Too Young to Die [Paperback]

Lurlene McDaniel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1989

At sixteen, Melissa Austin has always worked hard to make things go her way. As the school year begins, her grades are up and she's even landed a coveted spot on the high school Brain Bowl team.  She and her best friend, Jory Delaney, are determined to have the best junior year ever.

But suddenly Melissa receives devastating news about her health.  At first she refuses to accept the doctor's diagnosis, but as her illness gets worse she cannot deny the truth.  The caring and closeness Melissa feels toward her family and especially toward Jory help her find the inner strength and courage to face the mysteries of living and dying.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

These companion novels are set in Florida during two friends' junior and senior high school years. The two girls seem to have everything: Melissa is brilliant and pretty, and Jory is wealthy and full of energy. In the first book, Melissa discovers that she has leukemia. Determined to become a lawyer someday, Melissa decides her illness and its treatment will not hinder her academic goals. Melissa realizes, however, that there are other important things that she doesn't want to miss. In the second novel, Jory must decide on her future. Her parents want her to go to college, but Jory has very little ambition, especially since she has been so wrapped up in Melissa's troubles. Because they span two years, the novels cast the events of high school into a meaningful perspective and allow for convincing character development. McDaniel's writing is light and well suited to this refreshing and involving story. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

"McDaniel's writing is light and well suited to this refreshing and involving story."
--Publishers Weekly

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf (July 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553280082
• ISBN-13: 978-0553280081
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #976,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ~*~ÄwE§OmLy KeWl BoOk*~*, May 9, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Too Young to Die (Paperback)

16 year old Melissa Austin is leading a normal teenage life until she recieves devastating news that she has luekimia,a type of cancer.After being diagnosed her life plans go downhill, she's a top student in all her classes which lead her a spot on the Brain Bowl team as the only junior ever.While going through chemo she begins losing her long chocolate brown hair which causes her to have to wear a wig and is very heartbreaking for her and her family.This book was defintely a tear jerker for me and I did get in trouble for staying up hours after my bed time to read this book it's just to hard to put down.I highly recommend this book and all the other books in her series to everyone.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too Young to Die, March 25, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Too Young to Die (School & Library Binding)

Too Young to Die
By: Lurlene McDaniel
Reviewed by: J.Ku
Period: 1

Melissa Austin is 16 years old. One day she was perfectly fine, the next day she had bruises all over her legs. She was constantly getting tired. She was one of the smartest students in high school. Her teachers encouraged her to try out for the Brain Bowl. Without a surprise, she made it onto the team. When her parents took her to the doctor to check out her bruises, the doctor said that Melissa¡¦s red blood count were low and her white blood count were high. After that discovery Dr. Pace transferred Melissa to the hospital. In the hospital, they did a bone marrow aspiration on Melissa. The next thing they knew, Melissa was diagnosed with lymphocytic leukemia, a form of cancer. When she was in the hospital after she received the devastating news, a guy named Ric hobbles over to her. Ric told her about what chemotherapy does to your hair, so Melissa had Jory, her best friend, cut her hair for her. When she started chemo, the rest of her hair all fell out. After weeks and weeks of chemo, she finally got into remission. Her life never went back to normal.

I really liked this book because it teaches you about friendship, bonding, and friendliness. I learned a lot when I read this book. The friendship between Melissa and Jory got stronger when Melissa was diagnosed with leukemia. Melissa could always trust in her friend. When Melissa was in need for hair, Jory bought the most expensive wig there was. ¡§Jory held a wig, a fall of hair that was rich and black, and incredibly long.¡¨

I disliked this book because reading about Melissa going through chemotherapy made me fell really bad. This book may be fiction, but I still feel really bad that it was her who got cancer and not me. Even if this book may not be true, a lot of it is true in real life. People each day are dying because of cancer. I may not know them, but I feel bad for them. ¡§DeeDee patted her shoulder and handed her a small bowl. ¡¥In case you need to vomit,¡¦ she told her.¡¨ Vomiting during chemo doesn¡¦t sound very good.

My favorite part of the book was when the doctor told Melissa that she was in remission. I really like that part because all of the bad events are gone, and now she can try and get on with her life. No more vomiting and chemotherapy treatments. Everything is all better. Life would never be the same like before. Melissa can't go to school without facing a crowd of people. Life would be different from then on.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars too young to die, October 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Too Young to Die (Paperback)

Too young to die is a book about a normal girl with not so normal problems. Melissa Austin is 16 years old and is faced with the disease lukemia. Although lukemia is a horribe disease and put her life to a halt,she made the most of it. She was in the hospital alot and was able to meet a life long freind. Melissa is a very quiet person but has very loud ambitions. She was choosen to be in a Brain bowl, witch could open her up to many colleges. She was told about the event right before she was she was told about the lukemia. Insted of asuming she was not going to be able to attend she used her tine in the hospital to study and prepare. I thought it was a very good book. It was very discriptive,and easy to follow. I would recommend it to any one who likes a happy ending.