CURES for HEARTBREAK

by Margo Rabb

Mia Pearlman narrates this melancholy story about surviving after the death of a beloved mother, and the serious heart attack of her father. Mia's mother was diagnosed with melanoma and died 12 days later, giving Mia, her older sister Alex, and her father little time to prepare for their loss. In the months that follow, Mia's life seems to pass in a gray fog. Her dad spends most of his time on the couch watching TV. Mia fails two classes and has to attend summer school, while her sister prepares to go off to college. Once Alex is gone, Mia and her dad gradually become closer and support each other by trying to eat healthier. Mia seems to deal with her grief and fear by reading all the time--books about orphans and romance novels-- and by fantasizing about boys and sex.

Things begin to change when her father starts dating Sylvia, a vivacious cancer surviver. Her father is happier, and within months has proposed marriage. Mia wants her dad to be happy, but doesn't much like Sylvia. After sending out wedding invitations, they hear from a woman and her son Sasha whom they had met in the hospital. Sasha had cancer, but was in remission. Mia thought he was going to die, but instead, he got well and went traveling to Europe and Nepal. That was a hopeful thing for Mia, who had had enough of death and sickness in her young life. One perfect day of talking and hiking with Sasha gives Mia even more hope that she will be able to live a normal, happy life. When Sylvia suddenly dies before the wedding, Mia is guilt-stricken because she had had a huge and ugly fight with her the night before. Her father assures Mia that it's not her fault, she is comforted by Sasha, and small glimmers of hope slowly touch her life again.

This was a hard book for me to get through. It was a little too heavy for me, and the language put me off. The last part of the book which includes Mia and Sasha's sweet relationship, made it worth the read. This story includes an afterword in which the author tells her own story about her parents' deaths, and that the writing of this books was a significant part of her own passage through grief. Many of the chapters of this book were published previously as short stories in various magazines. Cures for Heartbreak is on this year's Tayshas list.

----reviewed by Dail Sams