Defiance
Square Fish · Paperback · May 26, 2009
Eleven-year-old Toby Steiner wants to do normal things on his vacation.
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- Who it’s for
- A child’s wish for ordinary summer days meets the difficult work of living with illness.
- Themes
- Cancer and illness, Keeping a secret from parents, Poetry and finding meaning
- Genres
- Illness & Injury, Loss & Grief, Friendship
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Eleven-year-old Toby Steiner wants to do normal things on his vacation. He wants to hike and race his bike down the hill. He wants to learn to fish out on the lake. He doesn't want to return to the children's hospital where his painful cancer treatment finally ended. When Toby starts spending time with Pearl, a spunky old woman who lives on a nearby farm, and Blossom, her broken-down cow, he sees all the more reason to keep the new lump on his side a secret from his parents.
Continue reading
From Pearl he discovers the beauty of poetry, and from Blossom he just might uncover the meaning of life.
Tender, Clear-Eyed Reading
A child’s wish for ordinary summer days meets the difficult work of living with illness.
Come here for
- A young perspective on illness, secrecy, and wanting life to feel normal
- Poetry and an unlikely bond with a farm woman and her cow
Expect
- Tenderness alongside hard questions about healing
- A sustained story that finds meaning in unexpected company
Where it sits
| Friendship | 93% |
|---|---|
| Illness & Injury | 71% |
| Loss & Grief | 64% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Illness & Injury
- Friendship
- Authors
- Valerie Hobbs
- Publisher
- Square Fish
- Published
- May 26, 2009
- Format
- Paperback
- Theme
- Cancer and illness · Keeping a secret from parents · Poetry and finding meaning
- Reading lane
- Illness & Injury