Cindy (BKind2Books)'s Reviews > A Summer to Die

A small, spare book with a big message - this is a story of 2 sisters and yes, the older sister dies of leukemia (that's not a spoiler if you read the title). Cancer is not really a character however - this is more about the relationship between Meg and Molly. Molly is the older sister - more accomplished, prettier, at least in Meg's eyes. Meg is the child for whom nothing has been easy. Yet it is Molly who sickens and eventually dies. This was a well-written testament to the the relationship between sisters - the fights and bickering as well as the closeness and care. I see some of the relationship with my sister in this as well as the relationship between my 2 daughters before my younger daughter became ill with osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, and died. My only criticism, and it is minor, is that Meg seems younger than 13, perhaps because this book was originally written in the late 70s.

Quotes to remember:

Time goes on, and your life is still there, and you have to live it. After a while you remember the good things more often than the bad. Then, gradually, the empty silent parts of you fill up with sounds of talking and laughter again, and the jagged edges of sadness are softened by memories.

Somehow, magically, mercifully, I no longer remember her ill. That's because mostly what is real is the way life continues, and the way people become able to absorb loss, to value memories, and to say goodbye.