Book reviews from PaperWings

The Fault In Our Stars

by John Green

While I generally liked the pencil-sketched characters of Gus and Hazel in "The Fault in Our Stars," some character and plot details really didn't work for me. For example, I know it's plot-critical that Hazel and Gus don't know one another until they meet in the support group, but since Gus has a fairly common form of pediatric cancer (osteogenic sarcoma) and Hazel has a relatively rare and serious form (pediatric thyroid cancer with pulmonary metastases), why is Gus the one being treated at Memorial, "the big research powerhouse," and Hazel at the local children's general hospital? Hospital assignments may be the way they are instead of reversed because Gus was in high school when he was diagnosed, while Hazel was in middle school. . .or else Hazel's pre-cancer parents, now overprotective, once felt adversity-averse enough to enroll in an HMO. Similarly, Hazel's oft-referenced middle name is Grace, a name that I've read is almost exclusively given by more-Christian-than-average parents, yet this description seems to fit Gus's family, not Hazel's (not that I expect Gus's parents to name their son Grace, but perhaps something more gospel and conventional than Augustus). Also, we learn that Hazel wasted her Make-a-Wish trip on Disney World. . .at age 13? Despite rumors of relatively skanky clothes, X-rated song lyrics, and "sexting," maybe some teens today are actually "younger" than GenXers were: no self-respecting GenX 13-year-old's Last Big Wish would have been something as unoriginal and uncool as a trip to Disney World. Finally, I intensely disliked the subplot about the misanthropic Peter van Houten: it would have been more ironic if Gus and Hazel had traveled halfway around the world only to find that Peter was a recluse like J.D. Salinger who ultimately refused to meet them. Still, Hazel and Gus salvage their trip by enjoying their time together in Amsterdam before one of them admits to being terminal. . .I don't expect a book like "The Fault in Our Stars" to avoid the topic of death, but just once, I'd like an actual death to be reflected upon by a survivor in an epilogue. Good dying scenes are perhaps just as difficult to write as good sex scenes; this book contains both, and both could have been better.

Before I Go

by Riley Weston

SPOILER ALERT! This review contains information that reveals significant plot details. I first read "Before I Go" in 2007, and recently reread it when I was sorting and cleaning my personal library. Like one of its main characters, skater Madison Henry, "Before I Go" doesn't QUITE qualify for the (literary) championship competition. Prior to reading "Before I Go," I never followed the career of author Riley Weston. However, perhaps I should not have been surprised to learn she is perhaps best known for impersonating a talented teenager both onscreen and offscreen in Hollywood: Ms. Weston may have written "Before I Go" when she was nearly 40, but she wrote like a talented teenager who really needed good research skills and a skilled editor. Aside from being a Poor Little Rich Boy with a deceased mother who rarely sees his father, Jackson is probably the most well-developed and believable character in "Before I Go." In her pre-cancer period, Madison is too much of a Jekyll (dedicated competitive figure skater with sometimes childlike innocence) and Hyde (often nastier-than-average adolescent, especially to her mother/coach, Annie). The overworked Annie, who may be even more sleep-deprived than Madison, is not a saint, but easily fulfills 90% of the qualifications and is therefore not really believable. For plot reasons, it was clearly important to Ms. Weston that Jackson and Annie be the only two people Madison is especially close to throughout her entire life. The willing suspension of disbelief allows me to accept that Jackson is Madison's only CLOSE friend, but surely Madison would at least have other acquaintances. Even if they aren't competing at the national level like Madison, wouldn't other young people take regular figure-skating lessons at her hometown's only arena? Wouldn't Madison ever talk to other classmates at her public high school, if only in the few minutes between classes and at lunch (if she's always spewing her trademark sarcastic vitriol, perhaps they wouldn't talk to her). Don't any other teens besides Jackson and Madison live in their section of town? While Madison's lack of any adolescent relationships besides Jackson is difficult to swallow even when thoroughly chewed, it is absolutely impossible to believe that Madison's father (and Jackson) would leave his daughter's deathbed so Annie can be alone with Madison as she dies. No loving father or "love of your life" boyfriend would do this. Never. Ever. Prior to the Wagner/Nagasu Controversy of 2014 (which underscored how extremely rigged and unfair the USFSA is), I used to follow figure skating somewhat closely since childhood, and know the names of several different skating elements: spiral, Biellmann spin, sit-spin, flying camel, toe loop, lutz, Axel. . .Ms. Weston claims she took skating lessons, planning to eventually play Madison in a movie (really, Riley? This time, literally act your age and opt for Annie instead). If so, then why does she usually refer to generic "jumps" and "spins" in her book? Her skating descriptions, which could have been exquisite, lack fire and all but literal ice. I also question whether Ms. Weston had the manuscript of "Before I Go" reviewed by an oncologist, or even by a primary-care provider. Although not an MD, I have worked in a major medical center for several years and know how to research medical journals. The idea that a primary-care provider could initially and specifically diagnose a soft-tissue cancer like Ewing's sarcoma using blood tests alone seems VERY unlikely. In addition, it is even more unlikely that a patient being treated for any cancer with multiple chemo infusions would not be given a PICC, Hickman, or port instead of standard IVs requiring repeated needle sticks. . .even if her initial prognosis was poor. Ms. Weston does have talent as a writer, perhaps especially with dialogue. However, "Before I Go" reveals her weaknesses in characterization and factual research. . .perhaps signs of too much confidence in her literary ability. If she wants to compete with the likes of Judy Blume and Judith Guest, she has work to do.

Waiting With Gabriel

by Amy Kuebelbeck

This book exemplifies bittersweet wisdom. Initially I wanted to read it because I have an overall interest in medical ethics, and also because I am acquainted with the physician who was the family's pediatric cardiologist.Halfway through her third pregnancy, author Amy Kuebelbeck and her husband Mark Neuzil learn that the child Amy is carrying, a boy they name Gabriel, has hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). A child with HLHS is essentially missing the heart's strongest pumping chamber; in a best-case scenario, he or she survives a series of three palliative surgeries which result in adequate but never normal cardiac function. Offered three options (the three surgeries, an unlikely infant heart transplant, or comfort care), Amy and Mark research HLHS and elect to keep their intuitive first choice, comfort care. Determined that Gabriel's entire lifespan be as full and loving as possible, Amy, Mark, and their two preschool children prepare for Gabriel's birth, brief life, and death.Though any book about anticipated newborn death risks being melancholy, even maudlin, "Waiting with Gabriel" is suffused with honesty and light, even good humor: while Amy is still pregnant, she and Mark "take" Gabriel on family outings: to play on swings, to a baseball game, and to a chorus concert.Readers confronting their own prenatal diagnoses should be warned that this book's pages are tinged, albeit slightly, with antiabortion sentiments. A (presumably liberal) Catholic, Amy does not write that "no one should abort a child with a fatal medical condition unless the mother is at risk," but this is certainly implied in her subtext. Having been criticized for refusing aggressive medical treatment for Gabriel, I would have expected her to be more understanding.My only serious complaint about this book is that since Amy and Mark are "atypical" parents in many positive ways, "average" parents may find it difficult to relate to them. At the time she was pregnant with Gabriel, Amy was an Associated Press reporter who probably had access to more sources of medical information than anyone outside the health professions. Mark was a college professor. They were financially secure and had a loving, talented network of family and friends to help them through their journey, including a grandfather who built Gabriel's custom casket and a friend who wrote a song for Gabriel's funeral. How many parents have this kind of knowledge and support?Rest in peace and love, Gabriel. Your life had (and still has) meaning.