she goes back to new York to live out her final days, and even though she doesn't want him to see her this way the handsome cowboy and her father are right by her side. Truly a sad book, but if gives you some insight on what someone who is HIV positive goes through. The book is very touching and lets you know the importance of always having family by your side.

[Ashley W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never really know what to say about these books. I mean, you know someone is going to die. It's sad.

But the thing is, though these books are pretty short, you do start to feel for the characters. I felt so bad for Anne, knowing that all she really wanted, besides not dying, was to spend some time with her dad on the ranch. If that were my child, I would do whatever she wanted. But he freaking complained! I was thinking, what an ass! He complained that she wanted to spend her last freaking month at the ranch. He complained about the smelly horses. He complained about the fresh air. Like, shut up and let your daughter be happy before she dies. Damn.

So, yeah, everything else in the story was shadowed by that for me. I just couldn't get past it.

Also, Morgan comes off as more spoiled than the people he claims to resent. I just didn't like him.