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    I Want to Live: The Dawn Rochelle Series, Book Two
    I Want to Live: The Dawn Rochelle Series, Book Two
    I Want to Live: The Dawn Rochelle Series, Book Two
    Ebook97 pages1 hour

    I Want to Live: The Dawn Rochelle Series, Book Two

    By Lurlene McDaniel

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    About this ebook

    Fourteen-year-old Dawn Rochelle has had a busy year. She's been to summer camp and she's helped her brother make plans for his wedding. And Dawn has been in remission from the leukemia that threatened her life. Now she's sick again and waiting to hear the news. Has the cancer come back? Will she live to celebrate her fifteenth birthday?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLerner Publishing
    Release dateAug 1, 2013
    ISBN9781467727891
    I Want to Live: The Dawn Rochelle Series, Book Two
    Author

    Lurlene McDaniel

    Everyone loves a good cry, and no one delivers heartwrenching stories better than Lurlene McDaniel. But there's more to her books than that. McDaniel has written over 40 novels about kids who face life-threatening illnesses, who sometimes do not survive. These are powerful, inspirational stories about courage, love, and strength in the face of overwhelming trauma. McDaniel’s books touch the hearts and spirits of the teenagers and adults who read them. Her following is a devoted group of appreciative fans. McDaniel says: "These are books that challenge you and make you think." Some readers—and their parents—have wondered why McDaniel chooses to write about sad situations. "I tell them that sometimes tragedy hits people—kids, too. They want answers. They want to know 'why.' By using novels, I show ordinary kids confronting and overcoming great odds." McDaniel's books are ultimately optimistic and life-affirming. McDaniel began writing about young adults when her son Sean was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at the age of 3. His illness changed the lives of everyone in her family forever. "I saw what life was like for someone who was chronically ill, and I experienced how it affected the dynamics of the family," says McDaniel. She says she found that writing about the trauma and its effects was therapeutic. To make certain that her books are medically accurate, McDaniel conducts extensive research. She interviews health care professionals and works with appropriate medical groups and hospice organizations, as well as the Tennessee Organ Donor Services. "I study medicine and traditional grief therapy techniques to give the novels a sense of serious medical reality," she says. "I also study the Bible to instill the human element—the values and ethics often overlooked by the coldness of technology." Growing up, McDaniel lived in different parts of the country because her father was in the Navy. Eventually her family settled in Florida. She attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, where she earned a B.A. in English. She now lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In addition to her popular YA novels, McDaniel has written radio and television scripts, promotional and advertising copy, and a magazine column. She is a frequent speaker at schools, writers’ conferences, and conventions. McDaniel's books have been named to several bestseller lists, including Publishers Weekly. Three of her novels were selected by children as IRA­CBC Children’s Choices: Somewhere Between Life and Death, Too Young to Die, and Goodbye Doesn’t Mean Forever. Six Months to Live has been placed in a literary time capsule at the Library of Congress, to be opened in the year 2089.

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      Book preview

      I Want to Live - Lurlene McDaniel

      (mobi)

      One

      THE one thing that Dawn Rochelle remembered most about her fourteenth birthday was that she was still alive. In her diary, she wrote:

      March 23

      Well, I’ve made it for almost a whole year. It doesn’t seem possible that I’ve had leukemia since last April. I wish this hadn’t happened to me. I wish I didn’t have to go to the clinic for my checkup next week. I wish they didn’t have to poke a hole in my back and take my spinal fluid—what if they find cancer cells? I can’t think about it.

      Today at school I heard that Jake Macka is moving. I wonder what it would be like to have him kiss me. I wonder if any normal boy will ever kiss me.

      For my birthday, Mom and Dad gave me a new MP3 player with a cute pink cover. Rob sent a Michigan State mug and light pink sweatsuit. He’s coming home for spring break this Saturday, and I can hardly wait to see him. He says he’s got someone special for us to meet. I’ll bet it’s Darcy, the girl he was dating last Christmas.

      Fourteen is all right, more than I thought I’d see when I was so sick in the hospital last year. But how about fifteen? Will I see fifteen?

      Dawn looked over her neatly formed words. She had been in remission for almost a whole year. It had been one year since her hospitalization, the pain, the tubes in her chest and mouth, the IV bottles, the chemotherapy, the side effects from all the drugs. It was mostly over with now. These days she went to checkups at the clinic twice a month where she received the medications, but in smaller doses. Her doctor called it maintenance. Some of the worst was behind her. But the fear wasn’t—the horrible fear that the leukemia would come back. And that it would kill her, as it had Sandy Chandler, her once and best friend.

      Dawn sighed and shut the cover of her diary. I’ll write more in it later, she thought. She’d learned about keeping a diary from Sandy. She often felt that if she died, the diary was something special and personal her parents could keep.

      Happy Birthday!

      Dawn whirled around to see the smiling face of Rhonda Watson from the school’s cheerleading squad.

      Your mom was out front and said I could come on up. What’s happening? Rhonda bounced into the room. Her brown hair swirled over her shoulders as she flopped onto the bed.

      Nothing much, Dawn answered. What’s happening with you?

      I brought you a present. She tossed a brightly wrapped box to Dawn.

      Gee, thanks. Dawn was surprised. Even though she and Rhonda had been on the cheerleading squad together for two years, she’d never thought of Rhonda as an especially close friend. They’d done their share of hanging around together after football games in the fall, but Rhonda had never gone out of her way during the rest of the school year to be Dawn’s friend. And now, she’d brought a gift. Dawn tore off the paper. Pink tennis socks and a matching headband lay in the tissue. Gosh, Rhonda. This is great! Thanks.

      Well, I heard you tell Kim that your brother sent you a pink sweatsuit. Rhonda fidgeted with the ruffle on the bed pillow. Is—uh—Rob coming home for spring break?

      Suddenly, Dawn figured out what Rhonda was up to. He’s too old for you, Rhonda.

      I’m a very mature fifteen, Rhonda sniffed, her face flushing.

      Don’t get all huffy. I’m just being honest with you, she said. Rob’s twenty-one. Besides, I think he’s bringing home a special girl to meet the family.

      Rhonda’s expression fell. Oh. Well, it never hurts to ask. She bounced off the bed and looked around the pink and white room. Her eyes stopped in front of the shelves of teddy bears. I like your collection. She went over and picked up Mr. Ruggers. Boy, he looks like he’s been around forever.

      The bear had been Dawn’s first teddy when she was a baby. One glass eye was missing and his fuzz had been rubbed off in several places. Suddenly, she felt funny about Rhonda touching the raggedy old animal. She took Mr. Ruggers and casually flipped him into a heap on the floor. Yeah, he was an original from my baby shower. When I was a little kid, he was my favorite. He’s nothin’ but junk now.

      Rhonda stepped over the bear and continued surveying the shelves. I’ll bet you have the best collection in Ohio.

      "I’ll bet I have the only collection in Ohio. I’ve been thinking about getting rid of them. I’d rather start collecting something more— She wanted to say grown-up, but settled on meaningful."

      Don’t do that. My dad used to collect baseball cards when he was a boy, and he said he’d be a rich man today if he’d saved them all. You never can tell what’s going to be valuable.

      If I live that long, Dawn thought. She said, Would you—uh—like a root beer or something?

      "Sure. I’m dying of thirst. Are you having a birthday party?"

      Dying of thirst, Dawn though. What a silly expression. We’re just having cupcakes tonight. We’re saving the big cake and ice cream bash for when Rob’s home. Dawn led the way down the stairs to the kitchen.

      You sure he has a girlfriend? I can act older then I am, you know.

      Dawn giggled. I’ve seen Darcy’s picture. There’s no hope, Rhonda.

      I’m too young for all the cute guys, Rhonda complained.

      Dawn understood Rhonda’s complaint. Tell me about it. Who’s interested in a fourteen-year-old with— She stopped, feeling her cheeks burn. With no curves and bumps in the right places. With cancer, her brain said.

      Oh, I don’t know. Rhonda cast her eyes sideways at Dawn. Sometimes it seems like Jake Macka’s interested.

      He’s cute, isn’t he?

      For a fifteen-year-old, Rhonda sniffed. Personally, I prefer older men.

      Dawn sloshed root beer on the table. I have an uncle in his forties . . .

      Rhonda stuck out her tongue. I said ‘older,’ not ancient. So what’s with you and Jake?

      Nothing. He’s been nice to me ever since . . . well, since I got sick. But he’s never asked me out or anything.

      Are you okay now? I mean, since your hair’s grown back and everything, I don’t much think of you as sick.

      No, Rhonda, I’m not okay. I’m in remission. Until I’m cancer-free for five years, I won’t ever be okay. Yeah, I’m doing all right, Dawn answered. She watched Rhonda toy with her glass and decided to change the subject. Are you doing anything special this summer?

      Hanging around mostly. Mrs. Booth wants me to babysit her kids three mornings a week while she works. How about you?

      Hanging around, too. I’ll probably go to camp again.

      "That

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