Love, Ish

Gr 6–9—Sharp-tongued Mischa (Ish) Love is something of a square peg, both in her family and at school. Her best (and only) friend, Tig, has recently moved away, leaving a significant hole in her life. The two shared an obsession for all things to do with Mars Now, a supposedly forthcoming reality show about a Mars colony. Now that Tig has left, Ish is alone in her interest. Her adoptive parents try their best to understand her, but by waiting so long to tell Ish and her biological sister, Elliot, that they were adopted into the family while big sister Iris wasn't, damage has been done. Ish is not looking forward to her seventh grade year, but it's here, and there's nothing she can do about it. Then the new kid in her class rhymes her name with "fish" during attendance. Ish finds a spot to spend lunch alone with her Mars daydreams, but when she is ready to go back in, she hears a crack inside of her head, and she loses control and hits the ground. It turns out Ish's daily headaches weren't from missing Tig; there is a tumor in her brain. In typical Ish fashion, she names it Nirgal, after the Babylonian name for Mars. As Ish fights her cancer with chemo and radiation, she recounts her friendship with Tig, develops an unlikely bond with that new boy Gavriel, and dozes in and out of Mars daydreams. This is a book that fills a hole; very few middle school novels feature such young protagonists (Ish is only 12) with a terminal illness. The cancer story line is interspersed with many facts about Mars and space and carries universal themes of friendship, family, and school life, but make no mistake—this book packs an emotional punch.