Mrs. Bixby's Last Day, John David Anderson. Mrs. Bixby, "one of the good ones" with the pink stripe in her hair and a Bixbyism quote for everything in her fifth grade class has cancer. Her last day party before leaving for treatments doesn't happen so Topher, Steve, (best friends) and Brand, (the new boy in town) set out to give her the party anyway at the hospital, but they have one day before she is transferred to a bigger hospital farther away. They combine their money, call the school pretending to be their parents excusing them from class that day, hop the city bus, and agonizingly make their way to see her.

With each new chapter, told from the three viewpoints, we laugh at the hilarity of purchasing, preserving, and protecting a white-chocolate raspberry supreme cheesecake, seethe at the angst of losing their money to George Nelson, who was to help them buy a bottle of wine, and tear up at their unfolding childhood stories. We learn the reasons why each boy, especially Brand, must see Mrs. Bixby again, "one of the good ones." You will find yourself rooting for them, experiencing every set back with them, and anxiously worrying about them. Topher, Steve, and Brand are unforgettable characters with the mischievousness of fifth grade boys, but the hearts of three golden puppies. They do finally make it to the hospital with their cheesecake, a bottle of whiskey, cold McDonald's French fries and a nearly dead cell phone. It doesn't turn out to be a good-bye party, but rather an Au revoir, or 'till we see each other again party.

This is a lovely, lovely story.

Bluish, Virginia Hamilton. Natalie, or Bluish, as she comes to be called, has cancer. She lives in a wheelchair, wears a hat to cover her hairless head and falls asleep easily. The cancer treatments cause her to have a "bluish" cast to her skin. Dreenie and Tuli, classmates, struggle with how to befriend her because they are both scared and curious of Natalie. But become friends they do. This is a heartwarming tale of what it means to be a friend to someone that most others ignore. This slim book reads quickly and is interspersed with journal entries written by Dreenie.

A Monster Calls, Patrick Ness. An unforgettable book and winner of multiple awards. Conor O'Malley's nightmare monster shows up night after night, at 12:07, just as his mother starts her unsuccessful treatments for cancer. Through a series of stories that the monster tells Conor, he is seeking for him to identify his own truth, which Conor is loathe to speak. Ness has written a beautiful story on behalf of Siobhan Dowd, herself an author, that lost her life too soon. It is about life and death, forgiveness and acceptance, love and anger, holding on and letting go. A lovely book to offer anyone struggling with a loss, or learning how to accept the unacceptable. I highly recommend this book, even if you read it only for yourself.