Written by a renowned children’s cancer specialist, John Graham-Pole, Blood Work is a fictional but true-to-life account of just such a near-fatal illness. It is also a life-and-death adventure and a coming-of-age romance. The story tells of sixteen-year-old Moraig (“Raig”) Brossard’s journey through the trauma of cancer and its treatment. An ally appears: Rap, a high-school senior and hospital volunteer, who introduces her to the drum and the paintbrush. As she battles her way through her ordeal, and her feelings for Rap deepen, she helps her parents draw close once more. The story closes as Raig, now eighteen and newly finished chemotherapy, ponders the uncertainties of her future.