Cystic Fibrosis: The Ultimate Teen Guide (It Happened to Me) by Melanie Ann Apel

Grade 9 Up–A solid introduction to the disease–the facts, the challenges, the complications, and the outlook for the future. A plethora of personal stories accompanies each chapter. The book opens with the author's account of going to CF camp for several years, the friends she made there, and the ones she lost. Each chapter has a small black-and-white photograph of her fellow campers. An anecdote about something that happened at camp follows the picture; it is italicized and in small print, making it difficult to read. Interspersed throughout the text are geometrical boxes with additional facts. Famous people who have the disease or who have a child, parent, or friend with it are mentioned. Large caption boxes are filled with quotes or poignant poems written by CF patients, and eye-opening statistics appear throughout. Notes follow each chapter. The afterword tells of the individuals mentioned in the book who accomplished something they never expected to live long enough to do, while others tell of the deaths of some of the teens introduced. Young adults with the disease will feel a part of a worldwide community after reading this book. There is optimism as well as sadness here, but most of all there is the resonance of CF sufferers' voices telling others, You are not alone.–Marilyn Fairbanks, Azure IRC, Brockton High School, MA
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Owner Reviews, Ratings, Comments and Criticism
Cystic fibrosis is much more than a chronic, life-threatening medical condition. The disease is bad enough, but it has far-reaching effects on many parts of the body. Those who suffer with it are condemned to a very complicated way of life they'd never voluntarily choose. Friends, family and loved ones are affected by it too. Melanie Apel deftly guides the reader to an understanding of many facets of CF: biological, emotional, psychological and social. Her point of view as insider/outsider/guide is successful and she has both empathy and knowledge based on her experience and training. She's employed a good voice for the target audience, too--it's direct and doesn't sidestep issues, there are lots of real-life stories, and when she explains the science end of things she doesn't talk down to readers or become too overwhelmingly complicated. The last part of the book is necessarily sad--most with the disease eventually succumb to it, but the book ends on a hopeful and courageous note. If it had been around when I was a teenager, I would have wanted to read it. I'm glad it's around now that I'm an adult. I learned a lot.