Give Until It Hurts

 Panacea Project by Catherine Devore Johnson

Calla has lived her whole life shunned by most people because of a skin condition that leaves white patches on her skin.  But one day doctor's discover that the cure for cancer might be in her blood.  Now everyone wants a piece of her, literally.  

Is this book believable?  Not really.  Did I enjoy reading it?  Yes, I did.  I don't know much about medicine but I think a lot of the science here wouldn't hold up and I'm pretty sure a hospital would not let a lot of this happen.  But I wasn't looking for science when I read the book so I was alright with that.  I do think that Calla seemed a little too naïve for someone who had to look out for herself her entire life, but I still liked her.  She was trying to do the right thing, trying to help people, and people took advantage of that.  So I felt for her.  And maybe the medical science here is unbelievable but the people's reaction to her is not.  You can imagine what people would do if they found out that there was a cure for their, or a loved one's, cancer.  What would you be willing to do if you thought you could save your dying child?  What is Calla's responsibly to other people when she could help so many?  Does she have one at all?  It does make you think about things.  Calla makes all the decisions seem like easy ones, and I wish she was a little more conflicted because I don't think it would be as easy as it seemed here.  And I wish Johnson had left out the romance angle completely.  It was unnecessary and felt very forced.  But the story moved at a quick pace and was compelling enough that it kept me up reading long after I should have been in bed.  

I got a free copy of this book from Librarything.com, Early Reviewers.