Hero of Lesser Causes

12-year-old Keely Connor and her older brother Patrick are like "Siamese twins connected at the brain" until Patrick suddenly gets polio. Confined to bed, unable to walk, or even feed himself, he just wishes he would die. Keely's mission in life is to bring her brother back to life one way or another. She gets some help from Patrick's at home nurse, who is given to fortune telling, her mischievous best friend, and the new neighbor's boy, who is really good looking (even if his ears do stick out a bit) and who seems to rather like Keely.
There is sadness in the book, but a healthy dollop of humor as well... especially in the last chapter, which had me crying it was so funny.