Girl Saves Boy by Steph Bowe

Text, 2010. ISBN: 978-1-921656-59-0
Recommended. Jewel has spent the past 10 years living with her grandparents, now she has come home. Sasha had leukaemia as a kid, now it's back and it's terminal this time. When Sasha receives this news he tries to end it, Jewel finds him and she saves him. Has Sasha found a new reason to fight the cancer? Read on, the answer awaits you...
The plot of this story, although not straight forward, a good book never is, is complex and well written. It is the sort of book you just simply cannot put down. The book leaves you thinking about it long after you have finished reading it and is told from two different people's perspectives. The story and its characters are quite believable, however most people would not encounter anything like the story in their lifetime, only a select few. Most of the characters you would expect to bump into in the street, but they are unlikely to be like Jewel and even less likely to be like Sasha. It is set in the suburbs a slight distance from a city, there is no evidence to conclude where this area is though.
The author, who is 16 year old, uses a fairly high level writing style for that age. She uses a fair amount of sensual imagery to depict the story and uses it well.
This novel deals with some more serious themes; they are depression, suicide, fighting to live, cancer, terminal illness and death, as well as love and a minor theme of starting year 12. Because of the serious nature of the themes, this book is not recommended for the faint-hearted and under 14's. I would recommend it for ages 17 and up, male or female. However, although it can be read by 14 to 16 year olds, I would recommend only those of this age group with a higher degree of maturity should read it for it to be best understood. I would rate this book 9.5/10 stars.
Amelia Kelly (17 years old)