 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Ways to Live Forever
- By Sally Nicholls
- Genre: Family Life
Common Sense Media says
Touching but not maudlin story about a dying child.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this book, while funny and often uplifting, may trouble young readers. The young protagonist struggles to answer many questions, including the one most important to him: Why do kids have to die?
What's the story?
Here are some ways to live forever, according to Sam, an 11-year-old boy with leukemia: Make a Philosopher's stone. Become a vampire. He shares these and other ideas in his journal, dotted with scrapbook pictures and random lists (such as true facts about coffins). When Sam lists all the things he wants to do, he and his best friend, Felix, set out to accomplish them. That means riding in a blimp -- and kissing a girl.
Is it any good?
While some well-known books (A Bridge to Terabithia being the most obvious) touch on childhood loss, most follow the perspective of those left behind. WAYS TO LIVE FOREVER offers a fictional 11-year-old's first-person take on dying. Sam is a sweet, believable boy who is never saintly -- "I want to do my things!" he insists, tired of visitors and being "nice to aunts and uncles all day." Despite the sad premise of terminal illness, Sam finds plenty of joy in life, whether goofing off with his friend or trying to call up Marie Antoinette's ghost on a Ouija board (and who should show up but MARIAN TWANET).
Nicholls, a first-time novelist, finds true emotion in Sam's relationships with his family and friends, including his heart-breakingly real interaction with his father, who deals with his illness by pretending it doesn't exist. As much as readers will want to fight it, the novel stays true to Sam to the end.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about any of Sam's tough questions: Why does God make kids get ill? Where do you go after you die? Family members can discuss what things they would like to do during their life and make a list.
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AGE
Immense...
Fantastic book, one that i think everyone over 10 should read. Totally touching story
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AGE
Just Loved it !!
I was 12 when I read this first and I don't read often but when I read this book I could not but it down at all. It was the first book I really got in to and wanted to read. It gives really good messages and I have read it about 4 times now and it always makes me laugh and cry at time. Its just great !!
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AGE
Must-read.
Grown-ups and older kids should definitely read this book at least once. I loved it -- laughed, cried, couldn't put it down, and won't ever forget it.
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Kid, 12 years old
June 11, 2009
AGE
amazing book!
this book is amazing, touching, and inspirational. i cried! haha. i think it is a must read for kids. just amazing. STANDING OVATION!
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AGE
good not great
This was a pretty good book. I've read better books, but still very good. The kids in the book actually smoke and drink when their 11 and 13. They also try to get people to bring them beers or cigarettes. Other than that it is a very good book.
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Kid, 12 years old
October 12, 2010
AGE
11 and up for sure!
It was okay. One message it carries out: How beautiful life is, so don't waste it. Live as if you'll die tomorrow!
I don't know if he died at the end.
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| Author: | Sally Nicholls |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Family Life |
| Publisher: | Arthur A. Levine |
| Publication date: | September 1, 2008 |
| Number of pages: | 212 |
| Hardcover price: | $16.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 9 - 12 |
| Read aloud: | 10 |
| Read alone: | 11 |
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