Betts, A.J. Zac & Mia. New York: Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, 2014.

I tried to imagine as I read this what it might be like to live by the odds as cancer patients must. Zac, who is battling leukemia, knows ALL of the stats. He knows his odds; he knows how many people die on any given day. He even knows that the girl next door to his hospital room is a 98. Mia, who is battling osteosarcoma, has a 98% chance of a complete recovery. I surely couldn’t imagine not for me or either of my kids, but such is the battle of countless young people every day. A.J. Betts captures this battle in an honest and unflinching way.

Zac and Mia meet in the cancer center. Zac is recovering from a bone marrow transplant - weeks of isolation with only the nurses and his mum to break the monotony. Mia is in and out for treatment of a cancerous tumor on her ankle. They initially communicate through knocking on the wall that separates their rooms, eventually through facebook and by telephone. Their paths cross in unusual ways after each finishes their current treatment. Through this we get introduced to Perth Australia, to an olive tree farm complete with a petting zoo, kangaroos anyone? We meet friends and family and journey through sickness and recovery with two kids who have the courage to keep propping each other up when it seems there is nothing left.

My only reservation? The language is very raw. I can easily tell myself that certainly the language is part of what makes these characters so believable. I can only dimly process the anger I would feel in their shoes, and my vocabulary would likely reflect that anger. Nonetheless, in a 7-12 library the language must give me pause.

To sell this book will be easy. Not to minimize this novel’s own importance, I can easily say if you loved The Fault in Our Stars, you will love this book. My students are all of the time looking for look alikes. They will quickly fall in love with both Zac and Mia. They will root for them as they are developed so expertly. They will laugh and cry. I look forward to some great conversations about this one.