Forever Changes (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: info session, West Blackpool, Bargain Zone, East Blackpool (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—Brianna, a high school senior, lives with her devoted motorcycle-fixing dad and has two popular best friends. A verifiable math wizard, she is sure to be accepted at MIT. Unfortunately, she also has cystic fibrosis and begins each morning with a chest-pounding, courtesy of her father, to loosen the mucus coating her lungs. The death of Molly, a friend who also had CF, haunts Brianna and she fears that she will be next. With her body slowly failing her, she sometimes doesn't see the point of applying to college or thinking about her future. Comfort comes from two unlikely sources. Adam, a dorky new friend from math class introduces her to Love, a 1960s band whose lyrics speak to her. Mr. Eccles, her calculus teacher, also facing his own mortality, teaches her about infinitesimals. These quantities are important in calculus: "Something which seems to be nearly nothing turns out to be crucial to everything." Brianna finds strength in this idea when confronting her own mortality and the value of her life. Although the end wraps up too quickly and offers little hope for people with CF, this is a heartbreaking story of courage, friendship, and acceptance, with some great math concepts to boot.—Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn, NY
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From Booklist

Eighteen-year-old Brianna Pelletier’s dad is hassling her about her MIT application—a perfectly normal situation except that Brianna has cystic fibrosis. A gifted mathematician, Brianna knows the grim statistics on her life expectancy and wonders why she should plan for a future she probably won’t have. In an interesting departure, Halpin spends little time on the disease itself, smoothly inserting only necessary information into the narrative and focusing instead on an introspective portrait of a young girl struggling to come to terms with her mortality. Intriguing conversations with her calculus teacher, also battling serious health issues, give Brianna a new way of thinking about her life as an “important infinitesimal.” A welcome touch of humor is provided in scenes with supportive friends and a geeky classmate who blossoms with Brianna’s encouragement. The plot and pacing falter midway, and many of the secondary characters are one-dimensional, but Halpin’s gift with dialogue and Brianna’s strong voice propel this memorable inner journey to its moving, if inevitable, conclusion. Grades 8-11. --Lynn Rutan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (September 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374324360
• ISBN-13: 978-0374324360
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #251,613 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, October 30, 2008

By	TeensReadToo.com "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

Brianna Pelletier was born with a death sentence. Her DNA gave her Cystic Fibrosis. The only unknown for Brianna is how long she will have.

It's Brianna's senior year and while her friends are planning for college, Brianna's plans are far simpler: live to see graduation. She never intended to go to college. She never believed she'd survive this long. But things are going pretty good. She's managed to avoid any serious infections and remain out of the hospital. She fears that if she needs to return to the hospital, she'll never leave. Well, she'd never leave alive.

So as senior year progress, she gains insight into what it means to really live, by an unlikely source - her ailing math teacher. Her alphabetically placed study buddy, Adam, hears a rumor that Mr. Eccles was in a band, Love, in the past. Downloading the music, Adam shares the bizarre album, Forever Changes, with Brianna. The music reaches a part of her that she could never put into words. After hearing the music, and then encountering Mr. Eccles one evening on a deserted beach, the two form an understanding with each other.

Through Brianna's dad's gentle love, the nerdy pressure from Adam, and the desire to live courtesy of Mr. Eccles, Brianna takes living to the next step - she attends an information session at MIT and takes the scariest step of her life, sending in her application. This action could bring hope or despair. On one level, she fears that by sending it in, she is hexing herself that she will never live to see her admission to MIT. But on another level, she doesn't want to die and wants some ray of hope, something to live for.

In Brianna, Mr. Halpin shares with readers both a wish to live and a desire to not die, which really are not one and the same. Brianna does her best with the hand she's been dealt. More than anything, she dreams of being like everyone else without a care in the world, but she has greater obstacles to overcome. She does so bravely and without blame. She's an inspiring character to curl up and share a few hours with.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible!, September 13, 2009

By	Sasha Riviera - See all my reviews

Like Brianna, I live with Cystic Fibrosis. Fortunately, I have a lesser case than her and am as healthy as any kid my age. I was able to relate to her thinking and I was happy that somebody finally wrote a story about a brave girl with CF. This book touched my heart and I would reccomend it to anyone.

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great book!, May 17, 2009

By	GO PSU! "Book Girl" - See all my reviews

This book was beautifully written with a great message. It tore at my emotions and made me want to read it all in one sitting. I recommend this book!