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 Confession, I thought this was a 2013 debut. Someone still thinks it's 2012. Oh yes, me. Anyway, before I start talking about myself in third person even more, I'll get on with it. 
 Austin has cancer. I don't know why they just didn't say it, the synopsis and plot dart around it until almost the very end. What if I was unable to use context clues and common sense? He could have been dying from AIDS for all we know. So. Austin has cancer. He is tired of doing chemotherapy so he decides he wants to die surrounded by his friends and family. 
 Loved the quotes, too. 
 "Life is subjective as far as memories are concerned. I mean, what pieces of your own life do you really remember? Some good times, some bad times definitely, but mostly you remember those times that really stand out, those times that define who you are as an individual. Now's the time my life flashes before me--flickering recollections, vacations, holidays, friendships, the moments that made a difference." 
 This is a book you pick up pretty much with the goal to be emotionally torn apart. You know it's going to make you cry, despite how you may have held it together during Marley and Me. (But I doubt you did.) 
 Did I cry? Of course I did! I'm not a heartless sack of rocks! 
 I'm not sure who the audience intended to be in this novel, because I read one review where one person who actually had cancer was a little offended by this novel. The same goes with people that are trying to cope with someone's death. It does have a nice message and simple but engaging plot. 
 "What if I just want to die?" 
 "Then I will be sad and disappointed that you cheated yourself out of your chance at existence. Not all of us have that opportunity, you know, to choose life." 
 I'm a sucker for books like this and so I was bound to love it. Four stars because there was too much drama to be realistic. Every single one of Austin's friends had some sort of issue or horrible past. I found that just a bit unbelievable. 
 If you are looking for a tear-jerker, you probably won't be able to resist this.