Zac’s brain works by numbers, there's always a statistic or equation that can confirm a theory, however no amount of statistics could tell him what was going to happen. When we meet Zac he is in the hospital with *Non- Hodgkin's lymphoma and has just come out of a bone marrow transplant. Mia lives everyday like its her last and does not show her pain, Mia is diagnosed with *Osteosarcoma and needs to do rounds of chemotherapy to help avoid a surgery. When she is the newbie next door to Zac’s room they strike up a relationship through wall knocks, 3 am facebook messages and phone calls over cheese toasties.
As I read through “Zac and Mia” I loved how in the beginning the two of them were completely different, Mia lives in Perth and Zac on an olive farm in Western Australia, Zac adores his family and friends yet Mia can’t stand her boyfriend, mum and friends. The way they communicate without this knowledge of each other's differences makes the story extremely interesting. Without spoiling to much throughout the book Zac and Mia finally see each other face to face, no wall, phone or laptop blocking their full view of each other and they learn to rebuild their relationship, flaws and all. The novel shows the true nature of illness and how it can affect everyone, there is nothing stopping them from being together yet it is so hard for the both of them to truly allow the other to accept their cancer, that is what makes this story so interesting to read.
An terrific page turner full of humour and heart ache and leaves you wanting more!
Note:*Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is a type of cancer that starts in the lymphatic system*Osteosarcoma is a type of bone cancer that produces immature bones.
Erin, Year 9
