FINDING BALANCE

Two high schoolers are simultaneously united and divided by their cancer diagnoses, threatening their tentative romance.

Jase Ellison’s friends at Atlanta West Prep don’t know he had leukemia at age 3; he’s safe from the intrusive questions and taunts he endured in middle school. However, last summer at Camp Chemo, his past didn’t prevent a “flirtationship” with Mari Manos. Mari, who “rocked the one-legged look” on pink forearm crutches thanks to osteogenic sarcoma at 10, can’t hide her history. But when Mari transfers to his school and students gawk and gossip, Jase fears that his secret’s in danger and pushes her away. In alternating third-person chapters, the teens navigate medical and academic problems while wrestling with their fear, anger, and attraction. Gardner, an amputee and cancer survivor, realistically tackles such tough issues as the massive costs of health care, the fear of relapse, and pressure to appear nondisabled. However, expository narration, some stilted dialogue, and one-dimensional secondary characters occasionally diminish the emotional impact. The teens’ classmates’ absolute ignorance of cancer particularly strains credulity. Pop-culture references—from Hamilton to “Baby Shark”—feel somewhat forced, as does the use of such disability rights terms as “super crip” and “inspiration porn.” However, Mari’s supportive family is heartening. Most characters are affluent and white; olive-skinned Mari and her family are working-class and cued as Greek American.

An awkwardly written but unusually in-depth portrayal of cancer and disability.