Zac and Mia by A.J. Betts

"When I was little I believed in Jesus and Santa, spontaneous combustion, and the Loch Ness monster. Now I believe in science, statistics, and antibiotics."

“So says seventeen-year-old Zac Meier during a long, grueling leukemia treatment in Perth, Australia. A loud blast of Lady Gaga alerts him to the presence of Mia, the angry, not-at-all-stoic cancer patient in the room next door. Once released, the two near-strangers can’t forget each other, even as they desperately try to resume normal lives. The story of their mysterious connection drives this unflinchingly tough, tender novel told in two voices.” - taken from Goodreads.com

Yes, this book is a lot like The Fault In Our Stars where two kids are battling cancer. Where this book stands out is how Zac and Mia form an unlikely friendship due to their diagnoses and meeting in the cancer ward. Just a little romance but the depths of their friendship to keep one another from breaking is where this story shines..

Visit A.J. Bett's website.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

“Okay? Okay.”

I am possibly the last person on Earth who hasn’t read The Fault in Our Stars. I purchased my copy as soon as it was published but stashed it away in my bedside table. I never found the right time for me to read it after everyone told me how gut wrenching it is. With the movie on the horizon, I promised many of my students that I would finally read the book. (I had already seen a spoiler on Facebook one day. Ugh!) I am not going to go into too much detail about the book because almost everyone knows what it is about. Having read everything else by John Green, this one breaks the mold even more than An Abundance of Katherines. (My personal favorite because the audio version is absolutely hilarious.)

“Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.” Taken from Goodreads, because who could say it any better.

Visit John Green’s website.

The movie opens on June 6. Visit the official movie website.