Philip's mum has breast cancer. Philip wants to be a stand-up comedian like his hero, Harry Hill. Now he has to find the funny side of an unfunny subject, to help his mum - and himself.
Philip is twelve years old and life is pretty good. He gets on with his mum and gets by pretty well at school - in spite of girl problems, teacher problems, bully problems and - er - poetry problems. Philip's happy-go-lucky life is disrupted when his mother gets breast cancer. Bad enough that your mother is seriously ill - but could she not have developed a less embarrassing kind of cancer - toe cancer, maybe, or ear cancer? Philip's attempts to cope with his situation are both hilarious and touching.
Through it all, he's writing letters to his hero, the comedian Harry Hill, looking for advice.
A multi-award-winning and hilarious take on the unfunny subject of cancer; this book brings one of modern life's most prevalent illnesses into the light and gives it a human face
Christine Hamill studied English Literature at Queen's University, Belfast. She worked in the arts then trained as a teacher and worked in Spain, England and Northern Ireland. She now lives in Belfast and is a lecturer at a Further Education college where she teaches creative writing. Christine writes books for both adults and children. Her first book was B is for Breast Cancer, a non fiction work for adults based on her own experiences.
Title: The Best Medicine
Author: Christine Hamill
ISBN: 9781910411513
Binding:
Publisher: Little Island
Publication Date: 2016-05-18
Number of Pages: 176
Weight: 0.5036 kg
The book is a real insight into how a parent's illness can impact a child, and the unusual ways they cope with it all. A perfect little book if you your little one knows a close family member who is battling cancer, and is unsure how to deal with the diagnosis.
* Mummypages *
The story drives along at a rollicking pace - the comedy and the serious matter of potential tragedy harmonising nicely.
* The Irish Times *
Christine Hamill has a way of bringing humour to the trauma of cancer that no other author has dared to.
* The Belfast Telegraph *
The light-hearted touch in this story stops it from becoming a maudlin tale about illness, which is particularly clever given the subject matter. Instead, it is a down-to-earth, funny, emotive story which has you laughing and crying at the same time. Philip's observations and reactions to his Mum's perplexing behaviour are utterly realistic and many will be able to relate to his feelings of desperation. When the truth is finally revealed, that his Mum is facing a battle with cancer, it is done so with extreme care by the author. Whilst the realities are bleak, Philip sets about trying to cope, sort out his problems and help his Mum, with hilarious and moving moments throughout ... This uplifting book will open the eyes of those who think illness should be kept behind closed doors and only whispered about.
* The Book Activist *
The stages of Philip's Mum's illness and treatment and its emotional effects are portrayed convincingly and the light-hearted fictional approach to a difficult subject, told through Philip's likeable, funny voice, will help young people to understand and cope with a situation that many are likely to face.
* Books for Keeps *
The story steers its way through the tricky subject of coping with cancer to great effect. A story that could so easily resort to pathos rises to become a tenacious tale, invested with genuinely funny moments.
* Carousel Magazine *
