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A review by maggiemaggio
Zac and Mia by A.J. Betts
3.0
3.5 stars
I haven't read The Fault in Our Stars. I felt like I had to get that out there before I review this book. Yes, The Fault in Our Stars is obviously the cancer book, but cancer is a big topic that, as Zac frequently reminds us, affects one out of two people worldwide so I'm personally of the mind that the world, even the YA world, can handle more than one (or two or three) cancer books.
I'm glad I got that off my chest. Zac and Mia is a complicated book for me. When I first started reading I definitely wasn't sold on the story. At the beginning it's pretty much just Zac, stuck in an isolation room, with his mother and a rotating cast of hospital staff. He's had a bone marrow transplant and he has to be in a germ-free environment for a number of days (I think it was 50) before his new marrow is making enough white blood cells to be able to combat pathogens. That sucked. It sucked for Zac and it sucked for me reading it (obviously it sucked more for Zac). Even though Zac is funny and charming and geeky and optimistic it was still a struggle to feel so stuck and alone. And yes, that is how Zac felt, but still, it dragged and for a while I wasn't sure if I would be able to keep reading.
Even after Mia moved in next door to Zac the story was still a struggle. Since Zac can't go talk to Mia and Mia can't come in to talk to Zac they communicate by knocking on the wall between their rooms (neither knows morse code so it's not terribly effective) and through a few slightly confusing notes passed between by the nurses. Eventually they become friends on Facebook but even their chats there are stilted and not exactly thrilling. Mia has osteosarcoma in her ankle and Zac looks at her as being incredibly lucky even though Mia, who's always been a bit of a party girl, feels anything but.
The story is divided into three parts, the first is solely from Zac's perspective, the middle from Zac and Mia's alternating perspectives, and the final only from Mia's perspective. Even though I had a difficult time getting into the story it was still very well written and I was intrigued by Zac's voice. Once we get to know Mia in the middle part I was slightly taken aback. By the time we meet her she's busted out of the hospital and run away from home. She's lying and stealing and isn't a particularly empathetic character. If Zac and Mia reminded me of any book it would be Side Effects May Vary. Mia's anger, terrible decisions, and general unlikability reminded me a lot of Alice in that book, although overall Zac and Mia isn't quite on the level of Side Effects May Vary.
Once the switch to alternating between Zac and Mia's perspectives I was more drawn into the story. It never fully clicked, but at least with Mia, even if she was a huge rhymes-with-witch (though I liked her), things were happening. Much of the story still happened in Mia and Zac's heads and I did wish for more action and more talking, but I did come to enjoy and was interested in the story a lot more than I was for the first third.
As I was reading I kept going back and skimming Goodreads reviews because I wanted some hint of what happened at the end of the story. Did they both die? Did one of them die? I didn't even care who may or may not have died, I just wanted to know because I felt like I needed a better take on the overall tone of the book. As I was skimming those reviews I came across one (a negative one) that noted that the story isn't a romance. Up until that point (and I was probably more than halfway through by this time) I hadn't even noticed that it wasn't a romance and I loved that. Guys and girls can be friends and although there was some attraction of Zac to Mia and Mia wanting him to find her attractive because that's how she's used to finding validation, there was no kissing or romance in the book.
As implied above I kept playing out different scenarios for how the book would end. Lots of different things went through my mind, but what actually happened was a surprise to me and I really enjoyed that. It was also a really fitting ending given the tone of the story and I was left with the pleasant feeling that Zac and Mia were both given their due.
Bottom Line: Even though the beginning dragged and I wish the rest had had a little more action and conversation, I still enjoyed reading Zac and Mia. It's one of those books that, even with my issues, makes me look forward to seeing what A.J. Betts does next because the concept, characterization, and overall way the story played out were all really strong.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss (thank you!). All opinions are my own.
This review first appeared on my blog.
I haven't read The Fault in Our Stars. I felt like I had to get that out there before I review this book. Yes, The Fault in Our Stars is obviously the cancer book, but cancer is a big topic that, as Zac frequently reminds us, affects one out of two people worldwide so I'm personally of the mind that the world, even the YA world, can handle more than one (or two or three) cancer books.
I'm glad I got that off my chest. Zac and Mia is a complicated book for me. When I first started reading I definitely wasn't sold on the story. At the beginning it's pretty much just Zac, stuck in an isolation room, with his mother and a rotating cast of hospital staff. He's had a bone marrow transplant and he has to be in a germ-free environment for a number of days (I think it was 50) before his new marrow is making enough white blood cells to be able to combat pathogens. That sucked. It sucked for Zac and it sucked for me reading it (obviously it sucked more for Zac). Even though Zac is funny and charming and geeky and optimistic it was still a struggle to feel so stuck and alone. And yes, that is how Zac felt, but still, it dragged and for a while I wasn't sure if I would be able to keep reading.
Even after Mia moved in next door to Zac the story was still a struggle. Since Zac can't go talk to Mia and Mia can't come in to talk to Zac they communicate by knocking on the wall between their rooms (neither knows morse code so it's not terribly effective) and through a few slightly confusing notes passed between by the nurses. Eventually they become friends on Facebook but even their chats there are stilted and not exactly thrilling. Mia has osteosarcoma in her ankle and Zac looks at her as being incredibly lucky even though Mia, who's always been a bit of a party girl, feels anything but.
The story is divided into three parts, the first is solely from Zac's perspective, the middle from Zac and Mia's alternating perspectives, and the final only from Mia's perspective. Even though I had a difficult time getting into the story it was still very well written and I was intrigued by Zac's voice. Once we get to know Mia in the middle part I was slightly taken aback. By the time we meet her she's busted out of the hospital and run away from home. She's lying and stealing and isn't a particularly empathetic character. If Zac and Mia reminded me of any book it would be Side Effects May Vary. Mia's anger, terrible decisions, and general unlikability reminded me a lot of Alice in that book, although overall Zac and Mia isn't quite on the level of Side Effects May Vary.
Once the switch to alternating between Zac and Mia's perspectives I was more drawn into the story. It never fully clicked, but at least with Mia, even if she was a huge rhymes-with-witch (though I liked her), things were happening. Much of the story still happened in Mia and Zac's heads and I did wish for more action and more talking, but I did come to enjoy and was interested in the story a lot more than I was for the first third.
As I was reading I kept going back and skimming Goodreads reviews because I wanted some hint of what happened at the end of the story. Did they both die? Did one of them die? I didn't even care who may or may not have died, I just wanted to know because I felt like I needed a better take on the overall tone of the book. As I was skimming those reviews I came across one (a negative one) that noted that the story isn't a romance. Up until that point (and I was probably more than halfway through by this time) I hadn't even noticed that it wasn't a romance and I loved that. Guys and girls can be friends and although there was some attraction of Zac to Mia and Mia wanting him to find her attractive because that's how she's used to finding validation, there was no kissing or romance in the book.
As implied above I kept playing out different scenarios for how the book would end. Lots of different things went through my mind, but what actually happened was a surprise to me and I really enjoyed that. It was also a really fitting ending given the tone of the story and I was left with the pleasant feeling that Zac and Mia were both given their due.
Bottom Line: Even though the beginning dragged and I wish the rest had had a little more action and conversation, I still enjoyed reading Zac and Mia. It's one of those books that, even with my issues, makes me look forward to seeing what A.J. Betts does next because the concept, characterization, and overall way the story played out were all really strong.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss (thank you!). All opinions are my own.
This review first appeared on my blog.