When Megan Charnell signs up to be a candy
striper at the hospital her father works at, she never realized that
being an organ donor could save someone's life. When she meets Donovan,
who needs a liver transplant in order to survive, she begins to
understand how delicate a matter this is.
Someone
Dies, Someone Lives
Katie O'Roark survives a difficult heart
transplant and dreams of becoming a runner again. With the help of her
new friend Josh, will she be able to recover and reach these dreams?
Mother,
Help Me Live
When Sarah McGreggor discovers she needs a bone marrow transplant from
her biological family to live, she is shocked to discover that her
family had adopted her, and cannot
help her in her plight. Sarah's life now depends on finding her birth
mother who gave her up 15 years ago. Will she be able to find her in
time?
A Time
To Die
Kara Fischer has never understood why she had
to be born with cystic fibrosis. As she develops a friendship with
another CF patient, Vince, and begins to develop feelings for Eric, a
guy from her class, she gains the hope she needs in order to live one
day at a time.
Sixteen
and Dying
It is hard for Annie Wingate and her dad to
believe that she has been diagnosed with HIV, and now they both must
deal with the inevitable progression of the disease.
Mourning
Song
When Dani Vanoy's older sister Cassie is
diagnosed with a brain tumor, she longs to fulfill her wish of going to
Florida. When an anonymous donor gives Cassie some money, Dani decided
to take Cassie whether or not her mother approves.
The
Legacy: Making Wishes Come True
Jenny is diagnosed with leukemia while living
alone with her wealthy, elderly grandmother. As she nears the end of
her life, she decides to give something back to others who feel just
like she does.
Please
Don't Die
Katie, a heart transplant survivor, goes to
summer camp where she meets Amanda who has been diagnosed with
leukemia, Chelsea, a candidate for a heart transplant, and Lacey, a
diabetic who will not deal with her condition.
She
Died Too Young
Katie and Chelsea from Please Don't Die
meet Jillian, who is waiting for a heart-lung transplant, and Chelsea
finds herself competing for her life against her new friend Jillian's.
All the
Days of Her Life
Lacey is a sixteen year old girl who has been
diagnosed with diabetes. When she tries to forget it and begins
skipping meals and mixing up her medication, she begins to head for a
whole lot of trouble.
A
Season for Goodbye
Lacey, Chelsea, and Katie rejoin at summer camp
as big sisters to other children suffering from illness. They realize
there they must face their past once again before they can move on to
face their future.
Reach
for Tomorrow
When Katie, a heart transplant recipient,
returns at the summer camp to be a counselor for other children with
life threatening illnesses, she discovers that her former boyfriend
Josh is there as well, bringing back a flood of memories and forcing
Katie to think about how to use her gift of life in a productive way in
the future.
Goodbye
Tomorrow by Gloria
Miklowitz
Alex, a high school junior, has a lot going for
him, with his steady girfriend and athletic abilitites. In order to
survive a car crash, Alex receives blood transfusions which he later
finds out contained the HIV virus. After this tragic event, everything
is turned upside down.
Invincible
Summer by Jean
Ferris
Robin and Rick have a lot in common. They both
live on farms in rural Iowa and love movies. Robin and Rick also both
have leukemia. In fact, that is how they meet. Robin is in the hospital
for tests, while Rick is getting chemotherapy. When Robin's test
results show that she has leukemia, Rick is there to help her cope with
her illness. A romance soon develops. But will both teens survive?
Miriam's
Well by Lois
Ruby
Miriam's life turns upside down when the back pain and fatigue she has been experiencing for some time turns out to be something quite unexpected: bone cancer. When her church refuses to let her have medical treatment, state lawyers step in in order to protect her, and suddenly Miriam is torn between following her faith and obeying the law. What path will Miriam take to attempt to reach remission?
Miriam's Well was an ALA Best Book for Young
Adults in 1995, won the "Book for the Teen Age" in 1994 by the New York
Public Library, was a candidate for the Sequoya Award in
1995-1996(Oklahoma), and won the "Iowa Teen Award" in 1997-1998.
Loving
Ben (Published in Great Britain as Red Sky in the Morning) by Elizabeth
Laird
Fourteen year old Anna just wants to be mature.
She can't help but be excited about the upcoming birth of her little
brother, or be annoyed by her little sister, Katy. Her little brother
is born handicapped, he is hydrocephalic. Anna is full of mixed
emotions about him, love and embarassment. The book follows Anna
through her story of love, loss and acceptance.
What
You Don't Know Can Kill You by Fran
Arrick
Debra is always jealous of the popularity and
assumed perfection of her older sister Ellen. However, after a routine
blood drive, Debra and her family are shocked to discover that Ellen is
HIV positive after her boyfriend had a secret affair while at college.
Debra, Ellen, and their family must now learn to face each day while
living with the deadly virus.
Between
A Rock and A Hard Place by Alden
Carter
Part of a family tradition, Mark Severson and
his cousin Randy partake on a once and a lifetime canoe trip alone
though the Minnesota wilderness. The problem is, neither of them want
to go, and Mark is worried about how Randy's diabetes will affect their
trip. When misfortune falls upon them and all their food and medicine
is lost, Mark must race against time in order to save Randy's life.
Diving
for the Moon by Lee F. Bantle
Bird is excited to be spending her summer
vacation on the shores of a private
Minnesota lake with her family and best friend, Josh. When Josh
contracts the HIV virus from a blood transfusion, suddenly their summer
turns from glorious
to uneasy.
A
Begonia for Miss Applebaum by Paul
Zindel
Henry and Zelda are stunned to find out that
their favorite teacher, Miss Applebaum, won't be teaching science this
year. She won't be back at school at all, she is dying of cancer. The
two set off to find Miss Applebaum, and eventually become her Saturday
companions. She shows them New York City through her world view, and
they in turn must try to complete her last wish.
My
Brother Has AIDS by Deborah Davis.
Lacy's dear older brother Jack has been on his
own for a while now, so when a letter comes from him which causes her
parents to start whispering amongst themselves, Lacy knows that
something is wrong. Finally her parents break the news to her: Jack is
moving home because he is dying of AIDS. Suddenly their lives will
never be the same.
The
Usual Rules by Joyce
Maynard.
Thirteen-year-old Wendy lives a happy life in
Brooklyn with her dancer-secretary mom, jazz musician stepfather, and
little brother. Then one fine Tuesday morning, her world collapses. A
plane crashes into the World Trade Center, the office building where
her mother works. Her mother never comes home. Wendy is beginning to
come to terms with her mother's death when her biological father turns
up, and offers to take her to California with him. Wendy must make
remake a life for herself where the usual rules don't apply.
The
Eagle Kite by Paula
Fox.
Liam, a high school freshman, must contend with
a web of family secrets and lies when he discovers that his father has
AIDS. Distanced from his parents, Liam remembers seeing his father
embrace a young man years before; a young man his father had called a
friend. What is the secret that Liam's family is hiding?
The
Chemo Kid by Robert
Lipsyte
When the egg-shaped lump Fred discovers below
his ear turns out to be cancerous, he begins an experimental course of
chemotherapy. Gradually Fred becomes aware that the treatment has made
him into a superhero of sorts: there are moments when his senses are
extraordinarily heightened and he is possessed with unusual physical
strength.
Del-Del
by Victor
Kelleher
Seven-year-old Sam has problems. On the
anniversary of his sister Laura's death, Del-Del, another personality
comes out. No one is quite sure what creepy, ominous Del-Del is, but
some people have some ideas. Sam's grandmother thinks it is a devil
possessing Sam, and performs an exorcism. This works for a while, and
then Sam starts claiming to be an alien from a distant galaxy. What is
wrong with Sam? Is he just acting out, or has he been taken over?
The
Great Blue Yonder by Alex
Shearer
Harry's dead. He got hit by a bus at the
beginning of the book. His last words to his sister are "You'll be
sorry when I'm dead." He actually gets to see the truth in those words.
His voyage beyond death begins in the Other Lands, where he meets up
with a long dead boy in search of his mother. They set off on a trip to
revisit family and friends, while Harry learns what death is really
about.
Index
About
the Books
Books
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