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French Awards

		PALMARÈS COMMUNICATION-JEUNESSE DES LIVRES PRÉFÉRÉS DES JEUNES 2004-2005 YOUTH CATEGORY (AGES 12 TO 17) L'AIR BÊTE JOSÉE PELLETIER GATINEAU, QUEBEC: VENTS D'OUEST, 2003. 133 P. (ROMAN ADO; 51. DRAME) ISBN 2895370648 AGES 12 TO 17
L'air bête Source

Zoé is just a regular teenager. She spends every second weekend at her father's house, shares almost all her secrets with her best friend and does her homework after school at the hospital where her mother works as a doctor. Zoé also volunteers on the ward that is home to young cancer patients. One day she passes Joey, a new kid in school, in the hospital corridor. But he does not say hi, and even tries to avoid her. What a grouch! Later she meets Sandrine, Joey's younger sister, who has terminal leukemia. When Sandrine was transferred from the hospital in Magog to Montréal, her brother decided to accompany her so he could visit her each day after school. Gradually, Zoé begins to learn more about this moody boy and realizes that behind the daunting exterior lies a warm and generous person.

This first novel by Josée Pelletier explores the world of children who have incurable illnesses, their day-to-day life at the hospital and the grief of their families. Against this backdrop, the author shows how wrong first impressions can be and how appearances can sometimes mislead.

-JP