Y/A Novel by Japanese Author Yoru Sumina "I Want to Eat Your Pancreas" Is also an Animated Feature Film

A quirky name for a coming of age, tear jerky novel about 2 high school classmates; Haruki, a misanthropic male & a vivacious, popular girl, Sakura.  We know know from the start Sakura has died.  The odd couple companionship that forms is told in retrospect with lyricism, youthful energy, sagacity and most of all, with a powerhouse of emotion.  As every war movie is an anti-war movie, every novel about a young person dying is about the gift of life.  Award winning, best selling author Yoru Sumina (b Japan) captures the story of two polar opposites whose serendipitous, symbiotic pairing will capture your heart.  This novel is a true treasure; an utter joy to read.  Haruki is an outsider whose only solace comes from reading.  Sakura spirit lights up a room & whom everyone  wants to befriend.  Having a friend is not something Haruki has ever had or desired.  While waiting to have stitches removed at a hospital, he finds a journal entitled "My book of dying."  Sakura is at the hospital for treatment for a fatal pancreatic disease.  Knowing Haruki has discovered her terminal illness that has been kept secret from anyone outside her family, Sakura feels the freedom of unburdening herself with someone whom she hardly knows who will not become maudlin & permit her to embrace life with normalcy.  A normal day for Haruki is to keep his head down in school, head home & read in his room.  His quiet lonely days are over as Sakura enlists him in sharing new experiences.  Sakura calls him "classmate who knows my secret" and takes him along on a journey of self-discovery. "Sharing connections with other people. I think that's what we call living," Sakura tells Haruki.   You can't help being charmed by both these remarkable characters.  Sumina's skillful storytelling is captivating & up-lifting.  John Donne's "No man is an island entire of itself" was beautifully paraphrased by Haruki "No one was a boat of reeds, not even me.  We choose whether to flow with the currents or turn against them."  This is the rare young adult novel both endearing and profound.  You may think this is just another day in your life?  It's not. It's the one day given you.  It's a precious gift to not be taken for granted.  I loved this book.  I want to see "I Want to Eat Your Pancreas" as an animated feature.