Lenaribka

I can't believe that I have to repeat it again for the second time in a row!
But don't consider my review as a NOT recommendation to read it or a recommendation to skip it. It's my personal opinion, you have your own that can be totally different from mine.

We all know that a high average rating cannot guarantee that we certainly fall in love with a book. But to read a blurb BEFORE could be very useful. I really really SHOULD start to do it.

There are books that are difficult to review negatively: If you don't like a book about bullying is like joining a bullying's team. To criticize a book that tells a reader about a 17 year old boy who earned in lieu of juvie 500 hours of community service in the burn unit of Children's Hospital that will change him COMPLETELY and make out of a juvenile delinquent an exemplary and corporate citizen and who will make the best out of his life, is even worse. But it is what this book about. To be brief. And here I'm with my 2 stars rating.

I can divide this book into 4 parts. The first quarter of the book was the reason for my first excited update with a call for everyone to read it.
In the second and the third quarters of the book I was seriously considered to delete it.
And in the last quoter I hoped BADLY that everyone had already forgot about my excessive post.

The beginning was very promising - Russ Michaels' first person POV was GREAT! I laughed out LAUD. Well, I really didn't have any idea in what direction the story would go. The middle of the book was stuffed full of volunteer activities in the Hospital that was pretty boring and disappointing. Mostly because the first person POV faded away-a magical "I" appeared every now and then on the pages, but it didn't have any influence on the story-telling, the whole plot started to be very UNPERSONAL and stereotypical. The last part was PATHETIC. With a lot of "I love you, Russ/I love you, CJ" and worries of CJ about his children when he'd be gone:

"They have so many people who love them now...just as much as I do. And there are other people who are putting on shows for them. I wanted to leave you for them, and I still want that, but they'll have other people now too. I feel better about having to go now...knowing they'll be okay."

I don't want to spoil you the ending, but you'll know it pretty soon, so I don't see it as a spoiler. But maybe it is better to know at the beginning that CJ has stage-three Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, metastasized to a large percentage of the body, and it is not a fantasy novel, in order the ending won't catch you by surprise.