SuitabookThe best medicine
Christine Hamill
- Reading
- Read alongside Philip rather than presenting the illness as a lesson. Notice where humour sits beside difficulty, and revisit any questions about cancer, family roles or school pressures.
- Themes
- Living with a parent’s cancer: Philip’s mother develops breast cancer, disrupting his previously happy life. The illness is given a human, family-centred context and is approached through humour and touching moments, but its wider treatment is unclear.
- Humour as a response to difficulty: Philip finds his mother’s type of cancer embarrassing and writes letters to comedian Harry Hill seeking advice. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Everyday adolescent pressures: Alongside the family crisis, Philip faces girl problems, teacher problems, bully problems and poetry problems. These concerns place the illness within ordinary school and growing-up experiences, but their depth and treatment cannot be determined.
- Worth knowing
- Check in around the cancer storyline and Philip’s reactions. Ask what feels funny, uncomfortable or confusing, and allow him to pause rather than expecting an immediate response.