How to Live on the Edge (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781541578890)

Eighteen-year-old Cayenne barely remembers her mother, who died of breast cancer when Cayenne was four. The women in her family have a history of dying young. Cayenne figures she'll meet the same fate, so she might as well enjoy life now, engaging in death-defying risks like dodging trains and jumping off cliffs with her boyfriend.

When Cayenne receives a series of video messages her mother made for her before dying, she isn't sure she wants them. Her aunt Tee has been her true mother figure. But then Aunt Tee tests positive for a BRCA gene mutation--the one that doomed Cayenne's mom--and decides to get a mastectomy to reduce her chances of developing cancer. As Cayenne helps her aunt prepare for the surgery, she finds herself drawn to her mother's messages, with their musings on life, love, and perseverance. For the first time, Cayenne starts to question what it truly means to live life to the fullest, even when death might be written into her DNA.

Author: Sarah Lynn Scheerger
ISBN-10: 1541578899
ISBN-13: 9781541578890
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab (R)
Language: English
Published: 08/04/2020
Pages: 312
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.60w x 1.20d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5
Point Value: 12
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 554296 / How to Live on the Edge


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2020
School Library Journal 03/01/2020 pg. 118
Booklist 02/15/2020 pg. 77
Voice of Youth Advocates 06/01/2020 - Recommended - Better Than Most