Staring Down the Dragon

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Published by: Sydney Press
Release Date: July 1, 2003
Pages: 232
ISBN13: 979-8986279039
When Rell DeMello went back to Kailua High after being treated for cancer, some kids called her brave; some said she was a hero. But, Rell didn't want to be a hero, she wanted to be normal, Rell "before cancer." Besides, she knew she wasn't brave. When Dr. Baden told her she had cancer, she cried. And after all the surgeries, the chemotherapy and radiation, Dr. Braden didn't say "You don't have cancer anymore." He said, "I find no evidence of cancer." Rell cried again. "No evidence" - like weeds in a garden, creeping under the surface, until one day a pale green shoot pops through the ground and chokes all the budding flowers. Rell hated cancer. She hated the word. When kids asked her if she was cured she'd say, It's not like that. It wasn't the answer they wanted to hear. They wanted a storybook ending with a handsome prince and a gallant white horse - not Nate Lee and his rust-bucket truck. They wanted a perfect life movie of a blonde cheerleader who got cancer, almost died, was cured and, when she went back to school, was crowned Homecoming Queen. It was just like Rell's life except for the part about being blonde, a cheerleader, Homecoming Queen and... cured.
Praise
American Library Association Selection
“Best Books For Young Adults”
“Avoiding the twin traps of sentimentality and didacticism, the author skillfully allows her characters to reveal themselves through their dialogue, in a way that many well-known authors might emulate. Indeed, this novel is of exceptional quality. All libraries serving teens should add this fine novel to their collections."
–Voice of Youth Advocacy
"...refreshingly honest story about being a teen, living with cancer, and the impact it has on oneself, friends and family."
–Gilda’s Club Worldwide
“The slim-novel equivalent of a well-meaning afterschool special, this story of a Kailua High cancer survivor is told with economy and grace. Young adults and teens will find it hard to put down.”
–Honolulu Star Bulletin
“Cancer survivors don't feel quite like anybody else, and Dorothea Buckingham lends Rell an authentic voice by letting us see just how difficult it is for someone recovering from cancer to begin to feel normal again. An uplifting story about overcoming fear and accepting change, Staring Down the Dragon is really about living after cancer - maybe the hardest journey of all."
–Randolph Giudice, Oahu Island News
“The best treatment of the topic I’ve read… (I) would assign it to every intern as required reading.”
–Robert W.P. Cutler, MD Stanford University School of Medicine