SIGN LANGUAGE by Amy Ackley (Viking 2011) is one of those books that a poet once wrote should come with kleenex tucked inside. Twelve year old Abby's father has terminal cancer. The first half of the book follows Abby and her family as they deal with Dad's declining health and eventual death. However, the second half of the book deals with the grieving process of Abby and her mother. Anger, denial, depression: it is all here. Abby pushes away all those close to her in her desperate grief. <533>
Don't think I can read this one right now but maybe in the future. Too stressed out to read sad. I lost a high school friend a few weeks ago to cancer. I am glad that there are books like this available. I'm sure way too many can relate!
ReplyDeleteI would love for my husband, a non-reader :(, to read this book. He lost his grandfather to cancer and his mother had a scare a couple of years back when they diagnosed her with cancer. Fortunately, she is doing great! Books like this are very important for people that have had experience with tough issues like this or are going through them.
ReplyDeleteNallely LS5385.07
This doesn't sound like a particularly pleasurable book, but I bet it will help lots of people who need it. Sometimes it is easier to deal with grief with the help of a book.
ReplyDeleteDanis Hayes
LSSL 5385
I agree with Danis that while this book may not be pleasant material, it is wonderful to have something to offer people who are in a similar situation. I often find though that the books that stay with me are not the ones with happy endings, but rather the tragic ones.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I would be able to read this book. Sounds very sad. I don't think I can handle it emotionally. Like everyone else, though, it's good to know of a title like this to refer students or adults to.
ReplyDeleteThis book is a "must have" in every middle school/high school library. Students need to have a variety of books that can deal with very real issues even those of sickness, loss, depression, change, and healing.
ReplyDeleteI just recently had a student in my class start crying because of him trying to deal with the issue of his parents divorce which took place about 2 years ago. I said that his dad wants to get back with the mom but the mom says it will never happen. This kid is so affected he started fighting in the bathroom the next day.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds like such a tear jerker but as much as I hate those books, I love them at the same time. They teach me to appreciate what I have right in front of me and to not take things for granted. I've had losses in my life although not nearly as extreme as losing a parent. It's good to know that even though it might to really hard, we do end up healing as best we can.
ReplyDeleteI cried when I read Trudy by Jessica Lee Anderson and I can only imagine how much more I would cry with this one. Nonetheless, it will be part of my reading list. I have had several close friends and loved ones battle with cancer. Some have been fortunate and others not.
ReplyDeleteI would really need a box of kleenex for this one. I can't read to many of these they really depress me, especially if you have friends that are going through it right now.
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