I read this book because people raved about it--I cannot concur. The book was full of flat characters, and the children were not written at all like children, just stupid adults. The 'stunning plot twist' could be guessed from the beginning, the foreshadowing was pathetically obvious, and the chapters were far too repetitive. After reading a few of the mother's chapters, i felt like screaming "I GET IT! SHE HAS CANCER! YOU'RE SAD!"
if you really want to read this book, just read the first twenty and last twenty chapters; you won't miss a thing in the middle.