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70th out of 184 books
—
156 voters
Cures for Heartbreak
by
Margo Rabb
"IF SHE DIES, I'll die," are the words 15-year-old Mia Perlman writes in her journal the night her mother is diagnosed with cancer. Nine days later, Mia's mother is dead, and Mia, her older sister, and her father must find a way to live on in the face of sudden, unfathomable loss. But even in grief, there is the chance for new beginnings in this poignant, funny, and hopefu...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
February 13th 2007
by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
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Apr 15, 2009
Ash
marked it as attmepted-to-read
I actually read a good chunk of the book, but after a while there was just too much suckage going on. I skimmed the rest of the book, but it took me about 2 hours to "skim" so I ended up reading most of it. I guess I liked how it ended, and Mia's voice was very honest and raw. It's hard to say what exactly kept me from reading the whole thing through. I think it's because I didn't understand Mia. I know that she was mourning her mother's death and that there are a lot of other things going on,...more
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The design of the jacket does not really suit the actual book. I read Margo Rabb's piece in the New York Times about how her agent had trouble selling this as an adult trade title, and ended up selling it as a YA. I understand the publisher's wish to have a jacket that they thought would appeal to a YA audience, but I think they could have come up with something better than wasn't a disservice to the book.
The copyright page notes that a lot of the chapters are in revised form from earlier publis...more
The copyright page notes that a lot of the chapters are in revised form from earlier publis...more
1 like · like · see review
Wrong timing, maybe. Which is ironic to say since it's Black Saturday today, not exactly a bad time to read a novel about grieving. It's just that the death trend in stories, or rather in the books I've been reading, is getting a little old these days and I'm just disappointed in how there are no new ways anymore on how to approach this kind of angle more creatively. What a horrible thing to say, I know; I should have just picked out another book to read.
Yay!s
-Fifteen-year-old protagonist Mia ha...more
Yay!s
-Fifteen-year-old protagonist Mia ha...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is very much a novel centering on how one copes with the loss of a parent or a loved one. It speaks very much to the idea of resiliency - the spongy defense mechanism that bounces us back from the edge of despair in the face of some heavy, life changing episode. What it doesn’t do is overwhelm the reader with a message, or through the use of literary devices map out a path to inner peace. Mia’s voice and the other characters are genuine, and readers will hopefully trust their narrator.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Knowing at the end of this book that Margo Rabb based it on her experiences with her parents' deaths gives me a different perspective on this book.
"Enjoyed" isn't quite the right word, as the book isn't particularly upbeat. Mia is dealing with the death of her mother and her father's heart attack and, consequently, death is a major theme of the book. However, I like that it is dealt with in a very straightforward manner, with humor and typical teenage sarcasm thrown in regularly.
That said, I'm...more
"Enjoyed" isn't quite the right word, as the book isn't particularly upbeat. Mia is dealing with the death of her mother and her father's heart attack and, consequently, death is a major theme of the book. However, I like that it is dealt with in a very straightforward manner, with humor and typical teenage sarcasm thrown in regularly.
That said, I'm...more
Mar 29, 2010
Daisy
added it
I really enjoyed this book. It's really sad, funny, and sort of a romance novel.
I noticed how in the beginning where the dedication page is, the author dedicates the book to her parents. I assume that her parents and her were in somewhat similar situations as she had been. And I was right! In the section, Afterword, the author shows how her mother died when she was little, similarly to the character, Mia, in the story. Mia's mother died of a stomach cancer in 12 days. The author's father and Mia...more
I noticed how in the beginning where the dedication page is, the author dedicates the book to her parents. I assume that her parents and her were in somewhat similar situations as she had been. And I was right! In the section, Afterword, the author shows how her mother died when she was little, similarly to the character, Mia, in the story. Mia's mother died of a stomach cancer in 12 days. The author's father and Mia...more
Jul 06, 2009
Helen
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
no one
Shelves:
teen
There is honesty about this book. Real life shoved in your face. If this was a journal of a real life girl it would make you sad for her. At times it is touching, humourous, heartbreaking.
A young girl loses her mom to cancer. She, her older sister and father must find a way to continue living in the face of this unbelievably tragic loss.
I was quite shaken by how dark this book was in spite of the humour. Perhaps I am looking at it the wrong way. These things really do happen and when they do yo...more
A young girl loses her mom to cancer. She, her older sister and father must find a way to continue living in the face of this unbelievably tragic loss.
I was quite shaken by how dark this book was in spite of the humour. Perhaps I am looking at it the wrong way. These things really do happen and when they do yo...more
Her family is cursed, at 18 the only child (always a girl) will become impregnated adn after giving birth the mother will go healthy. The only way to break the curse is to complete 3 near impossible tasks.
I picked this book up because I've seen a lot of people read it, I in fact wasn't wholly intrigued by the synopsis on the back of the book. The reason I decided to pick it up was, for the most part of it because of the amount of people I'd seen with it.
I finished it because to my surprise it wa...more
I picked this book up because I've seen a lot of people read it, I in fact wasn't wholly intrigued by the synopsis on the back of the book. The reason I decided to pick it up was, for the most part of it because of the amount of people I'd seen with it.
I finished it because to my surprise it wa...more
Mia Pearlman is 15 years old when she loses her mother to cancer. Her mother goes in for a stomachache and finds out she has ovarian cancer…she dies 12 days after the diagnosis. This story tells the tale of a young teenager trying to move on after such a tragic event. After her older sister leaves for college, it is only she and her dad. They spend quality time together and grow closer (especially after he lands in the hospital too) While he was in the hospital, however, he meets a woman with wh...more
I had heard good things about this one, but I didn't love it... 15-year-old Mia's mom goes to see the dr. with a stomachache, and 12 days later she's dead of melanoma. The next year is obviously a difficult one for Mia, her sister and her dad. Her dad soon has another heart attack, and with her sister off at college, Mia becomes his primary caretaker. In the course of working through her grief, Mia does many things which are completely out of character of her, but also completely understandable....more
The cover picture definitely threw me off. As someone who judges books by their covers, I did not expect the book to be so serious when I borrowed it from the library. I have to say, that I'm glad I read this though. I'm not sure how well this book worked as an actual novel, but it's a great book that explores the grieving process. There was some language/sexual references that I didn't really like, but I liked the fact that it was a fairly realistic portrayal of the impact cancer (or any major...more
Mar 08, 2011
Coralie
added it
This book was fairly good. Mia is a fifteen year old whose mother has died of cancer 12 days after her diagnosis. I thought this was fairly unrealistic until I read in the afterward that this very situation happened to the author and the the book was semi autobiographical. Mia has to cope with being a teenage girl, deal with her mothers's death, cope with the fact that her father is also sick, and deal with a sister who she doens't get along with. I can't say much more without giving away the st...more
one of the first YA books I started reading since I got to DC. It's lovely and has a lovely cover. I unfortunately don't remember too much about it
Note: for adults, it would be a 3 and it's not that I think teen readers deserves less, not at all, but I just think the writing was a real step above compared to some YA so I needed to recognize that. It took me a few chapters to realize I was in the presence of a Real Writer and once I realized that, I disparaged the fact that a Real Writer was tackling the Dead Mother genre of YA. Yawn. UNTIL, I read the afterword and um, most of the important and heartbreaking events in this book happened to...more
i thought it was great i dont know how to exsplain ewhy it was so good,it just was.it was just so diffrent form other books i reads i related to it on a diffrent level. I thought what she said about the romantic novels that she read was realable, the happy endings at the end of the novels made you feel compelled to read more and more and more of them.(well not me seeing as i have never read the kinds of romantic novels that she read)Every thing about the book was fantastic,from the revelations t...more
This was a surprisingly lovely and moving book about loss. I found the voice of the main character, Mia, very real with all the uncertainty and insight of being a teenager. I also like how Rabb draws a parallel between Mia losing her mother and the great losses of the Holocaust to show how trauma shapes and changes us forever. Rabb offers healing without easy answers and avoids any cliches about grief. Teens who have lost people close to them will be able to connect to this book, and those who h...more
Finding the right balance of touching and witty is tough when dealing with a subject like death of a parent. Rabb leans toward the touching end of the spectrum, giving a poignantly told tale with a little humor sprinkled in. This sweet coming-of-age story gives a realistic picture of the often messy business of grieving. I tend to prefer sassier narrators, and Mia felt like a very young 15 (especially since she's a city kid), but I think Mia's youthful vulnerability is a large part of her appeal...more
Mar 18, 2009
Kathleen Houlihan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
teen girls, adults, grieving children and adults
Shelves:
spirit-of-texas-hs-nominee
What an amazing book. I didn't know what I was getting into when I picked it up -- girl boy relationships, I guess. But instead I felt like I was reading my own story... the experiences of the protagonist helped me work through my own issues (a never ending process) surrounding my mother's death, and helped me understand that the things I experienced, so isolating at the time, are a normal and understandable part of grieving for a lost parent.
The writing is beautiful, and there's humor waiting f...more
The writing is beautiful, and there's humor waiting f...more
This quarter, I read Cures for Heartbreak by Margo Rabb. I do not usually write book reviews about books I don’t like but I just want to suggest that no one read this book. I understand that this book is based off of articles of Rabb’s life but you can’t turn such morbid topics into a happy go lucky love story. First off, the main character, Mia’s mom dies and she doesn’t mourn, instead, at the funeral of her mother, she sets up a date with a boy. I’ve heard that people mourn differently, but th...more
Reading the summary, it looks like you shouldn't be bothered to read this--just another "oh my life sucks" kinda book where the girl complains to much, but it's a lot more than that.
The story is divided into different sections to separate different scenes from others even though all of them are connected chronologically.
A story about a girl dealing with her mother dying from cancer and only has her father and her sister left, who annoy her. She goes through the different stages of loss--overeat...more
The story is divided into different sections to separate different scenes from others even though all of them are connected chronologically.
A story about a girl dealing with her mother dying from cancer and only has her father and her sister left, who annoy her. She goes through the different stages of loss--overeat...more
I found this book to be very well written and touching.
When Mia is 15, her mother is diagnosed with melanoma, then dies 12 days later. Mia had been very close to her mother. They understood each other, in the same way Mia's sister Alex and their father understand each other. Just as the family is figuring out their new roles, Mia's father has a heart attack, followed by Alex leaving for college.
The book is about Mia, her growing up and her healing. Along the way, we see some of her father's stor...more
When Mia is 15, her mother is diagnosed with melanoma, then dies 12 days later. Mia had been very close to her mother. They understood each other, in the same way Mia's sister Alex and their father understand each other. Just as the family is figuring out their new roles, Mia's father has a heart attack, followed by Alex leaving for college.
The book is about Mia, her growing up and her healing. Along the way, we see some of her father's stor...more
Favorite passages:
“Most recently, Alex and I’d argued over which subway stop was closest to our house; that morning we’d huffed off to the 46th Street and 52nd Street stations separately.”
“Because of my parents’ profound distaste for going to synagogue, and rarely taking me to one, my notion of the Jewish religion mainly revolved around food. Rosh Hashanah: apples and honey cake, for a sweet New Year. Yom Kippur: instead of the customary fasting to atone for your sins, we atoned with smoked fish...more
“Most recently, Alex and I’d argued over which subway stop was closest to our house; that morning we’d huffed off to the 46th Street and 52nd Street stations separately.”
“Because of my parents’ profound distaste for going to synagogue, and rarely taking me to one, my notion of the Jewish religion mainly revolved around food. Rosh Hashanah: apples and honey cake, for a sweet New Year. Yom Kippur: instead of the customary fasting to atone for your sins, we atoned with smoked fish...more
Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com
CURES FOR HEARTBREAK reads more like a series of interconnected short stories than a novel, but the format works. It gives the readers brief, poignant glimpses into the life of its narrator, Mia, during the first year after her mother's sudden death. Told with both humor and painful rawness, the novel should resonate with those who have experienced a loss, and make those who haven't feel almost as if they've been there, too.
What makes the disjointed str...more
CURES FOR HEARTBREAK reads more like a series of interconnected short stories than a novel, but the format works. It gives the readers brief, poignant glimpses into the life of its narrator, Mia, during the first year after her mother's sudden death. Told with both humor and painful rawness, the novel should resonate with those who have experienced a loss, and make those who haven't feel almost as if they've been there, too.
What makes the disjointed str...more
I gave this three stars, but I think it's only because I feel my ratings have been too forgiving up until now. I did like this book. It was extremely easy to read. But I had to compare it to what I've read recently, which includes Harry Potter 7, The Book Thief, and Rebecca. Therefore, this was not a 5-star.
I didn't love the main character until close to the end of the book. She was a little too shallow and self-pitying for my taste.
What I did love was the inspirational quotes that pop up thro...more
I didn't love the main character until close to the end of the book. She was a little too shallow and self-pitying for my taste.
What I did love was the inspirational quotes that pop up thro...more
Cures For Heartbreak by Margo Rabb deals with the subject of loss throughout the novel, as its title may suggest. Set in 1991 in Queens, the story revolves around Mia, her sister Alex, and their father. Semi-biographical, the novel chronicles the family's grieving process when Mia's mother (Greta) is admitted to the hospital with a stomachache and dies twelve days later from advanced melanoma.
The most surprising thing about the novel is how vivid Rabb's imagery is throughout. Rabb's simple langu...more
The most surprising thing about the novel is how vivid Rabb's imagery is throughout. Rabb's simple langu...more
'If she dies, I'll die' are the words fifteen-year-old Mia Pearlman writes in her journal the night her mother is diagnosed with cancer. Twelve days later, Mia's mother is dead, and Mia, her older sister, and their father must find a way to live on in the face of sudden unfathomable loss.
Cures For Heartbreak has it all: humor, sadness, love, laughs, and embarrasing firsts. There are so many things I loved about this novel. Mia is a great true-to-life character. Whether she's resorted to bringing...more
Cures For Heartbreak has it all: humor, sadness, love, laughs, and embarrasing firsts. There are so many things I loved about this novel. Mia is a great true-to-life character. Whether she's resorted to bringing...more
This book begins right after the death of 15-yr-old Mia's mother. She was diagnosed with cancer and died 12 days later. Not long after, her father has a heart attack. Then her only sister leaves for college. Mia has to navigate herself through all of this, in addition to regular 15-yr-old problems like boys. She goes through so many emotions and doubts that the reader cannot help but feel for her. This book is a rather sad story but the humor keeps it from being depressing.
This story is about a fifteen year old girl named Mia who is coming of age in New York City in the early 1990's and is coping with the death of her mother and her fathers serious illness, and is also embarking on new friendships and relationships. It also touches briefly on the generation of Americans who were the children of Holocaust survivors, like Mia's mother, and the effect that had on them. It's a story about resiliency, in the end.
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