Anyone know a book about a boy in an isolation unit?
August 21, 2015 5:21 PM Subscribe
What's that novel filter: teen girl in hospital falls for a boy isolated behind glass.
The plot I can remember seems very YAish - girl gets admitted to hospital with serious condition (possibly leukaemia?) and has to spend a period of time in a single patient room. Next to her is a boy who, for reasons to do with infection risk, is kept in isolation behind glass. They start communicating through glances, then signals, and 'hold hands' by pressing palms up to the glass. (This is the bit that sticks out in my mind strongest - also that, at the time I was reading, the whole setyp seemed a bit improbable.) She is discharged, and returns to the hospital with a letter for him, only to find his bed empty and a nurse tells her he has passed away,and she collapses crying. It wasn't clear whether the relationship was romantic or friends who were heading that way, but his death upset her greatly and overshadowed the rest of the book. Unfortunately,I don't remember what that was.
I cannot for the life of me remember what book this is, and it's really annoying me. It is not: The Fault In Our Stars, The Boy In The Bubble. I don't read very much YA at all, so I think it was a book written for an adult audience. Any ideas?
The plot I can remember seems very YAish - girl gets admitted to hospital with serious condition (possibly leukaemia?) and has to spend a period of time in a single patient room. Next to her is a boy who, for reasons to do with infection risk, is kept in isolation behind glass. They start communicating through glances, then signals, and 'hold hands' by pressing palms up to the glass. (This is the bit that sticks out in my mind strongest - also that, at the time I was reading, the whole setyp seemed a bit improbable.) She is discharged, and returns to the hospital with a letter for him, only to find his bed empty and a nurse tells her he has passed away,and she collapses crying. It wasn't clear whether the relationship was romantic or friends who were heading that way, but his death upset her greatly and overshadowed the rest of the book. Unfortunately,I don't remember what that was.
I cannot for the life of me remember what book this is, and it's really annoying me. It is not: The Fault In Our Stars, The Boy In The Bubble. I don't read very much YA at all, so I think it was a book written for an adult audience. Any ideas?
Whilst it isn't the main plot of the book - and therefore probably not the right answer! - Chapter 12 of Meera Syal's Anita and Me reads similarly to what you describe:
In hospital with a broken leg, Meena strikes up a friendship with an older boy named Robert in the neighbouring isolation room: they communicate through hand signs and scribbled notes held up to the glass. (Though I can't recall whether they ever pressed their palms against the glass, Meena is once permitted to visit Robert in the isolation room, where the two hold hands briefly.)
After being discharged, Meena returns to the hospital to visit only to find Robert's bed empty - he's been sent to another hospital for "more tests" - and leaves him a letter. She hears of his death several days later when his parents write to her to inform her.
posted by Morfil Ffyrnig at 3:44 PM on November 11, 2015
In hospital with a broken leg, Meena strikes up a friendship with an older boy named Robert in the neighbouring isolation room: they communicate through hand signs and scribbled notes held up to the glass. (Though I can't recall whether they ever pressed their palms against the glass, Meena is once permitted to visit Robert in the isolation room, where the two hold hands briefly.)
After being discharged, Meena returns to the hospital to visit only to find Robert's bed empty - he's been sent to another hospital for "more tests" - and leaves him a letter. She hears of his death several days later when his parents write to her to inform her.
posted by Morfil Ffyrnig at 3:44 PM on November 11, 2015
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posted by deludingmyself at 7:01 AM on August 22, 2015 [1 favorite]