A good manual for teens seeking direction after a parent’s diagnosis.
Two sisters share helpful tips for dealing with a parent’s cancer diagnosis in this debut how-to guide for teens.
In 2013, the Carr sisters had a comfortable life in California. Katherine was a high school senior about to attend Stanford University, and Jacqueline, 14, was a member of the swim team. But when their single mother was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, the family didn’t hesitate in preparing for it. Together, they researched the disease and worked with doctors and insurance companies to find the best treatment plan. They investigated complementary treatments and adapted to a primarily vegan lifestyle that reduced the amount of sugar in their diets and boosted their mother’s intake of juiced vegetables. They also invested in massage and yoga practice. In this book, the Carr sisters emphasize the importance of calm and encourage young-adult readers to create a joyful home atmosphere by painting walls and brightening rooms. The sisters were the primary caretakers throughout their mother’s illness and relied on help from neighbors, friends, and hospital staff. They detail the ways in which they managed to get time off from school and homework—necessities for any teenager going through a similar situation. The author also discusses how one can make the time spent in waiting rooms emotionally and practically productive. The book’s first half provides a solid understanding of how the sisters became experts in this field, and it also demonstrates their compassionate, hopeful spirit. Although the autobiographical elements are usually casual and lighthearted, there are moments, such as when the mother returns from surgery, which reveal how emotionally painful a cancer battle can be. An alphabetic tip guide featuring playful suggestions and essential tasks dominates the second half. This list will provide a teenage reader with a general idea of his or her responsibilities, but it isn’t an in-depth guide to resolving the financial and emotional difficulties associated with cancer, and the book frequently points readers toward websites for more information.
A good manual for teens seeking direction after a parent’s diagnosis.Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9964882-4-2
Page Count: 216
Publisher: Stalbridge Press
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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