Welcome to the comments and discussion of the Young Adult Cancer Book Club! We are reading Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad. Read our participants’ reactions and follow along with us each week as we read through the book! Caution, spoilers below!
By Megan F.:
As I started this book, I knew I was going to love it. Suleika Jaouad has a beautiful writing voice, and the story is both fast-paced and suspenseful with so much heart. I felt myself relating to many aspects of Suleika’s story as I was reading this section. Chapters 6-10 really start to get into Suleika’s medical journey and the path to a correct diagnosis. I was diagnosed with cancer at 20, so it was relatable to me that the doctors wouldn’t think about cancer at first. Suleika’s “unexpected and perverse” feeling of relief was relatable with trying to take action on what was happening. I also related to Suleika’s line, “The diagnosis had formed an irreparable fracture: my life before, and after.” This line really reminds me of how I now look back at being diagnosed, but I also remember thinking about grieving the before pretty quickly after diagnosis. Overall, there’s an incredible amount of content in this book that I find relatable so far and I’m so intrigued to keep reading. When I find cancer stories that I relatable to mine, the world feels a little less lonely.
We will talk about a few chapters each week until the book is done. Once we finish the book, we’ll have an online book club discussion on Zoom to talk about general feelings from the book and anything else you’d like to discuss on November 3rd. Join in the comments every week! Also, there will probably be spoilers so read along with us! Excited about the next book club? Have any suggestions for future reads? Let us know!
