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A TIME FOR DANCING by Davida Wills Hurwin

A TIME FOR DANCING

by Davida Wills Hurwin

Pub Date: Oct. 1st, 1995
ISBN: 0-316-38351-1
Publisher: Little, Brown

Samantha and Juliana have been best friends forever. Now, the summer before their senior year, they are even closer, coping with Sam's mom's new male friend and Jules's straying boyfriend. When Jules collapses at dance class in excruciating pain, she finds herself on a path where no best friend can follow: She has acute leukemia that, in spite of massive doses of chemotherapy, is terminal. Sam is slow to realize that her friend's illness is not something she can fix with sheer good spirits. Both young women finally face up to the fact that Jules is going to die, but make a last, desperate effort to celebrate her life. In the process, they rediscover their enduring love for each other, finding triumph in the midst of their sorrow. This is an unforgettable debut by a writer to watch. In dreamy, painful passages, Hurwin crafts Jules's state as she begins, slowly, to leave earthly things behind. The novel is beautifully composed, with dialogue that never falters, characters who are fully realized, and plotting to make readers turn the pages through their tears. (Fiction. 12+)