Send Me a Sign

Gr 8 Up—It's the summer after her junior year, and Mia Moore is all set to spend it with her three closest friends poolside. School break is barely underway when she finds out that she has leukemia, and most of her vacation is spent in the hospital undergoing intensive chemotherapy. Always superstitious, Mia is constantly looking for signs to help guide her life. One of her pals comments that she hates hospitals, and Mia interprets this as a sign to not tell her friends about her illness. Her mother, who is having trouble dealing with the diagnosis, agrees with her decision. The teen elects to only confide in her oldest childhood friend and neighbor, Gyver, who spends his summer caring for her. When senior year starts, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep her cancer a secret. In a weak moment, she tells handsome Ryan. Both he and Gyver vie for her affection and Mia, barely coping with her illness and mourning the loss of her female friends, finds her life slipping out of control. Her decision not to tell her friends is somewhat unbelievable, as is their inability to recognize that she is seriously ill. While not as nuanced-or witty-as other stories of teens with cancer, such as Wendy Wunder's Probability of Miracles (Razorbill, 2011) or John Green's The Fault in Our Stars (Dutton, 2012), Schmidt's debut is compelling; it has heartbreak and tragedy, but hope as well.—Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn, NY