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    Ways to Live Forever
    Ways to Live Forever
    Ways to Live Forever
    Audiobook4 hours

    Ways to Live Forever

    Written by Sally Nicholls

    Narrated by Charlotte Parry

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    British author Sally Nicholls presents her powerful and heart-stirring debut about Sam, an 11-year-old boy diagnosed with leukemia. Sam bravely faces the possibility that he will die, and doesn't want anybody's pity as he seeks answers to some very difficult questions about life and death. Young adults and their parents will find this poignant representation of terminal illness both profound and uplifting.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateSep 19, 2008
    ISBN9781436145336
    Ways to Live Forever
    Author

    Sally Nicholls

    Acclaimed author Sally Nicholls has written several novels for children, including Ways to Live Forever, Shadow Girl, and Season of Secrets. She has won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the Dimplex New Writer of the Year Award. Her short story in Mystery & Mayhem is ‘Safe Keeping’, a tribute to Boy’s Own-style adventures.

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    Reviews for Ways to Live Forever

    4/5

    171 ratings18 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      the first book that I have, and the first book I ever completely read. this is a wonderful story that can make you change your view in life and about death.
    • 5/5
      Oh my goodness, what a poignant, heart-wrenching book this turned out to be. It is so beautifully and simply written, and with such genuine characters, that I found it difficult to put down. It is impossible not to fall in love with young Sam and his best friend Felix, but my heart bled for Sam's family as they watched him bravely battle against leukemia. This book made me smile and it made me cry. An incredibly moving read for all ages. Highly recommended!
    • 4/5
      Worum es geht, ist schnell erzählt. Sam ist 11 und hat Krebs. Er wird bald sterben. Im Buch wird aus seiner Sicht geschildert, mit welchen Fragen er sich beschäftigt und was ihn bewegt. Sams tiefe Gedanken, aber auch die lustigen und unbeschwerten Momente gingen mir sehr nahe und erschienen mir recht authentisch. Ein schönes Buch!
    • 4/5
      In this story the main character is dealing with him impending demise from leukemia. He starts writing a book and makes a bucket list. He's got a free spirited friend, Felix, who helps him start doing those things he wants to do - like kiss a girl, smoke a cigarette, and go to space...A sad look with how a family and a young boy deal with the coming end of life.
    • 4/5
      Sam is eleven years old and this is his third time with lukemia, he's also sure it will be his last. As Sam, and his family come to terms with his sickness and approaching death, Sam realizes there are things that he still wants to do. Along with his best friend, he makes a short list of seemingly impossible dreams. As Sam's days count down, he finds ways to have the experiences he's always wanted. I cried when I didn't expect to...it followed a typical sick child book progression but it still gets you. Any eleven year old, even fictional, who has a better understanding of the important things is a good gut check for most everyone in our culture.
    • 5/5
      Amazing book about a boy with terminal leukemia, seen from his eyes. What a way to open up young reader's eyes to this illness and what it means to have life, and knowing that the end is coming. Cried my eyes out, however, it was an uplifting, and worthwhile read that I believe all people should read, to be inspired about the true meaning of life and why dreams are necessary.
    • 5/5
      This book was excellent. I don't know why I read it, though. I knew from the beginning that by the end I would be sobbing. This one is definitely a tear jerker.
    • 5/5
      Grades 4-7
      Sally Nicholls is such an amazing writer. I went right into this after reading her Season of Secrets (also 5 stars), and have to admit, the subject matter had me a little leery. This is one of this year's Virginia Readers' Choice nominees, and what middle grader is going to want to read a story where we know that in the end, the main character dies from leukemia? But it's not about the end, is it? It's about all the stuff that happens before "the end," and Sam is such a compelling, warm, funny 11-year-old that readers will quickly get caught up in his life and his various adventures with family and friends. Yes, there are sad bits, but there are silly bits and joyful bits and it's just an altogether wonderful and ultimately uplifting book. Read it, read it, read it.
    • 5/5
      I loved this novel and I honestly thought it was based on a true story. It is well thought out and a joy to read, though at times it made me cry. I believe middle school students or upper elementary would enjoy reading this novel about a boy with a terminal illness. It is so real and so educational and students would learn a great deal about he life of an ill child their age. I would highly recommend it.
    • 5/5
      I loved the book. I was facinated with the story I liked the fact that the kid was writting the book as a diary form showing what was goingon while he was dying he made this list with his friend felix that was also sick. they creat this list sort of like a bucket list of things that Sam wants to do before he dies. The books takes throught his daily life the things that he would do with his friend felix and the way he viewd life. I liked the fact that throughout the book the author also tied it with actual facts like for instance one of his last wishes was to ride on a n airship and his dad is able to make this dream come true. In one page he has the airship facts . For example the first air ship was built in 1784. There are so many parts of this book that are really sad specially when he dies. He even left a multiplye choice questionary for his parents to fill out about his death.It gives you as a reader another prospective in life and value.
    • 4/5
      A worthy prizewinner!This book won the overall Dimplex 2008 prize for best new novel. Another short book on thick paper. First person, post-modernist account of an eleven year old boy dying of leukemia. Unlike the Curious Incident or Vernon God Little, the narrator has no extreme personality quirks. It's a real heartbreaker, Sam leading us through his wish list of things to do before he dies and achieving most of them. The observations from Sam's viewpoint are clear and often amusing. The father's denial and eventual acceptance of Sam's impending death is particularly touching. The ending is bitter sweet but first interpretation poses a continuity error as Sam could not have written the last chapter if he had died that very night. As the subject matter is so moving it would be useful to leave the book aside and re-read later to know to what extent it's the author's talent that leaves the impact.
    • 4/5
      A short but compelling look at what a dying child might experience; the interactions that are valued, those that are not; the family dynamics of living with the prospect of imminent death
    • 5/5
      This is such a positive yet poignant story. The way the young man deals with his impending death is enlightening to any child who may have experienced the death of a friend, a life cut short. Reading about death in a safe environment can be very therapeutic, and young people need to realize that they are vulnerable and life is fragile.
    • 3/5
      I'm not quite sure who I would recommend this book to. It is beautiful and funny, but the subject matter is also incredibly sad. How many kids read about leukemia in their spare time? Nonetheless, it was a really wonderful book about universal issues and I truly enjoyed it.
    • 5/5
      Eleven year old Sam is writing a book; he is also dying from Lukemia, and he is told he had one year to live. When his pills stop helping and he stops taking his medicine, Sam is told he has, maybe, one month to live. Sam is like every other inquisitive little boy, though. His best friend dies, and he answers one of his questions, What does a dead person look like?. A story of a boy's friendship and his struggle with a terrible disease. The story touched unbearably close to home for me, and Ways to Live Forever will forever live in my heart.
    • 4/5
      Sam is eleven, and dying of lukemia. By the time you read this, he will probably be dead. This is the start of Sam's book, where he collects stories, facts, lists, and questions that nobody answers.As there was no hope of Sam ever surviving, I was able to enjoy his story, it is in parts very funny, in parts touching. There are some splendid moments as Sam describes his last adventures. I haven't read a lot of dying child diaries, so this felt fresh to me. I especially enjoyed the British voice.I'd pass it to kids Sam's age and older who are looking for sad stories.
    • 4/5
      Sam is 11 years old. He has leukemia. This book is the story of his last few months. What I really liked about this story is that Sam felt so real. The book's formatted as if it were Sam's actual writing. He writes about his friend Felix, his family, the things that interest him, the things he wants to do before he dies, and the questions he has that nobody will answer ("Does it hurt to die?" "Will the world still be there when I am gone?").
    • 5/5
      Nichols captures the voices of Felix and Sam. Unforgettable. The realized and unrealized, the evolving lists and entries of the human experience are storied here and accessible for the young and the older reader.