Nicholls, Sally. 2008. WAYS TO LIVE FOREVER. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 9780545069489 [Suggested Grade Levels 4–7]
REVIEW
Written in first person narrative, WAYS TO LIVE FOREVER is the journal of 11 year old Sam’s last two months of life. Sam is an inquisitive boy that wants to know the answers to all of his questions, even the questions that nobody wants to answer like, “Why do we have to die anyway?” Sam also loves making lists. He creates a list of things he wants to do before he dies. His parents don’t want to talk about the fact that they know he is dying and his sister is jealous because of all of the attention he receives. WAYS TO LIVE FOREVER shows a family coping with the inevitable death of Sam, how they finally come to terms with it, and how they help Sam finish his last wishes. Sally Nicholls takes the sensitive subject of dying and writes a story that is filled with humor as well as the harsh realities of death.
CONNECTIONS
Participate in a local Relay For Life.
Celebrate Daffodil Days by selling bookmarks with daffodils on them and donating the money to cancer research.
Listen to the Tim McGraw song, “To Live Like You Were Dying” and discuss similarities between the song and the list of things Sam wants to do before he dies.
RELATED BOOKS
Other books about children dealing with cancer:
Koss, Amy Goldman. SIDE EFFECTS. ISBN 9781596432949
Polacco, Patricia. THE LEMONADE CLUB. ISBN 9780399245404
By Jane Jergensen
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