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Mercy Lily

by Lisa Albert (Goodreads Author)

3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 · rating details · 122 ratings · 34 reviews

I take the bees outside, unscrew the lid of the bee jar, and listen to their angry buzzing. "I hate you," I whisper.Lily's mother has slowly been losing herself to multiple sclerosis. After traditional treatment fails, she uses bee sting therapy, administered by Lily, to alleviate her pain. Lily is trained as a veterinary assistant, so she can easily handle the treatments....more

Paperback, 240 pages

Published October 8th 2011 by Flux (first published October 1st 2011)

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Beautiful Book Covers of 2011

199th out of 750 books — 3,791 voters

2011 Debut Authors (Young Adult and Middle Grade Lit.)

145th out of 306 books — 2,031 voters

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Dec 06, 2011 Liza Wiemer added it

Shelves: received-in-a-giveaway

Bold. Daring. Lisa Albert had a lot of guts to write this book for young adults, and for that I deeply admire her. Death is a hard enough subject for people to discuss, but to add in assisted suicide takes a fortitude and belief in oneself that is tough-as-nails underneath a soft, caring heart. The story is about a girl named Lily who cares for her sickly veterinarian mother who unfortunately is stricken with MS. Conventional medicine had brought her no relief, so she opts for alternatives inclu...more

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 06, 2011 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 3 of 5 stars

A beautifully written and heart-wrenching story about friendship, love and finding the courage to let go.

This was a hard book for me to read. Not because it was poorly written, because it wasn't! I was apprehensive because I knew that this was going to be sad. I knew there were going to be moments where tears would feel my eyes and I didn’t know if I could handle it!

There were sad moments, but the thing that surprised me was Lily. Facing the choices she did as a teenager were profound. I hope th...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 30, 2012 Dawn rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a great book just from the first half I have read. It deals with a teenager and her mother that has MS.
I have finished this book and know that this is one of those books that will stick in your mind. I will not forget this book and have already sent a copy to a friend.
This is a must read. It not only deals with MS, but how it effects others in the family. Read about the teenage girl facing normal teen issues, as well s losing her father, and caring for her mother, who has MS.

1 like · like · see review

Jun 10, 2012 Renee' rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a great story of struggle, life and losing a parent. Lily, a teen has to work through issues with friends, school, and her mom's terminal illness. It is a story full of characters who are willing to work through their troubles in a healthy way. Life gets messy and we don't always need to freak out or go crazy to get through it. This story shows us the difficulty and perseverance one can have to get through. This will be a great addition to my school library.

Several of my students have re...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Alexandra rated it 5 of 5 stars

Intriguing. Wonderful. Tear-jerking. These are just a few words that can describe Mercy Lily. While reading this novel, I had immense respect for Lily, and the trials she had to overcome to help her mom. When bee venom therapy for her mother’s MS fails, her heart becomes torn. Lily has to make the tough decision between keeping her mother and watching her suffer, or letting her finally be at peace with assisted suicide. Not only does she struggle with trying to help her mom, but as a teenager, s...more

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Feb 07, 2012 Beverly McClure rated it 5 of 5 stars

When someone we love has a terminal illness, we hate to see them in pain. Yet we don’t want to lose them either, so we’ll try most anything to help them survive and to even be cured. But what if the person is tired and wants to end the days and nights of suffering? Whose wishes do we honor? Ours? Or theirs?

Author Lisa Albert’s debut young adult novel, Mercy Lily, is a gentle story about a girl named Lily and her mother, Sophia, who has multiple sclerosis. Traditional treatment hasn’t helped Soph...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 25, 2012 Shirley rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this book because I have MS. Mine is nothing compared to Sophia's disease. I was interested in it because of the end of life aspect, also. I am not planning ending my life, in case friends read my review...LOL

I with there were more end of life laws, like in this book. If Oregon does have this law I would like to learn more.

You can read other member's reviews if you want to have a better understanding of the book. I am giving you why I read it and why I enjoyed it.

I enjoyed all of the cha...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 28, 2012 Heidi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-discussion-group, ya-contemporary

I wasn't sure about this book when I first heard about it, but I decided to give it a try and I'm glad I did. I found it a compelling story about Lily and her mother as well as the Death with Dignity Act that was passed in Oregon years ago. I found Lily a very sympathetic character as she struggles to take care of her mother while dealing with the normal challenges of high school, friends, crushes, etc. I liked that she had support from others around her, friends and neighbors. I don't know how...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 20, 2012 Brain Annex rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-10, debut, grief, lead-girl, ya, weepy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

Feb 01, 2013 Tammy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Mercy Lily is a poignant book of family & letting go. Lily wishes her life could go back to when her father was alive, and her mother wasn’t riddled with Multiple Sclerosis. But as her mother’s illness worsens, and she asks Lily to free her of her pain, Lily knows she hasn’t got long with her mother. What surprises her is that her friends, who, once distant, are starting to come back to Lily again, to help her have fun, and maybe even let go of her grief of losing her father and the pain of...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Megan rated it 2 of 5 stars

When I first started reading Mercy Lily, I thought it was going to be a really intense novel. It really didn’t turn out how I expected. There just didn’t seem to be anything there. I did feel sympathy for Lily and her mother at times, but this book never really caught my interest.
In Mercy Lily, Lily has to help her mom deal with multiple sclerosis by using bee venom treatment to help ease her pain. When the bee venom just isn’t enough, Lily’s mom asks her permission to let her go. Lily tries to...more

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Oct 30, 2011 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-mt-bookpile

I really wanted to like this book, but it really felt as though the author was writing with a Message, rather than letting the whole Death with Dignity motif happen organically.

Lily is a relatively normal teen, albeit one with no friends. Why? Because when her father died and her mother's MS got worse, she pulled away from her friends and they her. So now Mom's getting worse and Lily has few people in whom she can confide. At the age of 16, she's been working (illegally) as a vet, following her...more

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Sep 13, 2011 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wowza. This book threw me for a loop and took me on a wild emotional rollercoaster. It was very well written and presented such a situation that really made me think "What would I do in this situation?" I have watched friends and family suffer from MS and cancer, and with aging parents, it's something that I will likely have to face in the near future. But to be a teenager, have already lost your dad, and to have your mom dying and asking for help? Holy cow. The only reason I gave this 4 stars i...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 17, 2011 Erica rated it 4 of 5 stars

I should warn you all now that this was a really hard review for me to write and was a very emotional read for me. This book hit really close to home for me - my mom was diagnosed with MS when I was 8 years old, and my entire life since that has had me living in the same fear Lily has for a lot of the book. While my mom is lucky and is no where near as severe as Lily's mom in this book, it still was a very emotional read for me. I heard about Mercy Lily, and I wanted to read it, to see if I was...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 13, 2012 Princess Bookie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read2012

My Thoughts: I kind of didn't want to even read this book because I knew it was going to be sad. But every once in a while, we need to read books that shed some light on subjects and really effect us. That make us feel things and make us want to cry.

That was how Mercy Lily was for me. A few friends recommended it to me so I decided I would read it.

We are introduced to Lily who is a trained veterinary. Her mom was also a veterinary. She lost her father a few years ago and it's just been her and h...more

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Sep 29, 2011 Kat Alexander rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, books-i-own, read-2011, reviewed, figment-review

Lily's mother is dying. The last few years have been hard on her as she's fallen to multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that has been wreaking havoc on her brain and spinal cord. After traditional treatments failed, Lily and her mother turned to bee sting therapy to help with the pain. But when the BST begins to fail, too, Lily is asked to make an impossible choice. Her mother has been classified as terminal, which under Oregon's Death With Dignity Act allows her to end her own life. Physi...more Lily's mother is dying. The last few years have been hard on her as she's fallen to multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that has been wreaking havoc on her brain and spinal cord. After traditional treatments failed, Lily and her mother turned to bee sting therapy to help with the pain. But when the BST begins to fail, too, Lily is asked to make an impossible choice. Her mother has been classified as terminal, which under Oregon's Death With Dignity Act allows her to end her own life. Physician assisted suicide. How can sixteen-year-old Lily chose to let her mother end her life? But with her mother suffering so much, how can she not?

I'm a little fascinated by the debate over the morality of suicide, physician-assisted or not, so I was definitely excited to get my hands on a copy of this one. It starts out reasonably well, after Lily has already been asked, so there's no weird reaction scene. Lily clearly struggles with the idea, and she struggles with, well, the blurb on the back says the normal worries of high school sophomores, but it basically boils down to A Boy and two Former Friends. Odd thing though--it never seemed to me like she was really suffering all that much. She handles herself perfectly around The Former Friend, even makes up with The Other Former Friend (pretty convenient timing on that one, really). And don't get me started on The Boy, whose inclusion into the story at all I question.

Lily's conflict is, as it should be, her mother's proposition. While I might not agree with Lily all the time, I can still relate to her choices. Except when it comes to The Boy. I'm trying very hard not to talk about The Boy. It's a romantic subplot, and it is the low point of the book. It's not dirty. This is all I will say.

Overall, Mercy Lily kind of disappointed me, though. It's got such a strong premise, and while it's not bad--the writing isn't bad, the characters aren't bad (except--wait, not going to talk about The Boy), the research is good--there was nothing that properly impressed me. It's not all that profound, and within the first twenty pages I already had a good idea of how it was going to go down. I'd recommend it to someone interested in the subject matter or looking for a quick read, but in general? Not one I'm going to remember to mention.(less)

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Dec 11, 2011 Hannah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, own-finished-copy

I was really excited to read Mercy Lily. Physician-assisted suicide is a fascinating topic by itself, and a mother asking her daughter to let her go seemed like such a great idea for a novel. However, the actual book fell flet for me, and I was pretty disappointed.

What first drew me in with Mercy Lily - the assisted suicide storyline - turned out to not play an as important role as I'd thought. I thought Mercy Lily would be mainly about Lily having to decide whether or not to let her mom go, but...more I was really excited to read Mercy Lily. Physician-assisted suicide is a fascinating topic by itself, and a mother asking her daughter to let her go seemed like such a great idea for a novel. However, the actual book fell flet for me, and I was pretty disappointed.

What first drew me in with Mercy Lily - the assisted suicide storyline - turned out to not play an as important role as I'd thought. I thought Mercy Lily would be mainly about Lily having to decide whether or not to let her mom go, but really, Lily's mom has already decided for herself to deny treatment and ask for the medication to leave this world. Lily doesn't need to decide whether or not her mom will go; she just needs to decide whether to support her mother in her decision or whether to stay mad at her mom for giving up. And while that in itself wouldn't be a bad storyline, it's not what I expected from Mercy Lily.

Lily's character fell flat for me, and I can't even explain why. She should be easy to feel for, having already lost her dad and now losing her mom, but it just didn't happen. Her thoughts and feelings are underdeveloped, in my opinion, and I don't feel like I ever really got to know her. That made me feel removed from the whole story, so much so that I didn't cry at all, even though the story itself is tragic (and I'm a huge crybaby, normally).

The writing is, well, okay. Mostly, it's beautiful, and I really enjoyed the symbolism and all that, especially the description of the lilies. But the dialogue didn't work for me at all - it's unrealistic and just strange.

The storyline with Lily's former friends fell flat for me too. Everything about how they all used to be friends, their falling out, and their slowly working out their problems now seemed kind of pointless to me. The characters are flat, especially Trent, and the development is much too fast to be realistic.

There is one thing I loved, though, and that's the role animals play in Mercy Lily. I really enjoyed reading about the dog, the horse, the rest of the farm animals, and even the spider - they all felt like actual characters, which was probably my favorite aspect of the book.

I know most of what I've said in this review is negative, and technically, there are a lot of things wrong with Mercy Lily, but somehow, this book still had an impression on me - I don't really know what it is, but for whatever reason, the novel is kind of beautiful and peaceful. I'm kind of confused on what to make of the whole book, so I don't know whether to recommend it or not. What I do know, though, is that what I thought would be great about Mercy Lily - the discussion of physician-assisted suicide - fell flat, so you shouldn't expect too much from that.

Reviewed at http://www.paperbacktreasures.blogspo...(less)

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Sep 21, 2011 Gabrielle Carolina rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-debut-authors, didn-t-finish

I am having a lot of trouble trying to review this book. When I first learned about Mercy Lily, I was entranced by the title, so entranced, it seems, that I didn't quite read the synopsis clearly.

I knew the book would be about a dying mum, but I missed the whole "mom is willing to let her fourteen year old daughter suffer so she can be free of pain" bit. This seems improbable on so many levels. I am not a mother, but my own mother would never leave me in such a position, an orphan, save for a ne...more

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Nov 05, 2011 Lauren rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own

When I first heard about Mercy Lily by Lisa Albert, I wasn’t too sure about it. The premise sounded interesting enough, but the overall tone of the story seemed sad. However, I ended up trying it, and I am so glad I did, as Mercy Lily is a quiet yet amazing book filled with hope and love as well as the sadness and happiness that comes with growing up.

Mercy Lily tells the story of Lily, a girl who hasn’t had the most normal childhood due to her father’s sudden death a few years back and her moth...more When I first heard about Mercy Lily by Lisa Albert, I wasn’t too sure about it. The premise sounded interesting enough, but the overall tone of the story seemed sad. However, I ended up trying it, and I am so glad I did, as Mercy Lily is a quiet yet amazing book filled with hope and love as well as the sadness and happiness that comes with growing up.

Mercy Lily tells the story of Lily, a girl who hasn’t had the most normal childhood due to her father’s sudden death a few years back and her mother’s terminal MS. Lily was someone I liked right from the beginning, as not only is she wise beyond her years, but also she is such an kind and amazing girl, someone who anyone would want on their side. Making her character even better was the level of depth Lisa Albert put into her emotions. I could honesty feel the hope, despair, anger, and love she felt just as if it were my own, and if that isn’t a sign of a well-developed character than I don’t know what is. Lisa also introduced a variety of side characters in this one, such as Jed, Lily’s “uncle” type figure and Shauna and Trent, Lily’s two childhood friends.

The plot in this was definitely intriguing. Mother asking her daughter for her permission to die? Well, I can honestly say I haven’t read a book about that. However, while this sounds almost soap opera worthy, Lisa presented it in a breathtaking way, one where the reader was fully able to see both sides to the situation as well as the feelings felt about both. However, the thing I loved most about this book that it wasn’t just about dying and death. Instead, it was more of a coming-of-age story, one that involved the pain, the love, and the happiness as well as hope involved with growing up.

Finally, I have to add that Lisa’s writing in this one was simply fantastic! As mentioned before, I could truly feel the variety of emotions felt due to the level of depth she gave to the characters and their plot lines.

Heartwarming yet heartbreaking, Lisa Albert’s Mercy Lily is one of the best contemporary YA reads of the year! I can’t suggest it highly enough!

Grade: A+ (less)

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May 26, 2012 Holly Thompson rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was hesitant to read this book because it's clear from the description on the back that it going to be sad. However, the whole book wasn't a downer like I thought it was going to be. The writing is beautiful and simple. I did cry, of course... especially when I was looking at my baby daughter sleeping next to me as I read. While I respect the close relationship of the mother and daughter, I think it was terrible to ask a 16 year old to deal with such adult problems.

1 like · like · see review

Sep 14, 2012 Sydney Robertson rated it 5 of 5 stars

There is a perfect balance of humor, tragedy and cutesy couple moments. this is definitely a mother daughter relationship book as well as a love story and a tale of friendship. I cried and laughed, I highly recommend.

1 like · like · see review

Jun 02, 2012 Jane Ono rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

A portrayal of the ethics of assisted suicide, this book portrays the struggle of a young girl as she tries to take care of her ill mother and to resign herself to letting her go.

1 like · like · see review

Oct 10, 2011 Jodi marked it as to-read

I really wanna read this book!
Mostly because my Uncle has MS, but because this book sounds really good too! :D

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Aug 11, 2012 Brigette rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, tough-stuff, favorites

I don't know what I would do without my mother. She is so strong and has always been there for me. I couldn't imagine going through what Lily had to go through with her mother. I know I would never be strong enough for that.

Even though I couldn't relate to what Lily was going through, I still felt her pain. I still felt every emotion. And I sobbed like a bitch, thinking about my own mom going through that.

Two books in the past two days have made me cry. And, although they were both beautifully...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Joanna added it

It was such a sad book but I loved it.I couldn't put it down.

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Apr 01, 2012 Sandy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mg-fiction, realistic-current, young-elementary

Beautifully written, with a unique and challenging story to tell.

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Jan 17, 2013 Emma Lairson rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was so sad!

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Aug 05, 2012 Leeann rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not for my class.

I liked this book, but it was REALLY sad. The story was about a young girl dealing with the death of her father and her mother's terminal illness.

Lily was a pretty good character, and she was written well. I thought that even though she seemed like an angry character, she was appropriately so. She has a hard choice to make, she must decide if she will help her mother end her life as she has been asked.

The language was a little rough throughout.

Over all, good book.

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Jun 08, 2012 Elise rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 120-in-2012

4.5 stars! I received this novel, THANK YOU, in a giveaway. As read I had tears in my eyes and wanted to give big hugs to so many of the characters in the book. Lily was so strong and wise for her age, but was written with a vulnerability that was.so touching and real. Jed reminded me of Atticus Finch and Matthew Cuthbert in one, lovely man. This is a book that I read in one sitting and will be thinking about for a long time. Thank you, Lisa Albert for writing such a touching novel!

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Jun 11, 2012 Susan Krafcheck rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

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YA Reads for Teac...: May 2012 Book Giveaway - Mercy Lily by Lisa Albert	74	105	Jul 01, 2012 11:31am
YA Reads for Teac...: June 2012 - Mercy Lily by Lisa Alberts	65	51	Jun 30, 2012 02:44pm
Young Adult Ficti...: MERCY LILY Discussion Guest Author for June	2	8	Jun 04, 2012 06:42pm
YA Book Club Not ...: Debut Novel Giveaway - TEN copies to one winner ends Oct 7th	1	11	Sep 22, 2011 03:53pm
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About Lisa Albert

My debut young adult novel, Mercy Lily, debuted October 8th, 2011. You can download bookmarks from my website's Author Visits tab or the main page at www.LisaAlbert.com. I'm currently working on a middle grade novel and have several projects simmering. I'm the author of three nonfiction books and have a few more nonfiction projects brewing, too.

I also work in a K-8 shool library and love it. I'm...more

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