Rachel Rambles About The Probability of Miracles

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
From Goodreads:
Dry, sarcastic, sixteen-year-old Cam Cooper has spent the last seven years in and out hospitals. The last thing she wants to do in the short life she has left is move 1,500 miles away to Promise, Maine - a place known for the miraculous events that occur there. But it's undeniable that strange things happen in Promise: everlasting sunsets; purple dandelions; flamingoes in the frigid Atlantic; an elusive boy named Asher; and finally, a mysterious envelope containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies. As Cam checks each item off the list, she finally learns to believe - in love, in herself, and even in miracles.

A debut novel from an immensely talented new writer, The Probability of Miracles crackles with wit, romance and humor and will leave readers laughing and crying with each turn of the page.

This book made me feel all the feelings. All of them. And I have absolutely no idea how I'm supposed to talk about it. So I'm sure this will go well. You know what? Let's just make a list, okay? I can get through a list without crying. I think. Hopefully.

Things I love about this book:

1. Cam. She is cynical and sarcastic and she pretty much hates the world. Some readers might struggle with the constant negativity and dry humor, but I could relate to it really well.

2. Cam's mom and sister. Her mother provides the necessary optimism and cheerfulness and hopefulness to cancel out some of Cam's cynicism. Her little sister is in those joyous tween years where she wears a lot of pink and is practically glued to her phone. These characters get a little annoying sometimes, but at the end of the day, they are a really good family.


3. Cam's nana. She's the best character ever. She's freaking hysterical, and I was cracking up at pretty much everything she said.

4. ASHER. Oh my. Cute Boy Alert, everyone. And here's the thing about Asher: he really pissed me off sometimes. There were several points in the book where I kind of wanted to shake him and be like WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Because he screws up a lot (as done Cam). But I think it made me appreciate him even more. He has a whole bunch of flaws, Cam has a whole bunch of flaws, the characters are realistic and normal and human and NOT PERFECT.

5. Promise, Maine. Can I please move to this town now? It's small and weird and fascinating and I really want to go there.


6. The relationships. Unlike many YA books, this book doesn't center around a romantic relationship. The Probability of Miracles is focused on family, and the struggle a family goes through when one of its members is sick. There is also a romantic relationship between Cam and Asher, but it's not what the entire book is about, which is really refreshing.


7. The humor. This book is about cancer. CANCER. Which is sad and depressing by default, right? BUT IT'S ALSO REALLY FUNNY AND HAPPY. Wendy Wunder manages to mix the seriousness of cancer with the sarcasm and wit of the characters and the situations they find themselves in, therefore she must be a genius.

This book made me cry, but it also made me laugh a lot. If you are looking for a book that makes you feel ALL THE FEELINGS, you should definitely pick this up. The Probability of Miracles is a book that will stick with me for a long time. I just can't get the characters and the town and the story out of my head.

-Rachel