Zac and Mia
by A.J. Betts
Published September 2nd 2014
by HMH Books for Young Readers
Synopsis
The
Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this tough and tender young adult
novel that's a lot about love (and a little about cancer).
Winner
of the 2012 Australian Text Prize
"When
I was little I believed in Jesus and Santa, spontaneous combustion, and the
Loch Ness monster. Now I believe in science, statistics, and antibiotics."
So says seventeen-year-old Zac Meier during a long, grueling leukemia treatment
in Perth, Australia. A loud blast of Lady Gaga alerts him to the presence of
Mia, the angry, not-at-all-stoic cancer patient in the room next door. Once
released, the two near-strangers can't forget each other, even as they
desperately try to resume normal lives. The story of their mysterious
connection drives this unflinchingly tough, tender novel told in two voices.
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My Thoughts
WOW…just
WOW! It was so easy to get wrapped up in
this story and not want to put it down until I finished it. I
absolutely LOVED Zac and Mia! Some readers are comparing this to The
Fault in Our Stars, but really, this book stands on its own. Yes, it is about cancer and yes it is about two teenagers. But where there was a love connection in
TFIOS, Zac and Mia is about friendship and how the powerful connection of that
friendship can withstand anything life throws at them.
The
story begins with Zac, a leukemia patient, in the hospital after receiving a
bone marrow transplant. Zac had such a
positive attitude about everything that life dished out for him and his sense
of humor was a wonderful and much needed relief in a story that deals with a
very tough issue. That comic relief was
really needed when Mia enters the scene.
She had just been diagnosed with osteosarcoma and was really bitter
about it. She was more concerned with
her appearance and her social life than needing to get better. She took out her frustration the first few
days by blasting Lady Gaga in her hospital room, and that is how Zac and Mia’s
friendship begins.
Zac
and Mia is a wonderful story about friendship, dealing with the horrible
aspects of a life threatening disease and growing up. I loved Zac’s family as they really were a
great support team for Zac. It was
really inspiring to ’watch’ Mia transform from a whining, self-absorbed
teenager, to someone who began to think less of herself and to care more about
others.
Overall,
this was a fantastic story with well-developed and well-liked characters. The
story flowed so smoothly and was well written.
Ms. Betts did an outstanding job writing this one and I look forward to
reading anything and everything that she publishes.
A
great big thanks to HMH Books for Young Readers for providing me with an ARC of
Zac and Mia to read and review.
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
About the
Author
I'm
a Perth-based writer who writes realistic fiction for teenagers (14+) but
adults enjoy them too. I'm also an English teacher, poet, writer of non-fiction
texts, presenter and reader.
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