Before I Go

Madison Henry learned to ice skate almost before she learned to walk. She is now an Olympic hopeful who is training hard to be the best she can be. She isn’t feeling quite up to par, but keeps blaming her lack of energy on hard practices and lack of sleep. She is a high school student who while she lacks many friends has one great friend, Jack.

Jackson Wellington III has been Maddie’s friend since they were six years old. He has developed deeper feelings for her than she realizes, but knows they are meant to someday be together. No matter what Maddie faces, he is determined to be her moral supporter, and anything she will let him.

Riley Weston has created a novel that no synopsis can describe. The emotional telling of the tale of Maddie’s life and illness cannot be put into words. Everyone is afraid of the word cancer, but Ms. Weston has given that fear new meaning. Her novel is filled with tears, smiles and a pat on the back for the way Maddie and Jack handle her diagnosis and the battle with the dreaded disease.

Ms. Weston is a talented writer that has left this reviewer speechless. Nothing that can be written in a review can describe the emotional impact her novel had on this reader’s heart and mind. This novel will remain on this reviewer’s keeper shelf for a long time to come. This is not a novel for those looking for a light read, but anyone looking for a novel that brings tears to the eyes will find BEFORE I GO one of the best novels of 2006.

When this reviewer picked up BEFORE I GO she was not prepared for the emotional journey, but along the way she learned a lot about herself and her feelings toward cancer and the emotional damage it causes along with the physical. This novel will appeal to readers of all ages, this reviewer can highly recommend it to teens and women alike.

August 2006