Rumble by Ellen Hopkins

Rumble is a fast-paced and emotionally gripping story told in verse.  At the center is Matt, a teenager struggling with his anger against all of those in his community--parents, school counselors,  and friends, who failed to help his younger brother, who was mercilessly bullied for being gay and who committed suicide.  The only person who can take him away from his grief is his girlfriend, Hayden, but she is becoming increasingly preoccupied with her church group, a fact which further enrages Matt because he does not believe in any god who would let his brother suffer and die.  Hopkins pulls no punches when talking about the issues Matt faces--parents splitting up, homophobia, teen suicide, gun control, and his own responsibility for Luke's death.  Matt is a character easy to root for and to hate.  This is a great read!

Zac & Mia by A. J. Betts

If you enjoyed A Fault in Our Stars, you will love reading Zac & Mia.  The life lessons come across a bit differently, as does the Australian setting, but there is cancer and it does intersect with a love story. Zac is a lonely leukemia patient in a Sydney hospital cancer ward when he hears a new patient enter the room next to his.  Mia is angry and argumentative; he can hear her yelling at her mom and refusing to cooperate with her doctors.  But Zac knows "it gets better."  Mia has a type of cancer that is treatable;  the stats are in her favor.  He wants to distract her and entertain her, without even having met her;  Mia becomes his cause.  Zac eventually gets a bone marrow transplant and goes home, but for Mia things don't get better.  She loses part of her leg and most of her perfect, athletic and popular self in the process.  Eventually, desperate and suffering, she runs away from home and tracks Zac to his family's olive farm.  The story that follows relates, from alternating both points of view,  the struggle for Mia's soul and her will to live. Betts writes with humor and heart and has created main characters with depth and feelings.  This is a great book for vacation or a long weekend.