cancer effects many people and i think it is a very real problem that can have a great impact on not just the people that have it but those around them, so i think that it spreads a greater understanding and awareness. personally i read to get away from the real world so this is not the type of book i would typically go for but i know that this is may peoples type of book and i think that the power of friendship and love is going to make many people fall in love with the characters and then get their hearts broken when something bad happens - don't fall in love with a dead person!!!