Dying to go Viral - Softcover

McNicoll, Sylvia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1554552710 ISBN 13: 9781554552719

Publisher: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2013

Synopsis

On CCBC's Best Books for Kids and Teens list 2013

Ontario Library Association Best Bets List 2013 Honourable mention

On Resource Links' Best of 2013 list

What would you do if you only had one week to live? A skateboarding accident claims 14-year-old Jade's life when she skitches (hitches herself to a car) in order to appear on youtube; she neglected to wear the helmet she promised her father she would always use. In a Japanese garden she meets her mother who died when Jade was eight. She begs for the chance to return to earth if only to improve relations between her brother and father and Mom negotiates a one week do-over for her.

About this title

About the Author:

Winner of the 1996 Silver Birch Children's Choice Award and the 1997 Manitoba Young Reader's Choice Award for Bringing Up Beauty, Sylvia McNicoll has written over 20 books, including short stories, first chapter books, fiction for middle-grade and reluctant readers, and novels for young adults.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 7-9-Jade is thrilled when her older brother, Devon, gives her a skateboard for her 14th birthday. Usually she doesn't go in for extreme tricks, but today his friend is filming clips to upload to YouTube, and Aiden convinces her that a video of her holding on to a moving car will go viral. The car's speed and Jade's skateboard catching in a grate conspire to make the ride the last one that she ever takes. As she leaves the world, she is conscious of being in an ethereal courtyard with her dead mother. Mom lets Jade have a glimpse of the funeral, where her dad and Devon each blame themselves for her death. Jade convinces her mother to let her relive her last week, and the woman reluctantly agrees. On Jade's list of things to accomplish: finding a girlfriend for her dad, convincing him to back off from forcing Devon to attend a university, spending more time together as a family, and kissing hunky Aiden. The narrative is largely taken up with the hurdles Jade faces during this relived week. Along the way, she discovers that Aiden really isn't worth drooling over and that she is actually in love with skateboarding buddy Scratch. The family dynamics are much healthier by that fateful day. This time, though, her accident comes about from saving a young boy who has also been caught up in Aiden's charm, and she dies a hero. The exchanges between Jade and her mother can be a little saccharine and stilted, but overall, readers will enjoy seeing how Jade grows during the week she is more outwardly focused.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VAα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: Fitzhenry and Whiteside
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1554552710
• ISBN 13: 9781554552719
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 255