Fans of All the Bright Places and The Fault in Our Stars will fall head-over-heels for this wonderfully original portrait of love and loss.
Samantha McCoy has it all mapped out. First she’s going to win the national debating championship, then she’s going to move to New York and become a human rights lawyer.
But when Sam discovers that a rare disease is going to take away her memory, the future she’d planned so perfectly is derailed before its started.
Realising that her life won’t wait to be lived, Sam sets out on a summer of firsts.
The first party.
The first rebellion.
The first friendship.
The last love.
Samantha McCoy has it all mapped out. First she’s going to win the national debating championship, then she’s going to move to New York and become a human rights lawyer.
But when Sam discovers that a rare disease is going to take away her memory, the future she’d planned so perfectly is derailed before its started.
Realising that her life won’t wait to be lived, Sam sets out on a summer of firsts.
The first party.
The first rebellion.
The first friendship.
The last love.
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Reviews
A deeply affecting novel full of straight-talking, sardonic humour. Ambitious, high achieving, socially awkward Sammie has just been diagnosed with Niemann-Pick, a disease that will gradually rob her memory before killing her. But Sammie is determined to fight ... With assured character development and a clear eye for realistic detail, Avery steers around the cliches of "sicklit" to create an original, memorable YA heartbreaker, with a complex, interwoven romance
Sardonic, distinctive, and wildly intelligent.
This book will open your heart and very possibly break it. Fierce Sammie McCoy is an unforgettable heroine, and as soon as I closed this book, I started to miss her. I still do.
Things you will probably experience while reading this wonderful book: gut-wrenching hope, ugly-crying, the joy of finding beautiful moments in the midst of difficult times. Enjoy.
A story of self discovery that's hard to put down.
A heart-rending and engrossing story. Excellent
A love story that will leave many readers in tears.
Sam is a great central character. She's so driven and determined to succeed that she has ended up quite isolated....Part of Sam's Niemann Pick journey is coming to terms with this and mending some fences. So throughout the book, she blossoms as she fades and it's really tremendously touching...The format is clever: because it's Sam's journal and Sam's memory is disappearing, it's clear that a great deal is happening that we don't get to read about, only infer. Avery handles with this great delicacy and grace and this first person view of things makes the book genuinely moving without ever succumbing to the saccharine
In Sammie McCoy, Avery has created a character that completely vibrates with energy. And Sammie's so wicked smart, you almost believe she will overcome everything. But that's not what this book's about. At some point possibility ceases to matter and Avery shows us to love all we already have. Such a moving read.