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Synopsis
Sam and Jules - everyone knows that when you see one, the other can't be far behind. Best friends for more than half their lives, the two are practically inseparable. And in the summer before their last year of high school, Sam and Jules are certain that whatever the future brings - college or professional dance careers or both - they'll be ready for it, sharing the triumphs and facing the tears together.
But nothing could have prepared them for Jules's sudden illness and the discovery of its cause - cancer. Sam tries to be a true friend, supporting Jules during the weeks of testing and doctors and treatments, but the horrifying pain and indignities that Jules suffers, and the feeling that she has lost control over her own life, force Jules to a place where even Sam cannot follow. Now both Jules and Sam must learn to accept the unacceptable - that Jules's cancer may not go away. How each, in her own way, comes to face the possibility of Jules's death, and learns to celebrate her life, makes for a searingly honest, unforgettable novel.
Publishers Weekly
Few YA dramas deal with the issue of terminal illness as intimately as this gripping first novel, which alternates between the points of view of Juliana, at 16 a gifted dancer, and her ``one-and-only'' best friend, Samantha. The girls' initial concerns about boyfriends and dance class seem trivial after Jules is diagnosed with histiocytic lymphoma, a deadly form of cancer. Through graphic depictions of what follows-endless sessions of chemotherapy, emergency runs to the hospital and Jules's periodic escapes into a dream state-readers will feel the young victim's weariness as she fights against the body which has betrayed her. They will also experience Sammie's complex responses as she watches her friend embark on a ``solo journey'' toward death. The dissipation of Jules's hopes, her growing acceptance of the inevitable, and the reactions of peers and family members are hauntingly true to life; they camouflage the less credible episodes (Jules's brilliant performance in a dance concert during the last weeks of her life). Although the subject matter may be too intense for some, others will come away from this book with a deeper respect for mortality. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)