Review: Bittersweet by Winnie Mack

Bittersweet is one of the newest middle grade novels from Scholastic Canada. Written by Canadian author, Winnie Mack, it is a beautifully written story about a girl who is changed forever by her diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes. Personally, I think it's hard to find a really good "issues" book for the middle grade level. It's all magical adventures, awkward humour, or friendship stories. Mack's novel addresses a real issue for kids to experience and deal with, and to come out at the end with perspective, a little education, but the good feelings of a beautiful novel.

Summary: Sam is a normal 12-year-old. She loves ice cream, sleepovers, Christmas, and her soccer team (future team captain). What doesn’t she love? Her super-annoying teenage brother, how her little sisters mess up the house and talk incessantly, and especially, how completely weird she is feeling. 

Lately, Sam has been crazy hungry and thirsty. She’s tired all the time, and, most humiliating of all, she’s started wetting the bed like a baby. 

One day, after a collapse at a soccer game, she wakes up in the hospital to find out she’s got Type 1 diabetes. Suddenly everything is different: not just her diet and the injections, but her relationships with her family and her friends. Will she learn to handle it? 

This poignant story of a young girl coming to terms with a serious diagnosis, is a hopeful tale about overcoming life’s hurdles.

Sam struggles to come to terms not only with having this disease, but also having to face the uncertainty and fear of her friends, classmates, and even her siblings. We see her learn to accept that while she will never be normal, her diabetes does not make her weak or unlucky. It is a positive story of overcoming life's unexpected challenges and learning to live the hand you were dealt.

Parents and educators, you'll be pleased to know this is a clean read for ages 8-12. There are no frightening scenes or upsetting moments involving medical emergencies. Mack has done her research, keeping Sam's symptoms down to a science, rather than weaving dramatics for interest's sake. If you have a reader at home that likes a feel-good, realistic, "issues" story, I highly recommend it!

Overall, I really enjoyed Bittersweet. Regardless if you or someone you know has diabetes, cancer, or any other form of illness or disease, this is a novel that sticks with you. Sam is a kid who is just like you, with dreams and fears, and likes and dislikes. Illness can strike anyone, at any time. Life is unpredictable and it can be unfair, but illness does not mean we are incapable of achieving our dreams.

4 Stars

Bittersweet will be published on April 1, 2016.

Review: I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

I've heard many amazing things about Jandy Nelson's I'll Give You the Sun and I'm so happy to say that this book definitely held up to all the praise. This book is heart-wrenching, beautiful, inspiring, and incredible, and I loved every minute of it. 

Summary: Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.

Nothing I could say about this YA novel can really justify the depth and power of the story. Both Jude and Noah not only struggle with their mother's death, their broken family, and their tormented twin-bond, but a myriad of other heartbreaking issues from identity crisis, to sexual orientation, to addiction. 

This book is written for YA readers ages 14 & up due to the mature language and themes. Nonetheless, it is already a celebrated novel among bloggers and reviewers. It is extremely well-written and highly acclaimed. Among its many awards and starred reviews, I'll Give You the Sun has already picked up the 2015 Printz Award and the 2015 Stonewall Honor. 

Move over Fault in Our Stars. There's a new beautiful, soul-crushing YA novel in town. 

4 Stars 

Review: I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

"Peace in every home, every street, every village, every country--this is my dream. Education for every boy and every girl in the world. To sit down on a chair and read my books with all my friends at school is my right. To see each and every human being with a smile of happiness is my wish" (pg 313).

I've never been interested in reading non-fiction, but I've had my eye on I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban for a while now. Not only is this inspiring person the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, but her story is so incredibly power and so important, that I really wanted to read it. I'll admit I'm not the most informed person when it comes to global news and political crises, but even if you're not aware of who Malala is beyond faint recognition of her name, it is impossible not to have a sense of who the Taliban is or the dangers of political crisis and the institution of social and political change in Pakistan right now. Malala's story and her cause are important, making this an important book for everyone to read.

Summary: When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education. 

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.

Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she became a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize. 

I AM MALALA is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons. I AM MALALA will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.

It is impossible not to feel changed after reading Malala's story of growing up in Pakistan, of her family's struggles to live under the violent oppression of Muslim extremists, and the reality of the inequality of girls and boys. It reminds readers how lucky we are in North America to have the right to education; to be able to live in a society free from the fear of being gunned down in the name of twisted interpretations of holy text. Our cultures and lifestyles may be different, but the lesson Malala teaches reaches us all. You may be Muslim, Christian, Jewish, or an Atheist, but regardless of who we are and what beliefs we hold, we're all human. We all deserve peace, equality, and the right to live, and grow, and be happy.

Malala's voice is inspiring, powerful, and honest. It's easy to relate to her, to feel for her, and to be affected by her story. I flew through this book, captivated by Malala's bravery and remarkable personality. Parents/educators should be forewarned that the book does contain content (objectionable language, some graphic violence, and minor gore). However, I strongly believe that the context in which the content appears justifies its presence. We should not shy away from the truth of the terrible things that happened and are happening in Pakistan. It is only when we are all aware and willing to stand up against the violence and discrimination that change will happen.

Everyone should read I Am Malala. This is a beautiful story of a young woman whose bravery has made her voice heard around the world. I almost never give 5 stars, but nothing deserves it more than this extraordinary memoir about this extraordinary person.

5 Stars