Minus Me

June 22, 2015
After 12-year-old Linda collapses at a swim meet, she learns that she has a rare (and fatal) heart condition. With a transplant highly unlikely, Linda begins to envision the life around her âminus meâ and turns to a forgotten list of everything she hoped to do by age 13, including kiss a boy, travel on her own, and go to a pop concert. Encouraged by a mysterious new friend, Zak, Linda begins to confront her mean-girl tendencies, which come into sharp relief against her newfound sense of mortality. An 11th-hour revelation brings Linda new truths about herself. The bookâs voice is its strongest asset: Lindaâs reactions to her situation ring true, and as the book addresses themes of life and culpability with wisdom and humor, philosophical lines intertwine easily with moments of intense emotion. While discussing the afterlife, Zak, who acts as a patient foil to Linda, offers, âPeople who believe can also doubt.â The use of British slang may require a bit of Googling for readers unfamiliar with it. Ages 10â14.

June 1, 2015

Gr 6 Up-When riding the tram one winter night, young Norwegian teen Linda feels a pain around her heart and can't breathe, just as she sees a mysterious boy leaning against a lamp post. Later, when she is competing at a diving meet, she sees the same boy and when she makes a spectacular dive, her heart stops. She is revived, but the doctors tell her that her only hope is a heart transplant, and that she can never do anything stressful or physically demanding. Her parents are understandably protective, and Linda chafes against all the restrictions. She decides to compile a bucket list of everything she would like to do in her life, such as having a first kiss, going to parties, traveling without her parents, and climbing into Trondheim Cathedral, but when she attempts to complete items on the list, things don't always turn out the way she expects. And the mysterious boy, whose name is Zak, keeps turning up and making her question her choices. Who is Zak, and why does he know so much about her? The prose in this Norwegian import occasionally seems a bit stilted. However, the story is moving, and Linda is a realistic 13-year-old, complete with flaws. Her reaction to her diagnosis is believable: She is angry about her illness and often cruel to her family and friends, though she is remorseful afterward. VERDICT Give this one to fans of Gabrielle Zevin's Elsewhere (Farrar, 2005).-Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.