I've likely discussed Christopher Pike's The Midnight Club on here in passing, but I was given a virgin copy for my birthday, and I ended the year with the tale.
The plot isn't typical for YA, although the themes do fit in with some of Pike's better work. We open on Ilonka, ready to turn 18, even though she has cancer and is dying in a Washington State hospice. Her roommate, Anya, lost her right leg to cancer prior to the story beginning. Both are members of the eponymous therapy group, along with Kevin, who has leukemia; Sandra, who has lymphoma; and Spence, who has advanced skin cancer of some kind. The group meets at midnight every night in the Hospice study (the hospice is a large mansion converted for the purpose on the Pacific coast), and tells stories, varying on theme based on the teller.
Indeed, the first one we hear is Spence's tale of Eddie, who starts shooting people from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Followed by Anya's tale of Dana, who makes a deal with the devil to split her into two identical girls, so that one can go party. Ilonka's first tale we hear introduces the concept that she remembers her past lives, although two central figures come out of those recollections... One is assumed to be Kevin, the other a gentleman named The Master, who is kind of synchronous with Jesus or Buddha. The final tale of the first night is Kevin's tale of Herme, the Angel/Muse who falls in love with Teresa while copying paintings in the Louvre. At the end of his first night, Herme is made human by God to persue Teresa. After Ilonka's tale, an oath is sworn (much to Sandra's dismay) that whomever dies first should find a way to create a sign for the others, to show that life goes on after death.
Between this and the next night's sessions, we meet Kevin's girlfriend (who doesn't know he's dying), and see Ilonka go for more tests, convinced that her herb and vegetable diet is curing her tumors. We also hear Anya's confession of where her pessimism comes from.
The next night's tales get started with wine, which Spence has provided, before the tales begin. Kevin and Ilonka talk a bit before Ilonka goes to bed and passes out. Anya says a few things to her before she sleeps, and when she wakes, Ilonka finds Anya dead. And a sign. Anya's belongings have vanished, much like something in one of Ilonka's past life tales.
Word goes through the hospice not long after, that someone had been misdiagnosed. Ilonka thinks it was her, but it wasn't. It was Sandra. Ilonka breaks down, and Kevin stays with her. He finishes his tale for her alone, dying in the morning.
In the end, Spence and Ilonka meet one last time, and less metaphysical mysteries get solved. In the end, we're left with hope, as new incarnations of Kevin and Ilonka travel to the stars above.
As I said, this book brings up a heck of a lot of emotions with me. While Ilonka's particular set of issues are not my own, my own issues are adjacent to hers, so some of the realizations she goes through resonate loudly with me. One thing I hadn't really noticed on previous readings had to do with Kevin's alter ego in Herme, in that he had his own lessons to learn before he and Ilonka could heal their relationship and move on together. (Honestly, I don't think Ilonka noticed either.) The other major milestone, for me at least, is the fact that one of the central characters comes out of the closet towards the end. Yes, it turns out his cancer is AIDS related, but still a gay character in a YA novel in the mid 90's, who actually manages to admit to enjoying being gay... it was unheard of.
In the end, while some of the dialogue is a bit stilted in a few places, the book still resonates very deeply with me.
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