It really made me cry. And it is a million times better than the film version.

Greg Gaines is an awkward teenager in his last year at high school. He wants to float by without having any real friends, just getting out of trouble and not being bullied, not being noticed. His only real friend is Earl, who goes to adapted school in the same building. Both they make funny versions of their favourite films. One of them, it is the renown Aguirre, the Wrath of God.

Greg's parents are eccentric in their own right. His mother forces him to befriend Rachel, who has just been diagnosed with leukemia. Greg doesn't want to-Rachel and him have some sort of story and it didn't end well. But his mother is a force of nature not to be reckoned with, so he has to go out and befriend Rachel.

Really touching. I was sold on everything. Rachel is not a heroine, she doesn't learn anything from her illness. I would really, really recommend this novel, both to teenagers and adults.