Series: None
Author: Carrie Firestone
Published June 16th 2016 by Hachette Children's Group
Goodreads Synopsis
Seventeen-year-old Maddie O'Neill Levine's grandmother is a young-at-heart socialite who has always been Maddie's go-to confidante. Although Maddie and the rest of her family have learned to expect the unexpected from their matriarch, Gram still manages to shock them all when she announces that she has booked the O'Neill clan on a secret death-with-dignity ship called the Wishwell; Gram has terminal cancer and is determined to leave the world in her own way--and give her family an unforgettable summer of dreams-come-true in the process.
Soon, Maddie is on the trip of a lifetime with her wacky family. Aboard the ship, Maddie bonds with other Wishwellians and falls for Enzo, the son of the ship's owner, as they travel the globe. But despite the copious laugher, headiness of first love, and wonder of the glamorous destinations, Maddie knows she is on the brink of losing Gram, and she struggles to find the strength to let go in a whirlwind summer shaped by love, grief, and the power of forgiveness.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
By the end of Senior year, Maddie O'Neill Levine still had a number of things she wished she had done, so she created a 'Loose Ends List'. But before she can start to achieve any of her loose ends, her grandmother calls a family meeting and drops a bombshell: she has pancreatic cancer, and has booked the entire family on a summer long cruise, which is a secret death with dignity ship, and at the end, Gram will drift off, and die when she is ready. Maddie has always had a problem with death, and being surrounded by the terminally ill, and facing the impending loss of her beloved grandmother, on top of the usual teenage angst, is too much. However, the people she meets along the way, especially the handsome Enzo, make it worthwhile, and Maddie might just tie off all her loose ends after all.
I really, really, wanted to love this book. I lost my gran a few years ago to cancer, and it broke me, and I wanted to be able to connect with Maddie and this story line. However, Maddie was one of the biggest brat I've ever had the misfortune of reading. I honestly hated her character, and the 'humour' in the book wasn't funny at all. The romance with Enzo was ridiculous, and there were times she would rather spend the day in bed with him, than with her family, and especially her grandmother, when she knew there wasn't long left. I though about DNFing the book so many times, but wanted to finish it for a few reasons: 1. clear my NG shelf, 2. see if Astrid found peace, and 3. to see if Maddie improved at all (spoiler alert, she didn't). The last 20% of the book or so are the reason this is getting two stars rather than 1. I'll admit, it made me cry, and it definitely brought back memories of my gran, but I felt the way that the people who were on the ship due to their health really made the book. Astrid, Paige, Heinz, Mark, Vito, etc. they deserved such a better book, and I'm gutted they didn't get it. I'll definitely not be recommending this one, or reading any more books by this author.
Dates Read:
November 14-19, 2021
Rating
2 Stars
