F**k Cancer
Author : Len Vlahos
Title : Life in a Fishbowl
Published : 12/01/2017
Pages : 336
Genre : Young Adult
Publisher : Bloomsbury Children's Books
Jackie's life wasn't perfect, but at least it was normal. That is, until her dad received a terminal cancer diagnosis. Then he went and did what anyone faced with mountains of medical bills and a family to support would do: he sold his life to the highest bidder. Which turned out to be a TV station. Suddenly everyone from psychotic millionaires to cyber-savvy nuns wants a piece of Jackie's family as they become a reality TV sensation. Jackie's life spirals out of control just as her dad's starts to run out, and meanwhile, the whole world is tuning in to watch her family fall apart.
I had never heard of this book or author before a friend recommends it to me. In the world we live in today pretty much everything has been turned in to a reality T.V show. Laid bare for the masses to digest and dispose of at there pleasure so why not turn death into the ultimate t.v experience. It was a notion that sounded like a troubling concept to me. How could you take something so deeply human and personal and allow others to devour it like such hungry beasts for the experience and something to talk about at work the next day.
This is a book of may changing perspectives, but I will start with that of Jared as it's his diagnosis of a brain tumor that serves as the catalyst to the story. When we first meet him his tumor is already taking hold of him. As I followed along with Jared I got to see an all too familiar path he was on. Having gone through a lot of this with my own dad as he was slowly take away from me. I have to give credit to the author for this as a lot of what his character goes though hit the nail on the head. I would imagine even without my context for this he makes for a compelling person. You want to care for Jared, because he, in turn, cares for his family so very much. It is however found in this feeling that he wants to provide for them even after he is gone. Unfortunately for Jared, his judgment is not what it use to be. Diseases such as this torn family s apart even under the best of circumstance, with the added stress of t.v cameras I can only imagine it makes things worse. The way in which his family reacted to not only his tumor but the decision he subsequently makes felt to me like that of a real family struggling to come to terms with the death of a loved one, especially when at the time they are still looking you in the eye.
I'm not going to lie there were times I found this book a struggle to read, this, however, is only down to my personal experience of losing my own dad. The author writes in such a way that you cannot help but come to care for this family. If this was a simple story of a family coming to terms with the death of a loved one it would have been a completely different kettle of fish, and in all honesty, I may not have made it through. But it is with this maybe not so farcical situation that we manage to get something a little more and a bit different. You have to except that everything that takes place after Jared finds out is a direct reaction to his tumor. Who by the way carry's it's own voice and is also trying to make sense of its existence? The author has managed to bring a larger amount of humor to a topic that is very dark. And for it worked it stopped me spend the whole experience feeling downbeat and waiting for Jared to die. From wayward nuns to mad T.V executives there is a lot taking place between these pages, At the time you are prone to forgetting that it only has one very inevitable outcome, And when it finally arrives it doesn't pack any less of a punch.
I think this book will hold a special place for me, It is poignant, funny and heartbreaking all at the same time. And while we never get too deep into the lives of these people before cancer knocks on the door, You Will no doubt come to love them as I did. If you strip this book down it is still about a family and how you come to terms with the death of someone you love dearly, And in turn how they come to terms with what the will leave behind for you.
I had never heard of this book or author before a friend recommends it to me. In the world we live in today pretty much everything has been turned in to a reality T.V show. Laid bare for the masses to digest and dispose of at there pleasure so why not turn death into the ultimate t.v experience. It was a notion that sounded like a troubling concept to me. How could you take something so deeply human and personal and allow others to devour it like such hungry beasts for the experience and something to talk about at work the next day.
This is a book of may changing perspectives, but I will start with that of Jared as it's his diagnosis of a brain tumor that serves as the catalyst to the story. When we first meet him his tumor is already taking hold of him. As I followed along with Jared I got to see an all too familiar path he was on. Having gone through a lot of this with my own dad as he was slowly take away from me. I have to give credit to the author for this as a lot of what his character goes though hit the nail on the head. I would imagine even without my context for this he makes for a compelling person. You want to care for Jared, because he, in turn, cares for his family so very much. It is however found in this feeling that he wants to provide for them even after he is gone. Unfortunately for Jared, his judgment is not what it use to be. Diseases such as this torn family s apart even under the best of circumstance, with the added stress of t.v cameras I can only imagine it makes things worse. The way in which his family reacted to not only his tumor but the decision he subsequently makes felt to me like that of a real family struggling to come to terms with the death of a loved one, especially when at the time they are still looking you in the eye.
I'm not going to lie there were times I found this book a struggle to read, this, however, is only down to my personal experience of losing my own dad. The author writes in such a way that you cannot help but come to care for this family. If this was a simple story of a family coming to terms with the death of a loved one it would have been a completely different kettle of fish, and in all honesty, I may not have made it through. But it is with this maybe not so farcical situation that we manage to get something a little more and a bit different. You have to except that everything that takes place after Jared finds out is a direct reaction to his tumor. Who by the way carry's it's own voice and is also trying to make sense of its existence? The author has managed to bring a larger amount of humor to a topic that is very dark. And for it worked it stopped me spend the whole experience feeling downbeat and waiting for Jared to die. From wayward nuns to mad T.V executives there is a lot taking place between these pages, At the time you are prone to forgetting that it only has one very inevitable outcome, And when it finally arrives it doesn't pack any less of a punch.
I think this book will hold a special place for me, It is poignant, funny and heartbreaking all at the same time. And while we never get too deep into the lives of these people before cancer knocks on the door, You Will no doubt come to love them as I did. If you strip this book down it is still about a family and how you come to terms with the death of someone you love dearly, And in turn how they come to terms with what the will leave behind for you.
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