What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

I either read this book when I was in middle school or elementary school, so it would be around the early to mid 2000s

It is about two girls who have been best friends their entire lives, one is more outgoing and one is more shy. The outgoing one has cancer, and I am pretty sure she has cancer throughout the entire book (it was a relapse I think). And so the book just follows the girls as they hang out, kind of a coming of age story but with the sick friend getting worse. I can't remember much of the plot, just random scenes like the healthy friend taking her little brother to the pool and having to jump in to save him when he starts drowning. And going to see her sick friend in the hospital during the fourth of july--she sneaks in her brother's pet turtle to cheer up the sick friend, and they watch fireworks through the hospital window. The healthy friend has to learn to be more outgoing and not always rely on her friend.

At the end--Spoilers-- the sick friend gets worse and worse until she eventually dies. And the girl has to cope with life without her friend.

The cover was a drawing of the two of them (sick friend has curly black hair, healthy friend had straight brown hair) sitting on a swing together. The background (if I remember correctly) was blue, like they had the sky behind them
Thanks!

Just noting that Swing Sideways by Nanci Turner Steveson appears to have a similar theme and ending, but it was published in 2016.

Sort of Forever

Rainbowheart wrote: "Sort of Forever"

Yes, that's it! Wow thank you, this has been driving me crazy

Yay, glad to help out!