Authors: Lurlene McDaniel

Let Him Live (17 page)

BOOK: Let Him Live

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W
ho is JWC, and how was the One Last Wish Foundation created? Follow JWC’s struggle for survival against impossible odds and the intertwining stories of love and friendship that developed into a legacy of giving. And discover the power that one individual’s determination can have, in this extraordinary novel of hope.

“I had my physician call the ER doctor and afterward, when we discussed their conversation, he suggested that I get her to a specialist as quickly as possible.”

“A specialist at Boston Children’s,” Richard said with a nod. “What kind of specialist?”

“A pediatric oncologist.”

Before Richard could say another word, Jenny’s grandmother spoke. “A cancer specialist,” Marian said, her voice catching. “They believe Jenny has leukemia.”

I
F YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT
K
ATIE
, C
HELSEA, AND
L
ACEY, BE SURE TO READ

O
N
S
ALE
N
OW FROM
B
ANTAM
B
OOKS

0-553-56262-2

Excerpt from
Please Don’t Die
by Lurlene McDaniel Copyright © 1993 by Lurlene McDaniel

Published by Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers a division of Random House, Inc. 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036

W
hen Katie O’Roark receives an invitation from the One Last Wish Foundation to spend the summer at Jenny House, she eagerly says yes. Katie is ever grateful to JWC, the unknown person who gave her the gift that allowed her to receive a heart transplant. Now Katie is asked to be a “big sister” to others who, like her, face daunting medical problems: Amanda, a thirteen-year-old victim of leukemia; Chelsea, a fourteen-year-old candidate for a heart transplant; and Lacey, a sixteen-year-old diabetic who refuses to deal with her condition. As the summer progresses, the girls form close bonds and enjoy the chance to act “just like healthy kids.” But when a crisis jeopardizes one girl’s chance of fulfilling her dreams, they discover true friendship and its power to endure beyond this life.

“Me, too. I don’t know what I’d do without you, Katie. Whenever I think about last summer, about how you were so close to dying …”

She didn’t allow him to complete his sentence. “Every day is new, every morning, Josh. I’m glad I got a second chance at life. And after meeting the people here at Jenny House, after making friends with Amanda, Chelsea, and even Lacey, I want all of us to live forever.”

He grinned. “Forever’s a long time.”

She returned his smile. “All right, then at least until we’re all old and wrinkled.”

I
F YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT
K
ATIE AND
C
HELSEA, BE SURE TO READ

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N
S
ALE
N
OW FROM
B
ANTAM
B
OOKS
0-553-56263-0

Excerpt from
She Died Too Young
by Lurlene McDaniel Copyright © 1994 by Lurlene McDaniel

Published by Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers a division of Random House, Inc. 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036

C
helsea James and Katie O’Roark met at Jenny House and spent a wonderful summer together.

Now Chelsea and her mother are staying with Katie as Chelsea awaits news about a heart transplant. While waiting for a compatible donor, Chelsea meets Jillian, a kind, funny girl who’s waiting for a heart-lung transplant. The two girls become fast friends. When Chelsea meets Jillian’s brother, he awakens feelings in her she’s never known before. But as her medical situation grows desperate, Chelsea finds herself in a contest for her life against her best friend. Is it fair that there’s a chance for only one of them to survive?

“Don’t you see? There’s one donor coming in. Only one. Who will the doctors save? Who will get the transplant?”

For a moment Josh stared blankly as her question sank in. “Katie, you don’t know for sure there’s only one donor.”

“Yes, I do. There’s only one. One heart. Two lungs. The doctor said the donor’s family had given permission for all her organs to be donated.” Katie’s voice had risen with the tide of panic rising in her. “There’s two people in need and only one heart.”

Katie and Chelsea are also featured in the novels
Please Don’t Die
and
A Season for Goodbye
.

I
F YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT
L
ACEY, BE SURE TO READ

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N
S
ALE
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OW FROM
B
ANTAM
B
OOKS
0-553-56264-9

Excerpt from
All the Days of Her Life
by Lurlene McDaniel Copyright © 1994 by Lurlene McDaniel

Published by Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers a division of Random House, Inc. 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036

O
ut of control—that’s how Lacey Duval feels in almost every aspect of her life. There’s nothing she can do about her parents’ divorce, there’s nothing she can do about the death of her young friend, there’s nothing she can do about having diabetes—that’s what Lacey believes.

After a special summer at Jenny House, Lacey is determined to put her problems behind her. When she returns to high school, she is driven to become a part of the in crowd. But Lacey thinks fitting in means losing weight and hiding her diabetes. She starts skipping meals and experimenting with her medication—sometimes ignoring it altogether.

Her friends from the summer caution her to face her problems before catastrophe strikes. Is it too late to stop the destructive process Lacey has set in motion?

She went hot and cold all over. It was as if he’d shone a light into some secret part of her heart and something dark and ugly had crawled out. She
had
rejected Jeff because she didn’t want a sick boyfriend. She’d said as much to Katie at Jenny House
.

“It’s any sickness, Jeff. It’s mine too. I hate it all. I know it’s not your fault, but it’s not mine either.”

“I’ll bet no one at your school knows you’re a diabetic.”

She said nothing
.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“You know, Lacey, you’re the person who won’t accept that you have a disease. Why is that?”

She whirled on him. “How can you ask me that when you’ve just admitted that girls drop you once they discover you’re a bleeder? You of all people should understand why I keep my little secret.”

Lacey is also featured in the novels
Please Don’t Die
and
A Season for Goodbye
.

I
F YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT
K
ATIE
, C
HELSEA, AND
L
ACEY, BE SURE TO READ

O
N
S
ALE
N
OW FROM
B
ANTAM
B
OOKS
0-553-56265-7

Excerpt from
A Season for Goodbye
by Lurlene McDaniel Copyright © 1995 by Lurlene McDaniel

Published by Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers a division of Random House, Inc. 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036

T
ogether again. It’s been a year since Katie O’Roark, Chelsea James, and Lacey Duval shared a special summer at Jenny House. The girls have each spent the year struggling to fit into the world of the healthy. Now they’re back, this time as “big sisters” to a new group of girls who also face life-threatening illnesses.

But even as the friends strive to help their “little sisters” face the future together, they must separately confront their own expectations. Katie must decide between an old flame and an exciting scholarship far from home. Chelsea must overcome her fear of romance. And Lacey must convince the boy she loves that her feelings for him can be trusted.

When tragedy strikes Jenny House, each of the girls knows that things can never be the same. Will Lacey, Chelsea, and Katie find a way to carry on the legacy of Jenny House? Can their special friendship endure?

“Over here!” Katie called. “I found it.”

Chelsea and Lacey hurried to where Katie was crouched, digging through a pile of dead leaves. The tepee was partially buried, and Chelsea held her breath, hoping that the laminated photo and Jillian’s diamond stud earring were still tied to it
.

“It’s come apart,” Katie said, lifting up the twigs in three parts. But from the corner of one of the sticks, the laminated photo dangled, and from its center the diamond caught the afternoon sunlight
.

The photo looked faded, but Amanda still smiled from the center of their group. Chelsea felt a lump form in her throat. These days, she and Katie and Lacey looked older, more mature, healthier too. But Amanda looked the same, her gamine smile frozen in time. And ageless
.

Katie took the photo from Lacey’s trembling fingers. “We were quite a bunch, weren’t we?”

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