The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise

March 2, 2015
In a satisfying, if somewhat derivative romance, British author Crow chronicles the relationship between two cancer patients in northern England. When witty 15-year-old narrator Francis is diagnosed with leukemia, his tenacious, hard-drinking mother and gay older brother rally with humor as he enters a teen care facility for treatment. There he meets a sharp-tongued girl named Amber, whose glib sense of humor results in conflicts with some of the other patients. For a loner like Francis, however, Amber proves to be not only his first love, but also his first real friend. As Francis and Amber fall in love amid their cancer treatments, their narrative is infused with tenderness, pain, and many moments of levity (including an incident in which Francis vomits on a cop's shoes). Tragedy looms asâin a setup familiar to star-crossed YA romances built around illnessâone of the characters enters remission, and the other does not. Nevertheless, Crow, in his first book for teens, creates vivid characters who fortify and uplift Francis, and serve as assets to the central love story. Ages 14âup.