Cass knows more about cancer than any young girl should. Every odd numbered year of her life her father has been diagnosed with a different type of cancer. He goes through chemo, radiation, or surgery, but some sort of cancer always returns.
Cass has been homeschooled because germs are the enemy. If she went to school like most of the other kids she knows, she would be bringing home illnesses that might seem minor, but that could actually kill her dad. She knows about wearing masks, washing thoroughly, and keeping her distance when necessary. One thing Cass regrets is when her father's cancer prevents her from playing baseball. She loves baseball and so does he.
When the tire place where her father works realizes he probably will never be back to work in any normal way, they try to help by offering to send Cass and her parents to the World Series. They have gotten to go to one of the big games every year, but this year cancer may be getting in the way. Cass feels selfish but missing the big game just doesn't seem fair.
Doctors think they have determined that Cass's dad has this problem with cancer because he is missing a particular gene. That answers the why part of cancer, but it isn't a cure. To complicate matters, Cass may have inherited this missing gene and only a special test can tell. Now Cass may be missing the World Series game, and if she decides to have the test, she may find out she has a 50% chance of getting cancer by age 30.
THE HOPE OF ELEPHANTS by Amanda Rawson Hill is a novel in verse about one family dealing with a disease all too familiar to most of us. There are ups and downs, laughter and pain, in this straightforward, no holds barred tale.
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