YA Book Review: "The Probability of Miracles" by Wendy Wunder

So this book was recommended to me by TAG's own Caitlyn* and yes, she assured me, Wendy Wunder IS the author's real name (I totally didn't believe it was her real name, because doesn't it sound like a superhero name or like, a bad stripper name?).

Anyway, The Probability of Miracles is a book about cancer, and nothing says fun summer read like YA books about teens with cancer!  But really, sort of like John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, this book is actually incredibly witty and lots of fun, though obviously yes, there are terrible, incredibly heartbreaking moments as well (because, you know, CANCER).

Campbell Cooper is 15, lives in Disney in Florida with her mom and younger sister, and she has cancer; she's also completely sick of being dragged around from hospital to hospital and healer to healer to find something, anything that will help make her better.  She's slowly dying from her illness, and there's probably pretty much nothing that's going to change that.

Except....Except Cam's mom hears of a town in Maine that's nearly impossible to find but supposedly possesses healing powers, and so the family packs up and heads north for the summer in Cam's little car and a U-Haul to lovely, beach-y Promise, Maine (which they do find, but barely, after picking up some milkshakes and whoopie pies from a Dunkin Donuts which, by the way, is one of my most favorite places ever).

Soon Cam is noticing all kinds of things -- flamingos nesting in Maine (if you've never been to the northeast, I guarantee you you'll never see a flamingo up there that isn't in a cage), the astonishing reappearance of something that'd been missing, the fact that is, in fact, feeling so much better -- things that her mother and sister swear are miracles, but which Cam just writes off as coincidences.  The thing is, Cam doesn't believe she can afford to have hope.  How can she hope for a miracle when she's pretty sure she won't live to see her 18th birthday?

Enter a guy (an adorable guy named Asher); old friends (well, really just one old friend**); a cast of new friends; and the "Flamingo List," Cam's list of stuff she'd like to do before she dies, like have an awkward moment with her best friend's boyfriend--all of which change Cam's life in ways she never thought possible.

Seriously, I love Cam's sarcasm, her little sister's funny way of being both weirdly mature for an 11-year-old but also adorably young (she has this ridiculous theory on why unicorns obviously exist), and Asher's sweet naivety.   Despite the heavy topic, I think this actually is a great summer read, and I'm really glad Caity recommended it to me.  Two thumbs up.

Find "The Probability of Miracles" at APL

*Spelling fixed, thanks!**That is, someone Cam's been friends with for awhile, not someone she's friends with who's like, a hundred years old.  Just clarifyin'.