One Last Wish: Three Novels

By Lurlene McDaniel

You don't know me, but I know about you.... I can't make you live longer, I can stop you form hurting. But I can give you one wish, as someone did for me.
Three letters. Three last wishes.
In Mother, Help Me Live, Sarah discovers that her birth mother, whom she's never known, is the one person who may have the bone marrow she needs to survive. When Sarah journeys to find her mother, she learns the real meaning of family.
Let Him Live tells the story of Megan's friendship with Donovan, who is hoping to receive a liver transplant. Megan helps make Donovan's wish for his mother and little brother come true, along the way, Megan comes to understand true giving.
In Sixteen and Dying, when Anne finds out that a blood transfusion she had seven years ago has made her future uncertain, being given one wish helps her face her pain. She chooses to spend the summer with her father on a ranch out west—and there she meets someone who will change her life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Mar 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9780307809339

Lurlene McDaniel

Everyone loves a good cry, and no one delivers heartwrenching stories better than Lurlene McDaniel. But there's more to her books than that. McDaniel has written over 40 novels about kids who face life-threatening illnesses, who sometimes do not survive. These are powerful, inspirational stories about courage, love, and strength in the face of overwhelming trauma. McDaniel’s books touch the hearts and spirits of the teenagers and adults who read them. Her following is a devoted group of appreciative fans. McDaniel says: "These are books that challenge you and make you think." Some readers—and their parents—have wondered why McDaniel chooses to write about sad situations. "I tell them that sometimes tragedy hits people—kids, too. They want answers. They want to know 'why.' By using novels, I show ordinary kids confronting and overcoming great odds." McDaniel's books are ultimately optimistic and life-affirming. McDaniel began writing about young adults when her son Sean was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at the age of 3. His illness changed the lives of everyone in her family forever. "I saw what life was like for someone who was chronically ill, and I experienced how it affected the dynamics of the family," says McDaniel. She says she found that writing about the trauma and its effects was therapeutic. To make certain that her books are medically accurate, McDaniel conducts extensive research. She interviews health care professionals and works with appropriate medical groups and hospice organizations, as well as the Tennessee Organ Donor Services. "I study medicine and traditional grief therapy techniques to give the novels a sense of serious medical reality," she says. "I also study the Bible to instill the human element—the values and ethics often overlooked by the coldness of technology." Growing up, McDaniel lived in different parts of the country because her father was in the Navy. Eventually her family settled in Florida. She attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, where she earned a B.A. in English. She now lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In addition to her popular YA novels, McDaniel has written radio and television scripts, promotional and advertising copy, and a magazine column. She is a frequent speaker at schools, writers’ conferences, and conventions. McDaniel's books have been named to several bestseller lists, including Publishers Weekly. Three of her novels were selected by children as IRA­CBC Children’s Choices: Somewhere Between Life and Death, Too Young to Die, and Goodbye Doesn’t Mean Forever. Six Months to Live has been placed in a literary time capsule at the Library of Congress, to be opened in the year 2089.

Reviews for One Last Wish

[sammykin2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lurlene McDaniel is a great author, I love reading her books. Her words are so inspring to me and im sure to others as well.

[ygonzalez_19 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The setting of this novel takes place in the summer in a hospital named “Memorial Hospital”. Most of the action that this novel contains is around the hospital’s campus. The main characters of this novel are Donovan and Megan. Unlike other novels this characters seem to be very believable. For the simple reason that they keep it real, what I mean with this is that they behave like a person with their problem would behave. My favorite character is Donovan not only because his is the protagonist, but also because his is the character that I can hear the most. However, the character I can relate to is Megan, because she’s a teenage girl just like me and she also cares about others, other than herself. Even though I have never done, such a generous thing for someone, I could imagine myself doing the same thing for a person. The novel’s conflict is that a 17 year old boy name Donovan needs a liver transplant, or else he will die. Megan is Dr. Charnell’s daughter. Dr. Charnell is the doctor that takes care of Donovan’s sickness. One day Megan goes as a volunteer to Memorial Hospital and meets Donovan. Megan falls in love with Donovan and starts getting involved with Donovan’s sickness. After six months of waiting for a liver donor, a guy has a car crash and dies, the doctors conclude that this guy could be a possible donor for Donovan, but when the doctors ask the family if they want to donate their son’s organs, the family stays is a negative mood and says no, to the doctors. So days pass, and Donovan seems to be doing well even though he didn’t get the transplant. Unfortunately one night Donovan gets run into the hospital because he gets very sick. Dr. Charnell sees that Donovan is to sick and won’t make it, so he talks to Donovan’s mom. After Donovan died his mother was crying, but was glad because her child wouldn’t suffer more. You’re probably thinking that Donovan died because he didn’t have his liver transplant, but actually he died because he got Kidney Failure. I didn’t like this novel’s ending, because of all the novels I’ve read and enjoyed, this is the only one that has a sad ending. I would have liked this novel better if Donovan had gotten well and had lived happily ever after. My favorite part of this novel was when the characters met and fell in love with each other. If I could change a part on this novel, it would be the ending because I thought it was a very miserable ending. The most important thing that I learned about this novel was that there should be more organ donators in the world, so that that way more lives could be safe. This novel should be read by everybody including guys, because it’s a novel that really shows you how valuable life is. RATING:It was pretty good, and I wish the book hadn't ended so soon.

[mariahmartin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Katie a girl got a letter in the mail from someone she didnt know who it was and it was a 1,00,000 dollars for an open donor. Aaron Daniels went to Michigan High for college football, he didnt get much because he collapsed on the feild with some heart problem. Aaron is the one that gave Katie her new heart.