Positively Beautiful
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Erin Bailey's life changes forever the day her mom is diagnosed with breast cancer. It's always just been Erin and Mom, so living without her is not an option. Life takes another turn when the cancer is linked to a rare genetic mutation, and Erin must grapple with the decision of whether or not to have her own DNA tested. Her only outlets are flying lessons, where looking to the horizon calms her deepest fears, and her new friend Ashley, a girl she met in an online support group. But when a flash decision has Erin flying away to find her new friend, she embarks on a journey from the depths of despair to new love and a better understanding of the true meaning of beauty.
This thought-provoking story brings readers to the emotional brink and back again, as they experience Erin's fear, her frustration, and ultimately . . . her freedom.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In her first YA novel, adult author Mills (the Sabrina Dunsweeny mysteries) follows a high school junior after her widowed mother is diagnosed with breast cancer. Erin soon learns that this isn't the first time that her mother has had breast cancer, and that her mother also has a BRCA gene mutation, which means Erin likely has it, too. Erin reels from the potential implications of this news, and starts taking flying lessons as an escape, while talking to a girl named Ashley in an online forum about the BRCA genes. Meanwhile, Erin's social life plummets when she becomes the target of classmate Faith, who spreads rumors about her. Mills's novel starts off strong, carefully taking Erin through her mother's diagnosis and treatment, while unpacking Erin's fear of finding out whether she's positive for a BRCA mutation. A dramatic twist midway through the story, born out of Erin's lack of control over her life, strains believability, however, and brings excess melodrama to a story whose emotions already run high. Ages 14 up.
