Upon first glance, ZAC & MIA looks like a retelling of John Green’s THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. Both Zac and Mia are cancer patients and it is hinted from the start that they will save one another, if not from their illnesses, then from losing hope. I made this assumption myself and am pleased to report that I was completely wrong. ZAC AND MIA is dark, vivid and peopled by totally original and refreshing characters. Told in the alternating viewpoints of the titular characters, Betts’s novel takes the reader through a full range of emotions, maintaining two distinct voices throughout.

When we meet Zac, he is recovering from a bone marrow transplant as a result of his leukemia. Trapped in an adult cancer ward, 17-year-old Zac is weak and bored --- yet still somehow goofy and good-natured. Enter Mia: beautiful, argumentative and lucky to have the best odds in the whole ward. When Mia takes up the room next to Zac, he is initially disturbed by her loud arguments with her mother and even louder music (Lady Gaga, no less). Over time, however, he strikes up a quiet friendship with the puzzling girl, exchanging messages first through taps and knocks on their shared wall and later through written messages. But when Zac is finally allowed to go home, he is unable to say goodbye to Mia as she requires a surgery that will save and completely change her life.

"As a reader, I have never hated, liked, and then loved a character as quickly and naturally as I did Mia. Her journey is so brutally realistic and touching that you cannot help but feel for her..."

Although the two teens take separate paths to their respective homes across Australia, they continue to think about one another. Finally, with a familiar tap, Mia finds Zac at his home: an olive farm and petting zoo. It is here that the real drama of the novel picks up, as we learn about Mia’s distress through her own words, rather than the sounds of Lady Gaga. Mia is more terrified than she will ever let on, and silly, hopeful Zac is the only one who can see right through her act. Stronger than perhaps he knows, Zac does not allow Mia to give up, constantly reminding her of her worth and excellent odds. As a reader, I have never hated, liked, and then loved a character as quickly and naturally as I did Mia. Her journey is so brutally realistic and touching that you cannot help but feel for her, particularly when she begins to mend fences with her mother. 

ZAC AND MIA concludes with a heartwrenching twist that puts the teens through yet another struggle --- thoroughly shocking the reader along the way. Overall, Betts’s novel is quite the accomplishment, more than holding its own against John Green’s recent film debut. You will root for these characters not only as a couple, but as individuals battling unimaginable horrors while protecting the people around them from as much pain as possible.