SuitabookCounting Thyme
Melanie Conklin
- Reading
- Try reading a little at a time and pause when the family’s plans or Thyme’s feelings shift. Let the reader set the pace for talking about Val’s treatment; the ending and its resolution remain unclear.
- Themes
- Illness and treatment: Val enters a cancer drug trial; his treatment shows promise, and the family relocates to be near it. The illness and trial shape the family’s choices, but the available plot information does not establish how the book evaluates the treatment or its risks.
- Home and change: Thyme leaves her familiar life behind for Manhattan and hopes the move will be temporary, while her father accepts a city job. The conflict centres on competing hopes about where the family will live; no final decision or broader judgement is established.
- Conflicting feelings and new connections: Thyme loves Val and hopes he gets well, while still longing for home; new friends and a first crush complicate her feelings about the city. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- Val’s cancer and experimental treatment are central to the family’s circumstances. Thyme’s guilt and uncertainty are also prominent; consider whether your reader would welcome a chance to talk about illness and change while reading.