Bittersweet and close to my heart

I read a book last night that made me cry.

It was a kids' book, meant for middle schoolers or thereabouts, and it made me so emotional that a) during the day I had to put it down numerous times because it was overwhelming and b) when I was reading at midnight I was crying so much that my dad came to check on me.

The book is called Bittersweet, by Winnie Mack. Yes, it's one of those diabetes books.

One of my former Sparks mentioned it to me and I thought, what the heck, I'll read it.
The first chapter was tough. The main character is twelve. And it is written for twelve-year-olds.

It was written recently, so the real-life diabetes bits are not outdated (as they are in so many fiction books). It was written poignantly, with a narrator who shares her thoughts and feelings so well that she leapt straight into my heart. It was written about a diabetes diagnosis that was so reminiscent of my own that I couldn't read it without evoking emotions I thought I'd done away with.

It felt so real. And I was so glad to finally read a book with a character with whom I can identify who wasn't cheesy, or not trying, or unfeeling. Her experiences and her emotions lay out exactly what I felt when I was twelve, and new at all this, and scared. This book put a voice to everything I was trying to say.

This book is what I wanted to read when I was searching for a book to identify with. This book is what I wanted to write when I gave up on finding one and decided to make my own instead. This book may be for kids, but it's one of the best books I've read and if anyone asks me how I feel about diabetes, this is the recommendation they're going to get.