I am not a fan of cancer books, and neither is Mia. So when she's diagnosed with leukemia, she hides it. She doesn't want to be cancer girl. She wants to get through that first round of chemo then be her normal, happy, perfectionist self, surrounded by the girls she's been friends with and cheerleaders with forever.

But it's not that easy and can't be that easy. She's told one person her diagnosis: Gyver, the boy who has been her best friend and neighbor since the beginning of time. The boy who has always been a steady person for her. The only person she feels won't make her cancer girl.

In the midst of chemo rounds -- which happen during the summer -- Mia is able to live somewhat normally. She's getting signs from Ryan, one of the popular guys at school, that he's interested in her. Seriously interested in her. The thing is, she's not ready for him. She doesn't necessarily see him as the kind of guy she wants to date. He's got a little bit of a reputation for not being serious with any girl, and Mia's just not sure whether she has feelings for him like he does for her. It's more than that though: she doesn't want to have to tell him about her cancer. She doesn't want to be the person who scares him away.

She doesn't want to be that person, period.

Schmidt's debut worked for me because this book tackles cancer and the cancer genre of books with the approach I take in reading them. That is, it pushes against them, challenges them, doesn't want to acknowledge what it is they are or they are not. Mia is a strong girl tackling something that is literally attacking from the inside out. But rather than allow herself to be pitied, to be doted upon, she wants to keep it a secret. She doesn't want people to be scared or worried because she herself doesn't want to be scared or worried. When her parents begin to make her more nervous about what cancer means for her, she further pushes herself away from the diagnosis and from the reality of her physical illness. She strives to operate as though it's not a part of her. (view spoiler)[ Really, Mia doesn't feel at all like a person anymore because of this. Because she doesn't feel like she can tell people. She's scared to admit that she's weak. That she has no control. That she is bound to a body that is not well. For a girl who has had it all, this is the worst possible thing. But the truth is, Mia pulls away from herself so much so that she loses respect for the person she is. I sort of found it all summed up in a comment her father makes to her, and it's one of those lines that stuck with me throughout the book: "Sick or not, you're a person to be respected." It's at that moment in the story when Mia realizes her value, her worth, and that she has to let people in so she can respect herself. (hide spoiler)]

The romantic tension in this book was palpable and sweet and hit all of the right notes. (view spoiler)[ And it's impossible not to note the incredible metaphor here between what goes on with Gyver and Mia's relationship and what goes on in Ryan and Mia's relationship and what's going on in Mia's own relationship with herself and her illness. Whereas Gyver has been the one there for her constantly, the steady, the strong, the healthy part of who she is, Mia has to struggle with what it is Ryan may or may not be to her. And while she's straight with Ryan -- that she doesn't want to be in a relationship with him -- she understands he's a part of her life, even if it's for a small while because he won't let go of her. The way the two boys handle her illness and seeing her so vulnerable post-treatment and the way she lets them in to even be with her during that only reinforces who these boys are to her. (hide spoiler)] SEND ME A SIGN is about that choice of who you let in and who you do not let in. And it's not necessarily about a right choice or a wrong choice but about choice all together. (view spoiler)[ But in the end, it's about having the willingness to go with what your heart knows is true. And the payoff in this book was worth the entire journey to get there. Gyver was such a good guy, such a realistic guy who loved Mia fiercely for who she was and had since, well, forever. She'd just never paid attention to the signs. (hide spoiler)]

I loved the weaving of superstition and signs into the book and felt like they really fleshed out the whole of who Mia was while giving readers the opportunity to be surprised right along with her. Never once did this feel like one of those stories where cancer makes someone smarter, more insightful, more worldly or more experienced. Mia was a teenage girl and remained a teenage girl. Her problems were the problems of high school girls. That's not to belittle the weight of what cancer is in a story but rather to maybe give it MORE weight.

Even though at times it got a little bit hard to separate out Mia's three best girl friends, it didn't matter a whole lot in the end. I do wish there had been a little more up front -- I wanted a bit more of getting to know Mia and her ways earlier in the story, prior to the diagnosis. However, how much she grew as a character over the course of the story was fantastic. I loved getting to know the boys and finding both of them to be realistic and flawed and frustrating and loveable.

This book will be a go-to for those who love Jenny Han's writing, and without doubt, those who were fans of her "Summer" series will want to read this book.

Full review here: http://www.stackedbooks.org/2012/09/s...