Bookverdict.com

Gr 4-7 Eleven-year-old Sam knows that he is dying from leukemia. He has decided to write a book that includes his thoughts on the matter as well as his lists and his questions, particularly those that no one ever answers like, "Why does God let kids get ill?" Through his writing, Nicholls has drawn a portrait of a family coping with a child's terminal disease. Readers meet Sam's mother, father, and younger sister, eac...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Sam is eleven, and he is dying of leukemia. In this journal record of the final four months of Sam's life, Nicholls creates a character and a world that are authentic, buoyant, honest, and stripped of sentimentality. The story is structured around Sam's eight goals, from breaking a world record to going up a down escalator, from being a teenager (smoking, drinking, having a girlfriend) to seeing the earth from space. In varied, plausible ways he accomplishes all his goals, and with each one he grows as a person. The world record invo...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Sam, eleven, is dying of leukemia. This journal record of his final four months describes eight goals, which include bei...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Ways to Live Forever is an impressive debut novel that addresses a difficult subject in an age-appropriate way. Sam’s matter-of-fact voice, as well as his lists and other journal entries, provide a remarkable sense of immediacy that allows readers to feel they really know Sam—a curious, eager boy, who despite his illness, is full of life. He has many questions that are impossible to answer definitively: Why did he get sick? Will he die? Will it hurt? As Sam and his family struggle to accept the unfairness of Sam’s situation, t...Log In or Sign Up to Read More