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Sort of Forever
Sally Warner breaks new ground with a powerful story about the toughest test of friendship. For as long as Cady Winton can remember, she and Nana Weber have done everything together, from cutting each other's hair to daring themselves to ride the scariest roller coaster at Magic Mountain. And both had been looking forward to starting middle school together in the fall. But just when Cady and Nana were anticipating being teenagers, their plans spin away from them. At the age of twelve, Nana is diagnosed with bone cancer, and suddenly the present is so much more important than the future. With refreshing honesty, Sally Warner helps brush aside the mysticism of dying and replaces it with the courage of friendship. Comforting and profoundly moving, Sort of Forever is, by turns, a sincere, funny, painful, and uplifting view of dying, as well as a celebration of life.
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First published January 1, 1998
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About the author
Sally Warner
65 books49 followersSally Warner is a writer of fiction for children and young adults and of books on creativity. She made the Lily series and Emma series for children's books. Sally Warner was born in New York City and grew up in Connecticut and California, where her family moved when she was eight years old.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
November 4, 2013
Some of the greatest novels ever written derive their power from sources of sadness so profound that simply reading the story has an almost traumatizing effect, making the book an extremely memorable part of the reader's life from that point forward. Sad books are, in many cases, the most deeply meaningful literature one will ever read; our minds remember sharp, vivid emotion before anything else, and sadness is easily the most powerful of human feelings. Eternity stretches from the point of loss as unchanged and unbroken as before the death that feels as if it should change the universe. The hands of time take those we call our own before we're ready to relinquish them, often before our expected years together have filled but a fraction of the allotment we were led to believe we had. The mystery of forever proceeds beyond our ability to discern its trajectory, in directions we cannot perceive and according to concepts of truth our minds are unable to fathom. The sudden loss of one held dear to us, dearer than the eloquence of pearly words spoken in memoriam could ever do justice, can send our life tumbling end over end, decorations and vanities crashing into bits and pieces of worthless clutter. It can rend the soul so it is incapable of being stitched back together properly, and with each subsequent re-tear, it becomes easier for the stitches to burst once again. A book like Sort of Forever picks at those stitches, threatening to open old wounds in our heartbroken empathy for what the characters are feeling, but this isn't just reopening old wounds for the sake of feeling some powerful emotion, even if it is haunting sadness. No, Sort of Forever loosens the stitching only where it isn't properly closed, where botched attempts at healing have left our gashes no chance to mend correctly. In undoing these stitches, Sort of Forever promises to teach us how to better close the wounds, to still feel all the pain of bereavement, but without it causing jagged scars that broadcast our past griefs. For there to be full healing, there must first be pain to heal, and Sort of Forever gently allows us access to those feelings of loss once again. They may be every bit as fierce and unrelenting as the last time we felt them, but through the story of Cady and Nana, we see there are better moments ahead even if we can't understand how it's possible. There is always a tomorrow on the other side of darkest night.
"Little things about a friendship change all the time...even when everything's perfectly normal. Nothing ever stays the same."
—Heather, Sort of Forever, P. 88
The cancer isn't too bad at first, as Cady and Nana toast to Nana's twelfth birthday at an outdoors picnic for just the two of them. Nana hardly feels any pain at all from her affected leg; she and Cady can romp around and have fun as if there weren't even a problem, no potentially terminal illness to spoil the party with thoughts of an abbreviated future. Nana is still undergoing radiation treatment for the malignancy, and there will be no reason for tears if that works. Cancer is cured every day, they know, and why shouldn't she be one of the lucky ones? But Nana's medical options dwindle in the following weeks and months, ineffective attempts at a cure falling by the wayside as the disease claims eminence in her weakening body. It isn't clear to us right away, however, that this is the case; there are no signs of panic in Nana, no devastated disbelief from Cady as she watches her best friend begin the first slow circles around the drain. It's easy at first to miss the signs that Nana's diagnosis has shifted, and priorities for her healthcare are different now than at the beginning of the story, but the change becomes clear soon enough. Even with a delayed death sentence now hanging over her head, Nana isn't afraid to talk about the terminal aspect of her cancer; it's others who don't want to listen, even Cady, whom Nana could talk to about anything in the past. If Nana can't be candid about her condition with Cady, then who can she voice her most persistent fears to about the big issues of her future: death, saying goodbye, the idea of forever as it stretches on and on without the ones you love, and no way to communicate with them ever again? Cady has always been Nana's best friend, ready to let Nana look out for her when she needed it, but now Nana needs a lot more help than she ever had to give Cady. Nana needs a friend who will want to spend days and nights with a dying girl in her bedroom, converted into a hospice space, rather than playing and having a good time with able-bodied friends. She needs a friend who will count up the cost of accompanying a terminal cancer patient down the long, excruciating trail to her final resting place and elect to pay that cost without hesitation. Nana needs a friend whose recollection of years of close friendship won't be tarnished, in the end, by the drudgery of a final few months that will be little more than sitting and staring at a surly, depressed Nana, grown thin and ragged like a scarecrow, her once healthy vigor fading as the cancer moves aggressively to bring the struggle to a close. Nana needs a friend more devoted and determined than any twelve-year-old is expected to be, and Cady wants to be that for her. What else can she give Nana now that her entire future is a countdown of mere months?
But Cady can't be the super-friend Nana requires; not all the time, anyway, and not perfectly. She can only be the best she has to give for her best friend, and that's a lot; good enough for Nana to accept and be grateful for it even as she yearns for more. But Cady, too, needs more. Someday soon the girl she formed a connection with down through the years, tied together by ten thousand small moments outsiders could never totally understand, will be gone, and Cady will be alone. The rest of the school has begun to move on from Nana already, the holes she left behind reclosing automatically, but the holes will still be there for Cady after Nana drifts off into her final slumber, and who could ever fill them? Cady spends hours each day shut away with Nana in her bedroom, not having the chance to start friendships with other girls who might be able to help Cady through the hard days after Nana is gone. When Cady does spend one day getting to know a new girl in school, Nana's resentment burns hot for the empty hours she had to pass without Cady to keep her company. Cady is annoyed, but expresses contrition for leaving Nana alone, and continues to trend toward spending less and less time with other friends, and more by the side of Nana's bed. As Nana's condition deteriorates, at first just not being able to travel outside, then unable to walk, then restricted to her bed where an IV hookup provides painkillers to help make her final days peaceful, talking with Nana becomes Cady's whole world. How could a strong, opinionated girl like Nana die and leave her best friend alone? And how will Cady ever deal with the loss when it comes, months of slow mourning brought to a sudden halt with the last rise and fall of Nana's emaciated chest?
Sort of Forever isn't all sadness; in fact, much of it is spent outside Nana's bedroom. Despite the hours Cady racks up at Nana's beck and call, she still has a life apart from Nana, and some of the book's greatest delights are drawn from it. There's Cady's brother, Russell, a red-haired, blue-eyed five-year-old who knows Nana almost as well as Cady does, having been a spectator to their friendship his entire life. Russell is energetic and funny, but insists on a normal life for himself outside of Nana's illness, and he won't take no for an answer when he tries to drag Cady with him back to normality. What matters most to Russell is that Nana's disease is taking up almost all his sister's time, and he wants his piece of the pie, too. Nana has stood up for Russell more than once in the time they've known each other, and he does love her, but he is conflicted about how much time Nana is taking from his family's life. In between serious moments, much of the fun in Sort of Forever comes courtesy of Russell, who can charm the fish out of the ocean when he wants to. He is one of a number of characters in this book you won't forget long after finishing it.
Even when Nana's days of getting around on her own are long over, and there's little chance she will live to explore outside her house ever again, there's still one more adventure ahead for her and Cady, like the ones they used to have before the cancer treatments started to fail. On a night of colorful renaissance, Nana's washed-out eyes sparkling with purpose after projecting nothing but listless disinterest for weeks, Cady and Nana will have one last blast together, a tribute to a friendship that once was much more than an interminable march to the funeral home, a ceremony of mourning started months before the victim's death. Cady and Nana were something special, are something special, and they won't let Nana fade away without celebrating it one last time. Nana's moments of greatest clarity come during this final night of happiness, as she thinks ahead to the fun nights Cady will have in the future without her. "(R)emember me, okay? Whenever you do something that's really, really fun?" Cady answers the only way she knows to in the moment, true to the only way she can possibly feel: "It won't be any fun if you're not there". But Nana knows there are days and dreams still ahead for Cady, even without Nana in her life. "Oh, sure it will," she says. "Someday it will. And you'll have other friends, too, and do you know what? I don't even mind anymore! Just don't forget me, that's all." Thus, a parting night of triumphant togetherness is also platform for some of the most rending emotional dialogue in the story, the moment when it hits us with full force all that these two girls are about to lose, the silences never to be filled, the inside jokes that will never complete the conduit. We begin to feel the depth of the coming loss before it arrives, and there's no doubt the next several pages will be filled with as much emotion as the reader can handle.
"I believe it's a miracle each of us is born in the first place. Beyond that I think we should just be grateful for life itself, for as long as it lasts."
—Cady's mother, Sort of Forever, P. 119
What does forever feel like when we prepare to enter it alone, without the one we always pictured when we thought of forever, the only person we could imagine making it palatable? It's impossible to wrap one's mind around the enormousness of the idea, to reconcile oneself to the truth of never seeing that person again. It's more than anyone should have to face. It's why a story like Sort of Forever overwhelms us so, the thought of a loss that can never be restored, a friendship interrupted for good before it even has the chance to face the trials of adolescence. Forever is so big, it threatens to swallow us up if we think about it too long, but once we've lost someone to forever, it's impossible not to think about it. Yet even as the reader gives in to the free-flowing tears and sobs of grief as Sort of Forever reaches its end, there is more ahead for Cady. Her friendship with Nana may have been severed against the will of either party, but Cady's life has not ended. The future blossoms with opportunities for other friendships, chances to give the time and effort necessary to slowly build a relationship like she had with Nana. Nana may be hiding from Cady for now, but their friendship isn't over; it's just different, a forever connection reinforced by every moment they spent together during their years of best friendship. It all still exists between them, as surely as ever. And that will never change.
I find myself falling well short of the greatness of Sort of Forever in this review. Believe me, I know it. With a book this emotionally profound, a story that blew me away on multiple levels, I don't know if it's possible to express on demand what it means to me, the resounding tones that will linger for the rest of my life as I think back on what I learned from the story of two brave girls facing the monster of death in their own way, refusing to succumb to the dirge of lost hope, knowing always that now matter how it played out, they were going to face it together. Through the streaming tears and deep heartache that will come when reading the final chapters, it isn't hard to see hope for Cady in the weeks, months and years ahead. She won't even have to get through them on her own. She'll know what Nana would say if she were there to give her opinion, and Cady can take her best friend's advice or disregard it, just as she would if Nana were still right there beside her. After all, Nana would never really bail on her, right?
Books the caliber of Sort of Forever come along so rarely, I sometimes go years without finding anything so magnificent. Author Sally Warner is a master of characterization, descriptive phrase, honest, open dialogue and, of course, extraordinarily powerful emotion, which makes its mark all through Sort of Forever. You'd hear no argument from me if this book had been awarded the 1999 John Newbery Medal, even in a year of such classics as Holes by Louis Sachar, A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck, The Islander by Cynthia Rylant, If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson, Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos and Max the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick. Sort of Forever is one of the greatest books I've ever read, an experience I will keep close always as a reminder of what literature can be at its best. It is, to me, a masterpiece.
"Little things about a friendship change all the time...even when everything's perfectly normal. Nothing ever stays the same."
—Heather, Sort of Forever, P. 88
The cancer isn't too bad at first, as Cady and Nana toast to Nana's twelfth birthday at an outdoors picnic for just the two of them. Nana hardly feels any pain at all from her affected leg; she and Cady can romp around and have fun as if there weren't even a problem, no potentially terminal illness to spoil the party with thoughts of an abbreviated future. Nana is still undergoing radiation treatment for the malignancy, and there will be no reason for tears if that works. Cancer is cured every day, they know, and why shouldn't she be one of the lucky ones? But Nana's medical options dwindle in the following weeks and months, ineffective attempts at a cure falling by the wayside as the disease claims eminence in her weakening body. It isn't clear to us right away, however, that this is the case; there are no signs of panic in Nana, no devastated disbelief from Cady as she watches her best friend begin the first slow circles around the drain. It's easy at first to miss the signs that Nana's diagnosis has shifted, and priorities for her healthcare are different now than at the beginning of the story, but the change becomes clear soon enough. Even with a delayed death sentence now hanging over her head, Nana isn't afraid to talk about the terminal aspect of her cancer; it's others who don't want to listen, even Cady, whom Nana could talk to about anything in the past. If Nana can't be candid about her condition with Cady, then who can she voice her most persistent fears to about the big issues of her future: death, saying goodbye, the idea of forever as it stretches on and on without the ones you love, and no way to communicate with them ever again? Cady has always been Nana's best friend, ready to let Nana look out for her when she needed it, but now Nana needs a lot more help than she ever had to give Cady. Nana needs a friend who will want to spend days and nights with a dying girl in her bedroom, converted into a hospice space, rather than playing and having a good time with able-bodied friends. She needs a friend who will count up the cost of accompanying a terminal cancer patient down the long, excruciating trail to her final resting place and elect to pay that cost without hesitation. Nana needs a friend whose recollection of years of close friendship won't be tarnished, in the end, by the drudgery of a final few months that will be little more than sitting and staring at a surly, depressed Nana, grown thin and ragged like a scarecrow, her once healthy vigor fading as the cancer moves aggressively to bring the struggle to a close. Nana needs a friend more devoted and determined than any twelve-year-old is expected to be, and Cady wants to be that for her. What else can she give Nana now that her entire future is a countdown of mere months?
But Cady can't be the super-friend Nana requires; not all the time, anyway, and not perfectly. She can only be the best she has to give for her best friend, and that's a lot; good enough for Nana to accept and be grateful for it even as she yearns for more. But Cady, too, needs more. Someday soon the girl she formed a connection with down through the years, tied together by ten thousand small moments outsiders could never totally understand, will be gone, and Cady will be alone. The rest of the school has begun to move on from Nana already, the holes she left behind reclosing automatically, but the holes will still be there for Cady after Nana drifts off into her final slumber, and who could ever fill them? Cady spends hours each day shut away with Nana in her bedroom, not having the chance to start friendships with other girls who might be able to help Cady through the hard days after Nana is gone. When Cady does spend one day getting to know a new girl in school, Nana's resentment burns hot for the empty hours she had to pass without Cady to keep her company. Cady is annoyed, but expresses contrition for leaving Nana alone, and continues to trend toward spending less and less time with other friends, and more by the side of Nana's bed. As Nana's condition deteriorates, at first just not being able to travel outside, then unable to walk, then restricted to her bed where an IV hookup provides painkillers to help make her final days peaceful, talking with Nana becomes Cady's whole world. How could a strong, opinionated girl like Nana die and leave her best friend alone? And how will Cady ever deal with the loss when it comes, months of slow mourning brought to a sudden halt with the last rise and fall of Nana's emaciated chest?
Sort of Forever isn't all sadness; in fact, much of it is spent outside Nana's bedroom. Despite the hours Cady racks up at Nana's beck and call, she still has a life apart from Nana, and some of the book's greatest delights are drawn from it. There's Cady's brother, Russell, a red-haired, blue-eyed five-year-old who knows Nana almost as well as Cady does, having been a spectator to their friendship his entire life. Russell is energetic and funny, but insists on a normal life for himself outside of Nana's illness, and he won't take no for an answer when he tries to drag Cady with him back to normality. What matters most to Russell is that Nana's disease is taking up almost all his sister's time, and he wants his piece of the pie, too. Nana has stood up for Russell more than once in the time they've known each other, and he does love her, but he is conflicted about how much time Nana is taking from his family's life. In between serious moments, much of the fun in Sort of Forever comes courtesy of Russell, who can charm the fish out of the ocean when he wants to. He is one of a number of characters in this book you won't forget long after finishing it.
Even when Nana's days of getting around on her own are long over, and there's little chance she will live to explore outside her house ever again, there's still one more adventure ahead for her and Cady, like the ones they used to have before the cancer treatments started to fail. On a night of colorful renaissance, Nana's washed-out eyes sparkling with purpose after projecting nothing but listless disinterest for weeks, Cady and Nana will have one last blast together, a tribute to a friendship that once was much more than an interminable march to the funeral home, a ceremony of mourning started months before the victim's death. Cady and Nana were something special, are something special, and they won't let Nana fade away without celebrating it one last time. Nana's moments of greatest clarity come during this final night of happiness, as she thinks ahead to the fun nights Cady will have in the future without her. "(R)emember me, okay? Whenever you do something that's really, really fun?" Cady answers the only way she knows to in the moment, true to the only way she can possibly feel: "It won't be any fun if you're not there". But Nana knows there are days and dreams still ahead for Cady, even without Nana in her life. "Oh, sure it will," she says. "Someday it will. And you'll have other friends, too, and do you know what? I don't even mind anymore! Just don't forget me, that's all." Thus, a parting night of triumphant togetherness is also platform for some of the most rending emotional dialogue in the story, the moment when it hits us with full force all that these two girls are about to lose, the silences never to be filled, the inside jokes that will never complete the conduit. We begin to feel the depth of the coming loss before it arrives, and there's no doubt the next several pages will be filled with as much emotion as the reader can handle.
"I believe it's a miracle each of us is born in the first place. Beyond that I think we should just be grateful for life itself, for as long as it lasts."
—Cady's mother, Sort of Forever, P. 119
What does forever feel like when we prepare to enter it alone, without the one we always pictured when we thought of forever, the only person we could imagine making it palatable? It's impossible to wrap one's mind around the enormousness of the idea, to reconcile oneself to the truth of never seeing that person again. It's more than anyone should have to face. It's why a story like Sort of Forever overwhelms us so, the thought of a loss that can never be restored, a friendship interrupted for good before it even has the chance to face the trials of adolescence. Forever is so big, it threatens to swallow us up if we think about it too long, but once we've lost someone to forever, it's impossible not to think about it. Yet even as the reader gives in to the free-flowing tears and sobs of grief as Sort of Forever reaches its end, there is more ahead for Cady. Her friendship with Nana may have been severed against the will of either party, but Cady's life has not ended. The future blossoms with opportunities for other friendships, chances to give the time and effort necessary to slowly build a relationship like she had with Nana. Nana may be hiding from Cady for now, but their friendship isn't over; it's just different, a forever connection reinforced by every moment they spent together during their years of best friendship. It all still exists between them, as surely as ever. And that will never change.
I find myself falling well short of the greatness of Sort of Forever in this review. Believe me, I know it. With a book this emotionally profound, a story that blew me away on multiple levels, I don't know if it's possible to express on demand what it means to me, the resounding tones that will linger for the rest of my life as I think back on what I learned from the story of two brave girls facing the monster of death in their own way, refusing to succumb to the dirge of lost hope, knowing always that now matter how it played out, they were going to face it together. Through the streaming tears and deep heartache that will come when reading the final chapters, it isn't hard to see hope for Cady in the weeks, months and years ahead. She won't even have to get through them on her own. She'll know what Nana would say if she were there to give her opinion, and Cady can take her best friend's advice or disregard it, just as she would if Nana were still right there beside her. After all, Nana would never really bail on her, right?
Books the caliber of Sort of Forever come along so rarely, I sometimes go years without finding anything so magnificent. Author Sally Warner is a master of characterization, descriptive phrase, honest, open dialogue and, of course, extraordinarily powerful emotion, which makes its mark all through Sort of Forever. You'd hear no argument from me if this book had been awarded the 1999 John Newbery Medal, even in a year of such classics as Holes by Louis Sachar, A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck, The Islander by Cynthia Rylant, If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson, Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos and Max the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick. Sort of Forever is one of the greatest books I've ever read, an experience I will keep close always as a reminder of what literature can be at its best. It is, to me, a masterpiece.
March 20, 2014
It's been years since I read this book, and it still makes my heart ache a little bit when I remember it. For a book written for younger people, it truly brings heavy topics into light. It makes you think about your friendships and how much people mean to you -- Whether they're still alive, only alive for a while longer, or already gone...
May 6, 2009
This is a book about two best friends, Cady and Nana. Usually, Nana is always there for Cady, but when Nana gets cancer, it is Cady's turn to be there for Nana. This story is a sad, but such a touching story. I think that throughout everybody's lifetime, they should read this book. Cady never stops trying to make Nana to feel comfortable and normal, but sometimes Nana can be a real grouch. Cady understands though and ingnores it. This heartwarming story teaches you that a true friend will stick by your side through anything!
May 26, 2020
This book touched my heart the most. i say this becuase it is a really sad and depressing story. It’s about two best friends, one of them is diagnosed with cancer. Their relationship starts to tore but they manage to keep it real and safe. The two brave girls face the death in their own way, both refusing to succumb the lost of hope, both knowing no matter what happens they will both stick together. Something I learned from this book is that a true friend will stick by your side through anything. Also it makes you think about your friendships and relationships and how much they mean to you, whether they’re still alive or only alive for a while with time leaving.
September 30, 2008
Melissa Downs
8-2
9-30-08
Sort of Forever
Sally Warner
Adventure
Sort of Forever
Friendship is forever. This saying is true for these girls no matter what happens. The two friends Nana and Cady have made it through everything but can they pull through the biggest thing yet? Nana, the normally strong one gets cancer and now it’s Cady’s turn to be strong and help her through it, but can she?
Throughout the book the two girls go on many adventures. They find a way to enjoy their time together even when Nana has cancer. Nana the daredevil is running out of energy because of the cancer so Cady has to think of ways for her and her friend to have fun. Becoming a daredevil is hard but Cady managed it. On the night of Halloween she becomes a real daredevil taking Nana in her wheelchair on a journey. Together they climb the hill to the top on the street where the new house is being built. It used to be a vacant lot with an amazing view and now it’s an ugly house with a nasty owner. After hiding Nana, Cady takes out the toilet paper and decorates the house. Both of the girls enjoyed this Halloween and it would be one to remember.
What I learned from this book is to keep the ones I love close. The little fights we have mean nothing, I need to forgive and forget. I would rate this book as a four. It was so good and I would defiantly read it again. This is an amazing book that I think everyone with a soft heart should read it. It really makes you think about your loved ones and how we take for granted the time we have with them.
8-2
9-30-08
Sort of Forever
Sally Warner
Adventure
Sort of Forever
Friendship is forever. This saying is true for these girls no matter what happens. The two friends Nana and Cady have made it through everything but can they pull through the biggest thing yet? Nana, the normally strong one gets cancer and now it’s Cady’s turn to be strong and help her through it, but can she?
Throughout the book the two girls go on many adventures. They find a way to enjoy their time together even when Nana has cancer. Nana the daredevil is running out of energy because of the cancer so Cady has to think of ways for her and her friend to have fun. Becoming a daredevil is hard but Cady managed it. On the night of Halloween she becomes a real daredevil taking Nana in her wheelchair on a journey. Together they climb the hill to the top on the street where the new house is being built. It used to be a vacant lot with an amazing view and now it’s an ugly house with a nasty owner. After hiding Nana, Cady takes out the toilet paper and decorates the house. Both of the girls enjoyed this Halloween and it would be one to remember.
What I learned from this book is to keep the ones I love close. The little fights we have mean nothing, I need to forgive and forget. I would rate this book as a four. It was so good and I would defiantly read it again. This is an amazing book that I think everyone with a soft heart should read it. It really makes you think about your loved ones and how we take for granted the time we have with them.
October 27, 2017
I read this book on and off over this past month. There was nothing wrong with the book. I thought it dealt with a very difficult subject well and in a way that would be easier for younger kids to grasp. And I loved Russell! But this story was so slow to me. And when it ended, it seemed to end in the middle of a thought.
July 23, 2010
The first book that made me cry.
AAAND.....well this book was fantastic. Like I said, it was a tearjerker. It really showed the struggle of cancer and how it weighs down on everyone. I loved this book and encourage everyone to read it, if you're an adult or a kid.
AAAND.....well this book was fantastic. Like I said, it was a tearjerker. It really showed the struggle of cancer and how it weighs down on everyone. I loved this book and encourage everyone to read it, if you're an adult or a kid.
December 18, 2019
This is my second time reading this book and I do like it. It's not challenging or long, which is what I prefer in a book. I found the book amusing and very sad. I did cry towards the end and I couldn't get over it. This book was fun and easy to read and I do recommend it.
September 30, 2014
This book made me cry as a child
June 4, 2023
Im speechless
October 23, 2017
The book” Sort of Forever” is a realistic fiction written by Sally Warner. The main characters are Cady and Nana. .Both of them were eleven years old and were going on to seventh grade. They were the happiest girls in school and they were active and loved running. They had a promise to be best friends forever. Even to buy an empty lot that was around the corner just for them. This all ended until they detected Nana with cancer in her leg. Nana at first was not that affected but as time went by she struggled to walk, she got weaker, and weaker until she couldn't go to school. Constant pain would be in her leg and cady had to be with her. Then she was always in a hospital bed and needed a wheelchair. She was thin and always grouchy, and pale. Little by little she was getting smaller. Cady would visit her everyday. She had home nurses who cared for her. Then a man bought the lot and was very grumpy and very grouchy about his property and made Cady's brother cry. Nana was upset about this so on Halloween night they went out and asked Cady to take her to the house of the man. They dirtied and destroyed the house with rolls of toilet paper. Then it was time on the day after thanksgiving Nana died. Her last words for Cady was that she could have a lot of friends and everything of fun she wanted but to never forget her. Thats is exactly what Cady did and she never ever forgot what it was like to have a great friend like Nana. Now they were together well sort of forever.
March 24, 2022
The only reason I am giving this book four stars is because Nana died. This book is the first book that made me cry and it fell like I being hit with a wall of bricks while being pined down. That’s what I love about books. Simple letters that turn into words, that turn into sentences, that turn in paragraphs, that turn into chapters, that turn into story’s can make one so feel bad about something that isn’t even real.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2017
Most of the book takes place during the summer before 7th grade for Cady and Nana. They have been friends for a long time. Nana has been diagnosed with incurable cancer. The friends have to grapple with new questions about friendship and life. Sally Warner deals with these life and death matters in a realistic and caring way. An ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults.
January 2, 2021
Not my favorite book. The girl was not very nice to her brother and parents, and the idea of her friend having cancer and then dying in the end was probably not the best ending. It took the Lord's name in vain quite a few times.
May 16, 2017
The book was really well written, but it ended sad.
October 15, 2017
I read this book in the 4th grade. It was the first book to make me cry. It is a beautiful story about friendship and what it’s like for it to be taken from us. I loved it this story.
May 8, 2020
This was a sweet story, kind of predictable, but really sweet
May 25, 2020
One of my favorites when I was a kid. 😊
May 15, 2023
3.5 Weighty. Be prepared to have all sorts of discussions about grief, loss, death, and illness and all the ways it impacts people - the ill person as well as everyone around them.
May 24, 2023
an absolute mindf*ck.
these kids go through so much, and the ending left me feeling empty. idk why i read this lol
still a 10/10.
these kids go through so much, and the ending left me feeling empty. idk why i read this lol
still a 10/10.
September 3, 2023
I've had this book since my friend gave it to me in the 6th grade. We're not friends anymore, but I finally read it, and it was lovely. Thanks Taylor.
April 1, 2024
A beautifully written book that is both sensitive and realistic to losing a friend to illness.
It is a heartbreaking but terribly satisfying read.
It is a heartbreaking but terribly satisfying read.
October 10, 2025
Really great IF you need to read about it...very difficult friendship when you know your friend will die. 😢 but well written for the occasion. Strictly for therapy, it is soo sad.
December 2, 2025
This book was really good. It was sad at some points but I couldn’t put it down. I wished I had a friend like that right now.
March 24, 2025
I read this book when I was around 10 years old and lost a family member to cancer. It was the first book I ever owned and I still have that copy. It meant so much to me and has stuck with me. I’ve read it again multiple times and I turn 30 this year. Thank you to the author for this book.
April 25, 2015
Cady and Nana have been best friends since they were babies. Nana was the one who always seemed to help Cady with everything. She was braver and less fearful of authority, which lead to her and Cady getting into lots of trouble together. But Nana got sick and things changed.
This book is set mainly after Nana has already had cancer for a while and is going off of chemo. The book explores the emotions of anger and helplessness that Cady and Nana both experience from losing each other. And what it is like to be forced to "move on" with life when someone you know is dying.
This book is slow moving at times, but I didn't feel that it was missing anything by lacking action. The book is mainly about feelings, emotions, and a beautiful friendship.
I could barely finish the last chapter, because my vision was blurred by tears.
This book is set mainly after Nana has already had cancer for a while and is going off of chemo. The book explores the emotions of anger and helplessness that Cady and Nana both experience from losing each other. And what it is like to be forced to "move on" with life when someone you know is dying.
This book is slow moving at times, but I didn't feel that it was missing anything by lacking action. The book is mainly about feelings, emotions, and a beautiful friendship.
I could barely finish the last chapter, because my vision was blurred by tears.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2016
I read the book Sort of Forever By: Sally Warner. This book is about two girls that were friend since they were in kinder garden one girl name was Cady she was scared of everything all the time the other girl's name was nana she like to do everything and she wasn't scared of anything. One day nanas mom one day found out that nana had cancer nana wasn't scared of it she just wanted to have fun all the time even if she was sick.
I really like when the two girls have fun all the time. I didn't like when nana had to go to the hospital because she got really sick and Cady was really sad because her best friend was at the hospital. I would not change anything about this book because I like how it is.
I would recommend this book to everybody because is good and easy to read.
I really like when the two girls have fun all the time. I didn't like when nana had to go to the hospital because she got really sick and Cady was really sad because her best friend was at the hospital. I would not change anything about this book because I like how it is.
I would recommend this book to everybody because is good and easy to read.
August 14, 2013
i read this book many years ago .As a matter fact,the book is for children but i think everybody should read because its such an inspiring and faithful story ,no matter what happens and how hard the situation is ,u shoould never leave your loved one .
the story about two bestfriend ,nana and cady.Usually ,nana is always there for cady but when nana gets cancer ,cady things it her turn to take care of her bestfriend no matter what will happens ,,so she always tries to do her best to comfort nana .Sad and bittersweet story !
p.s i adored the title of the book and its the main reason behind reading the book .
the story about two bestfriend ,nana and cady.Usually ,nana is always there for cady but when nana gets cancer ,cady things it her turn to take care of her bestfriend no matter what will happens ,,so she always tries to do her best to comfort nana .Sad and bittersweet story !
p.s i adored the title of the book and its the main reason behind reading the book .
June 26, 2011
Perhaps one of the most impactful books of my younger reading career. Touching, at times funny, and mostly quirky, this is a great read. Even with it's sad theme, and ultimately there is no resolution in the friend's death, but it's powerfully told. Great respect to the author for tackling this subject!
April 5, 2009
I read this for a project a few years ago, and I loved it!!
I'm somewhat embaressed to say that I don't remember all the charachters names. All I remember is that the plot was very emotional and well written.
Tip: If you're looking for a light read, this is not the book for you! It is touching and emotional!
I'm somewhat embaressed to say that I don't remember all the charachters names. All I remember is that the plot was very emotional and well written.
Tip: If you're looking for a light read, this is not the book for you! It is touching and emotional!
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