Name: Finding Balance
ISBN: 9781635830538

Kati Gardner

Teenage cancer survivors Jase and Mari learn how to move on with their lives after cancer as they struggle to understand their differing experiences.

Finding Balance

I think was the first book I've read that focuses on characters who had cancer and are in remission, but whose cancer still affects their lives in a variety of ways. I feel like the cancer narrative that is told most often is about beating cancer and getting into remission and not about how an illness can continue to affect you and your loved ones, even when you're "cured." I really appreciated seeing a different side of the cancer story, especially from an author who experienced it herself. And even more than that, I appreciated the variety of experiences that the campers from Camp Chemo had - obviously Mari and Jase had different experiences that set up the conflict for the novel, but all of their friends from camp are also depicted as having unique relationships with their cancer and the effect it had on their lives. By biggest beef with the book is with Jase. He is a straight up jerk 90% of the time. And while I understand why (trauma effects everyone differently and we don't always respond to memories of that trauma in constructive or nice ways) it is still incredibly irritating. Mari, however, was an absolute gem and I adored her character. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I'll have to look up Gardner's other writing at some point.

Rina

The premise of the this book reeled me in and it didn't disappoint. This is the first time I've read an Ownvoices book of a cancer survivor and though I am not able to relate, I was touched. It was a nice perspective to see. Jase's behavior in the beginning didn't sit well with me, there were times when I thought he acted quite immature. Mari, on the other hand, I really loved. She was strong and stood her ground even when the world saw her in ways she didn't want to be seen. The other characters' (like Lindsay) spitefulness felt forced to me. And I wanted to see more of Mari's family dynamics; they were all very good characters. I also loved the way the topic of cancer and disability were handled, which made it wholly different from the other young adult cancer books. I found this book to be more character-driven than plot-driven, so I wouldn't recommend if you prefer the latter. I wasn't a fan of the writing and some dialogues here too, but I didn't think it was bad; the pace was good. Overall, I thought this was a nice, sweet, and short story of love, acceptance, and forgiveness.

Finding Balance

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