Ways to Live Forever

I chose to read it
I picked up Ways to Live Forever, by Sally Nicholls, sometime last month. I knew that this children's/young adult's novel would probably make me cry, and despite having this foresight I was unable to stop the tears for quite some time when I got to the end.

Waterstone's made this their winner of their 2008 Children's Book Prize.

Story
This novel follows a boy called Sam in his final months as he slowly dies from leukaemia. We're not treated to some third person narration, but a first person narrative that Nicholls has obviously carefully constructed from interviews and research she has done on the issue. The insights the reader gains into the feelings of the character's around Sam, such as his parents and little sister, also shows the level of research that Nicholls has put into the piece. It's all tastefully done.

Thoughtful
The novel features some extremely thought provoking sections where there are inclusions of notes made by the character Sam (titled: 'Questions Nobody Answers'), these sections ask such things as 'Why does God make kids get ill?'

Related link
Official site for the novel