When life takes an unpredictable turn, how does a young girl cope? She makes a bucket list. This forms the premise of Zainab T. Khan’s debut novel, A Bucket Full of Awesome.

Summer Wallace is a boisterous tomboy who enjoys playing basketball with her best friend Blake Walker. She is headstrong to the point of being reckless. She is also suffering from stage two lung cancer. Summer processes emotions differently from other people; when her mother breaks the news of cancer, she expects Summer to scream, cry, or react in any other such manner. But Summer’s nonchalant reaction leaves Mrs Wallace shocked. Later, when Summer refuses chemotherapy, the Wallaces are left extremely frustrated. When asked to explain her decision, Summer replies that she’d rather spend her last days playing basketball and doing things she enjoys instead of lying in a hospital bed hooked to tubes and IVs.

Blake is more level-headed than his friend and the only one who can convince Summer to do anything, even chemotherapy. He also encourages her to make a bucket list of things she would like to achieve, and then helps her accomplish most of them.

Unfortunately, this novel is a perfect example of how a compelling premise can be reduced to an unsatisfying read. For instance, the conflict meant to move the plot ahead is brought in on the very first page. It would have been better had Khan devoted at least half a chapter at the beginning to introduce her protagonists and supporting characters. This would have enabled her to pack a powerful emotional punch when she finally revealed the cancer diagnosis and her characters’ reactions to the news.

A YA debut novel that has an interesting premise, but is left lagging due to various reasons

Exposition in novels is meant to provide an insight into the characters’ lives, personalities and motives. Here, it would have helped to understand Summer’s motive for not wanting treatment, as well as how her life, and those of her loved ones, changes following the diagnosis. Yes, it makes sense when she says she’d rather not be lying in a hospital bed hooked to machines, but expressing this statement and its pathos through figurative language would have greatly improved the story which, in its present form, is severely lacking in emotional content.

Blake’s characterisation makes him slightly more relatable, especially in his evident affection and concern for his best friend. However, the sketchily crafted narrative doesn’t give enough insight into his mind. Similarly, Summer’s parents seem interesting simply because they are the ones who made her the way she is. But even they suffer from the author’s inattention to her secondary, but equally important, characters. These issues could have been resolved through extensive editing of the text, and various errors such as the glaring inconsistency in the use of “mum” and “mom” should have been fixed during the editing stage.

Sharing her work with experienced writers and editors would have benefitted Khan immensely, particularly during the editing stages. The lack of such support and feedback is evident in her work and makes her come across as an amateur who has good ideas, but lacks the knowledge of her craft. For this reason, A Bucket Full of Awesome fails to hold the reader’s interest. Young, aspiring writers are generally encouraged to read widely, especially outside of their chosen genre which, in this case, appears limited to young adult and popular literature.

The reviewer has written for several publications on literature, reading, and culture.

A Bucket Full of Awesome
(NOVEL)
By Zainab T. Khan
CreateSpace, US
ISBN: 9781515307891
184pp.

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, November 6th, 2016