Wink

Rob Harrell draws on his own experience of eye cancer as an adult patient, to tell the story of Ross, a seventh grader (year 8 in UK) who finds that he has ‘mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the lacrimal gland’, and may lose his sight. This devasting diagnosis has a huge impact, not only on him as he starts really noticing the world around him, but on his Dad and step-Mom Linda, his best friends Abby and Isaac, and the other kids in his school. Abby is very supportive, but Isaac just disappears, and that hurts. A partial reprieve comes when a sympathetic consultant finds that eye removal is not necessary, and recommends proton radiation. The gruelling 36 sessions, with Ross having to stay absolutely still, are eventually successful, but he has the indignity of having to wear a hat all the time, including in class, to protect his eye from too much light. Humour helps – Rob Harrell makes Ross like himself, a talented cartoonist, and he draws Batpig in various situations, but music saves him, as it also saved the author. His radiation technician, Frank, encourages him to move away from the music his Dad and step-Mom like, and get into heavy metal, which certainly helps with the inner rage, and eventually Ross learns to play the guitar well enough to perform at school. The kids at school also have varying reactions, and Ross hates being known as ‘the cancer kid’. There is a sub-plot involving some unkind cartoons, or memes, about Ross’s situation that circulate among the kids, pinging into their phones, and eventually, via an unexpected source, Ross finds out who is responsible, and that person is punished by the Principal. It is all very American, in language and general attitude to life – Ross has a scar on his forehead like a ‘dime slot’, as his older fellow patient Jerry, a great character, notices, and that becomes his own nickname for Ross. They get through a huge amount of McDonald’s fries and cokes, and the time that Frank is able to spend with Ross is evidently far more than would be possible in our NHS, (wonderful though it is) but young readers are quite likely to be acclimatised to American ways by now. There is a rather American happy ending, with hugs all round, but it’s not too sentimental, and it is indeed good to be positive about treatment for illness.

Rob Harrell’s best friend’s daughter was diagnosed with cancer of the femur, and she found it so helpful to talk to Ross, who ‘got’ the whole cancer situation, could talk about scar care etc., and the fact that sometimes you just want to scream, that he decided to write this book in hopes of helping other children who are trying to cope with life-threatening illness. The cartoon illustrations of Batpig are fun, just as a 12 year-old might draw, and Rob Harrell’s storytelling is very engaging. Whether or not the reader has an illness, this should help with understanding for those who have.