Title: The Probability of Miracles
Author: Wendy Wunder
Release Date: December 8, 2011
My Rating: 3.5/5
Synopsis: “Dry, sarcastic, sixteen-year-old Cam Cooper has spent the last seven years in and out hospitals. The last thing she wants to do in the short life she has left is move 1,500 miles away to Promise, Maine – a place known for the miraculous events that occur there. But it’s undeniable that strange things happen in Promise: everlasting sunsets; purple dandelions; flamingoes in the frigid Atlantic; an elusive boy named Asher; and finally, a mysterious envelope containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies. As Cam checks each item off the list, she finally learns to believe – in love, in herself, and even in miracles.”
I had read lots of great reviews on this one, all saying it was a beautiful emotional story. It was, to a certain degree, but I don’t think I got as much out of it as everyone else did. Part of me thinks maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood for it.
I had very mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I really enjoyed it, I was sucked in and read it quickly. I liked the idea of the plot, and hoped to get lots of tears out of it, but I didn’t. It’s not hard for a book to make me cry, so I figured a book about a girl who is dying of Cancer was a sure bet. It got maybe one tear out of me at the end.
Cam is described in the synopsis as dry and sarcastic, but really I just saw her as cynical. You can’t blame her for her cynicism, given all the bad luck she has been dealt in her life, but I wouldn’t try and call it something that it isn’t. She has developed a hard shell to cope with her impending death, and I really hoped to see more of a break through from her near the end in regards to her relationships with her mom and sister. We see a bit of that, but not as much as I would have liked.
Her mother is desperate to find a miracle to cure Cam’s seemingly hopeless disease. In search of this miracle, they go to Promise, Maine, a town that people claim is full of miracles. I love how her mother and sister are so hopeful, and try to make the best of Cam’s situation. By looking for a miracle, they are able to provide Cam with new experiences.
Overall, it was certainly worth reading, and I am glad I did, but it won’t be a book that I will come back to again to read over and over. (Though maybe I will give it another try down the line to see if I feel differently the second time around).
Along for the Read 