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“My name is Sam. I am eleven years old. I collect stories and fantastic facts. By the time you read this, I will probably be dead.”

Sam loves facts. He wants to know about UFOs and horror movies and airships and ghosts and scientists, and how it feels to kiss a girl. And because he has leukaemia he wants to know the facts about dying. Sam needs answers to the questions nobody will answer.

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Comments on: "Ways to live forever – Sally Nicholls" (20)

  1. Ariel said:

    I adored reading Ways To Live Forever by Sally Nicholls.
    This book is about Sam. Sam has Leukemia, and he believes that he will not live for long (the first list in the book contains the fact that; By the time you are reading this, I am probably dead). In this book, Sam creates a list (he actually makes a lot of lists, you will read quite a few), of 8 things that he wants to do before he dies. This list includes; Break a world record, do teenage things like kissing a girl, go up down escalators, and down up escalators etc. Basically, a whole lot of things Sam can’t do. But, Sam has a friend called Felix, who helps him along, and they get up to all sorts of mischief.
    This book is a complete tear jerker, and you want to read it during the day, not before going to bed (or at least not the ending). I loved reading this book and found it very moving and touching. It will be a quick read for most, because the chapters are really short and there are a lot of lists involved (bear in mind, it is from the perspective of a 11 year old kid).
    I recommend this book for ages 12/13 – 15/16.
    I give this book an 8.5 – 9/10.

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  2. Ways to live forever is an emotional book. The main character Sam is familiar with leukaemia, having been diagnosed with it at a young age. In hospital he meets a boy named Felix who has a similar experience. They become inseparable and go on all sorts of adventures together. The story is written from the point of view of Sam, in the form of a kind of diary. He notes down all his thoughts and questions for his family to remember him.

    Ways to live forever is a tear jerker. I have never cried from reading a book, and while reading this i was just about bawling my eyes out!! This is an amazing book for anyone who enjoys sad stories, and even for people who dont.

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  3. Payton said:

    Ways to live forever is a heartfelt book about a young boy called same who was diagnosed with Leukaemia and is trying to live his life to the fullest. My favourite part of this book is finding out how Sam try’s to find ways to live forever. This book made me cry my eyes out but I was also happy to see that that Sam knew that he was never truly alone and he would always have someone to support him. If I could change something about this book I would make it longer because it was so amazing I wished their was more to the story. Overall this was an amazing book that has a grea message.

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  4. This book plays with every emotion you have. Its storyline is so touching and the ending is tragic. This book has a tale of struggle, strength and perseverance and I think that everyone needs to read it! Sam is an 11-year-old boy diagnosed with Cancer. He goes on a journey to discover himself whilst also discovering many things about his world. It is tear-jerking and heartbreaking but such a beautifully written story. I rate it a 9/10.

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  5. Chanel said:

    Ways to Live forever was a very emotional book. I read it with Lit Circles and enjoyed every chapter. It is about a boy named Sam who has cancer and makes a list of things to do before he dies with his best friend Felix. They go on funny adventures, do crazy things and break rules. Sam met Felix in the hospital when Felix was pretending to be a spy. From then on they have been inseparable even though Felix is a couple of years older. I would really recommend this book to everyone who loves sad books. It is a fantastic novel and you don’t want to put it down until you’ve finished it.

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  6. The book, ‘Ways to live forever’ is a heartbreaking book about a 12 year old boy who suffered from leukaemia. It was sad that he had leukaemia, but what made it even more sad is that he suffered at such a young age and had his whole life ahead of him.

    Long story short, Sam eventually DID die in the book. But he spent his last day with his best friend (Felix) doing all things he has ever wanted to do. Call it a ‘to do before you die list’ if you must.

    One thing I found very interesting was how the whole book was basically all-based on Sam’s diary. My favourite character would defiantly be Sam! People who were in Sam’s situation would usually want to spend the day in a hospital bed slowly waiting to die but Sam ‘took the other road.’ He completed everything on his bucket list and died knowing he had completed what he has always wanted to do with his best buddy by his side! Honestly, I think that is the best way to spend the last days of your life.

    I would recommend this book who enjoys heartbreaking, sad books! The book is amazing and everybody who reads it WILL end in tears!

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  7. Vincenza said:

    I have just finished reading the book “Ways to live forever”, and it was an absolutely amazing book. If anything I honestly think it was one of my favourites ever. This book painted a really distinct picture in my head and it was terribly sad to read, but I couldn’t stop. This book still lets you make the pictures with your imagination, and that was one of the best things about it. The book was quite contrasting, since a lot of it was sad, and a lot of it was down right depressing. Sam as a character was so strong, he went through so many adversities but stll remained positive and make no negative outlook on life.

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  8. nyajal said:

    Ways to live forever is a great book . It is about an boy named Sam and he cancer so as his best friend. This book is about his adventures and hurdling over challengers . Sam brings happiness throughout all the difficulties he faces at all timesThis novel is calming and sad and fun and it makes you feel different emotions throughout different times of the book. I would really recommend this book as it is easy to read and more.

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  9. Athea said:

    The book “Ways to live forever” was an amazing book. This book was one of my favourites. This book was a sad but calming book. As I read this book my imagination was so clear in my head. I used my imagination to match pictures with the story. Some moments in the book were truly sad, but some were happy. “Stars don’t shine without darkness” Sam has gone through many difficulties in his life, especially his cancer, but as a star, Sam always tried to stay happy. Sam kept shining, he always shined through the darkness. But some here is some advice, for those who are sensitive, don’t read this book in public because I am certain that you will bring tears to your eyes.

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  10. Incredibly! This book by Sally Nicholls is absolutely fantastic. I love it and I am sure anyone who reads will too. Ways to live forever is heart breaking but really gives you a glimpse into what some people have to live and deal with. It seriously tore my heart apart and I doubt that anyone could read this book with shedding a tear. This book also reminded me a lot of Wonder. That is probably why I love it so much but I think this book may be even better. I read it as my lit circles book in year 7 and of course like everyone else I wasn’t overly pleased. It seems to always be that when you don’t want to read something then you finally do, it turns out to be one of the best books you will ever read. I am currently reading this book for the 2nd time and I believe that anyone is just thinking of reading a book, THIS IS THE ONE! It will seriously change the way you go about life.

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  11. Annie said:

    Tears have been shed and laughter has been shared, and not just for the characters of the book. My favourite character in this book is Felix. He has a tendency for making things interesting, even though he might not mean to. Felix was the founder of ‘Sam and Felix’. Throughout the pages, Felix had a bad boy tinge to his personality. Maybe he was trying to prove to everyone that being sick docent stop him from living the short remainder of his life. He wanted to prove to everyone that he is going to make the rest of his life count, and surprise everyone. Felix sounds like a person who despises people fusing over him and his health. Felix and Sam burnt a hole in the dining room table and he conducted the event. He was trying to live the remaining time he has. Ways to Live Forever is such an inspirational book, a can’t-put-down. It send a great message to the readers, telling them they can’t start the next chapter of their life if they keeping re-reading the last one.

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  12. Georgia said:

    I loved this book so much and I cried like a baby it was so sweet. I think if you love tear jerkers then this is the book for you. It follows the life of Sam and he has leukaemia and he is going to die. He wants to complete these lists about life like have a cigarette, kiss a girl etc. and he wants to complete all these things before he dies. I cried so much but it is such a sweet story that you should definitely read. I recommend you read it!

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  13. Charity said:

    This book is like a automatic bomb. It builds up and then all of the sudden BANG! The first half of the book was about Felix and Sam tackling Cancer and ticking off their bucket lists. And all of this sudden a massive but expected twist. All along i knew something was going to happen to either Sam and Felix but i didn’t expect it to be so sudden. In this last part of this book it demonstrates how important friendship was to Sam. Felix was his partner in crime, they did everything together, sometimes not all the things they did were appropriate but they loved sharing special moments with each other. They are two completely different characters, with two completely different perspectives of life, but they were still best friends.

    Even though this book hasn’t been one of my favourites, i still love the character of Sam. Even though is health is beginning to fade it doesn’t stop him from taking advantage of the time he has left, or loving those most important to him.Sam knows that he doesn’t have long to live, and the idea of death is never far from his mind. I love Sam’s character because he is so strong, not physically but mentally, and i believe that is a great trait to have in life.

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  14. I read ‘ways to live forever’ as my lit circles book this year,
    ways to live forever was an amazing book it had me hooked right to the very end, i have to admit i did have a tear or two at the end it was an amazing book it was a very sad ending but it made the book even better,i am so lucky i got to read this book because its it wasn’t for this lit circles i would of come across this book, this book was amazingly written. this book you could tell what was going to adventualy happen but you did not know when or how, also how the author put so many different twist and turns into this book. i feel like this is book that you couldn’t read again just because of the ending there would not be any more surprise to it.

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  15. Chloe said:

    Time is running out for Sam and Felix. Sam is battling with leukaemia and Felix is battling with cancer, but nothing will stop them from living while they’re young and while they can! Ways to live forever is such a touching book that will make you think twice about how grateful you should be for your life and health. The book is written by Sam, he expresses his feelings, life and adventures with Felix his best friend. The boys have a bucket list that they want to achieve before they die. Some of the wishes are crazy such as to find a girlfriend and kiss her but then others are really inspiring such as to ride in an airship. This book will definitely have you in awe of how they can still achieve these goals whilst battling with severe illness’. This book will have you feeling many different emotions but it will definitely make you feel grateful. Anything is possible!

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  16. Eleanor said:

    I loved the book Ways to live forever I just finished reading it and was one of the greatest books I have read it will make you laugh then make you cry and make sure you have tissues ready to go because you will need them, I would recommend this book to anyone over 11 and after reading it to watch the movie. I loved this book so much and I am going to rate it a 9/10

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  17. The book gives you such a good understanding and explains each of the characters making you feel like you’ve known the character your whole life. This book makes you so emotional and makes you think about how lucky you are and how privileged I am to lead a healthy life. You have read fault in our stars right?? Well everyone knows how upsetting it was and how much it changed your view on the world and people around you. Well sam is just like Hazel in many ways except, Sam is much younger and stills has to battle cancer. I mean how awful would it be (I mean at any age it would be awful) but being young and having to think about dying and if your going to be able to live to be a parent not which ipod should I get or who should come to my party?!! I think its really powerful how its written in Sam’s eyes as it really hits a weak spot in my heart I mean no 11 year old should have to go through this and him writing about it and his feelings I think is very powerful.

    My favourite characters are Sam and Felix. Sam has a very shy personality and likes to write his emotions down and all his questions down and just think about them. He likes to keep most of this private from his family as i think that he thinks they will not understand what he is going through and will be upset with the questions he is asking, especially his mum. He likes to tell Felix about what he has been writing sometimes as Felix is dealing with the same thing and that they both feel the same way about some things. Felix is quite a confident character he knows he has cancer but that doesn’t phase him he has grown to accept that and is confident with it. He knows that he will probably die and isn’t the average 11 year old but he is okay with that. Felix just wants to go for things and just do it where as Sam thinks a lot deeper about things.

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  18. Freya said:

    Ways to Live Forever is a really understanding book and it kind of reassures you about your life.
    Sam is a really courageous character who has to face cancer and Ways to Live Forever is the book he wrote. The book talks about life’s lessons and how Sam learns them on his journey.
    I really liked this book because it wasn’t all sad, it was sometimes really funny and it had a really good message. The way the book was really action packed as well, drew me into the book and I felt like I was there when it was happening.
    I also loved the way the author described different events throughout the book and she made them sound perfect and beautiful. I especially loved the description of the part when Sam and his mum and sister went tobogganing. It sounded really peaceful and beautiful and the description was amazing.
    What the book really had though, was the power to make you keep reading and not get bored of it. I just couldn’t put it down.
    I would definitely recommend this book and I think it suits most ages.

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  19. I read ways to live forever as my lit circles novel for year 7 english. I loved the book so much. I just need to make a recommendation straight away before anyone reads it. Please don’t read in public, as you are likely to have many tears and I am sure I’m not the only one that finds crying in public embarrassing. This book is the most hear reaching book i have ever read. I can’t believe Sam the main character is just 11 years old! In this book he seems very grown up as he tackles the destructive disease he has called Leukaemia. Sam’s friend Felix is of very inquisitive nature and pushes Sam to his limits. They have a lot of fun together completing the activities they want to before they die.
    Sally Nicholls did a wonderful job writing this book. I just couldn’t put it down. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who likes a real tear jerker!

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  20. I just finished reading `Ways to live forever’. Ways to live forever is about a boy named Sam who has cancer. He starts to write a book. He shares his adventures with Felix, his best friend. This novel is a good and calming novel. You just need to make sure you have tissues! I loved this book because it made me cry, laugh and want to read more. I recommend you should read this book because it is fantastic.

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