I enjoyed this book, but it moved along very, very fast, so there was not as much time for charter development as there is other books. After playing several practical jokes in school, Samantha Snyder is required to do volunteer hours as a candy striper at the local hospital. Samantha has no choice, though she has disdain for candy stripers and has no desire to spend her weekends at the hospital. However, on her first day, she encounters a feisty, almost to the point of being outright rude, patient, whom none of the staff or volunteers can stand. Samantha learns a lot about this patient, discovering early on that his rude attitude is really just a front to cover the fact that he is dying and will only survive by some miracle. As Samantha continues to perform her service at the hospital, she grows closer to this patient and his family, especially his brother, and begins to understand where the patient is coming from and how his family, and especially he, are coping.

I enjoyed this story a lot. The plot was creative and unusual, but the author made everything work together well. Both Samantha and the patient learned to look within for answers and reasons behind their and others’ words and actions. Their growth was evident as they worked their way through many twists and turns to the conclusion. This is a great book for anyone looking for something a little bit interesting and different. The basic idea of someone dying, though present throughout, never did depress me, nor was it overpowering, as I thought it might--because the author handled things so well. I highly recommend the book. I received this from Library Thing to read and review. ( )

I received a copy of this book from Librarything for an honest review.

Sam is a typical high school girl but has a bit of trouble following rules. She finds herself in detention more than her parents like. As she sat outside the principles office, she had a feeling this visit was not going to be a good one. After looking sternly at Sam, the principle decides that he needs to try a new tactic to get her attention. He assigns her to a hospital as candy stripper. To stay that she was less than thrilled would be an understatement .

The story moves fairly quickly and has a great theme of forgiveness and building friendships mixed throughout the story. The young man named Christopher that Sam encounters in the hospital, is a mix of anger and hope at the same time. There is an urgency for Christopher as he faces a life or death situation. He has been estranged from his brother for over a year and perhaps the health issues Christopher is facing will bring them back together.

The author does a good job of showing the dynamics and distance in Christopher's family as they come to terms with the diagnosis. Sam and Chris become fast friends and their relationship is a good , clean , healthy distraction for Christopher. It is a great story about teens who support each other as they learn to be more compassionate.
The story also shows us how the teens come together in a crisis and stand together to help Christopher as he fights to live. ( )