Send Me a Sign Blog Tour- Review + Giveaway
By Tiffany Schmidt
Published by Bloomsbury
Published on October 2, 2012
Source: ARC from Publisher
Summary taken from Goodreads:
Mia is always looking for signs. A sign that she should get serious with her soccer-captain boyfriend. A sign that she’ll get the grades to make it into an Ivy-league school. One sign she didn’t expect to look for was: “Will I survive cancer?” It’s a question her friends would never understand, prompting Mia to keep her illness a secret. The only one who knows is her lifelong best friend, Gyver, who is poised to be so much more. Mia is determined to survive, but when you have so much going your way, there is so much more to lose. From debut author Tiffany Schmidt comes a heart-wrenching and ultimately uplifting story of one girl’s search for signs of life in the face of death.
This book came at quite an ironic time for me. I read Send Me a Sign in mid-September and loved it. A week later, a friend found out they had cancer. A week after that my mom was diagnosed with cancer. It made this book real to me, and a little too real in some ways. I will say, though, that Tiffany Schmidt writes with heart and a truthfulness that really resonates with me.
This is a book about a girl. This book is also about cancer, but it doesn't overshadow the main character. Mia struggles with dealing with her diagnosis and struggles with how her family reacts to it. Mia's mom is a difficult character- living in denial and wanting Mia to not tell anyone how very sick she is. Mia's dad reacts in a very analytically way - spending his time with his nose buried in a book. The way that Mia's friends and eventually family react to her cancer are realistic and emotional. At first, I was incredibly frustrated with the way that some of the characters reacted to the news. It was not how I thought they should have reacted. Looking back though, people all react and try to deal with news that harsh in their own ways.
I really enjoyed this book. I remember after I read it that I noted on Twitter that this is the kind of book that changes you and I stand by that. Not only did the author create a truly imaginative and enjoyable work, but she also created one that will make you a better person by reading it. If you have dealt with cancer in your life, know someone who has, or have never had to face cancer in your life- read this book. You will grow because of it.
