Blythe Harlan is a typical American high school student. She hangs out at the mall with her best friend, worries about boys, school, friends, and social engagements, and has the rest of her life in front of her, ready for the taking. At least, that's how her life used to be. During the spring of her junior year, Blythe receives a crippling diagnosis: she has cancer. Staring down the barrel of a senior year littered with chemotherapy and radiation treatments, she must wrestle with the realization that she may not even be alive to see the end of high school. While her friends will be picking prom dresses and planning for graduation, Blythe will be struggling to survive as her body is ravaged from the inside out. Medical bills begin to accumulate and her parents have to work more to keep their family afloat, leaving her in the care of her aunt. As if being diagnosed with a life threatening illness wasn't enough, Blythe is faced with the sudden and tragic death of someone near and dear to her and the traumatic aftermath it leaves for her family. As her world falls apart, she finds herself helpless to overcome the obstacles and falls into depression. She contemplates taking her own life, believing that her death will make things better for her family. Only through the love and support of her brother, best friend, aunt, and the sadistically cheery oncology nurse does she have any hope of a future.
About the Author: R. A. Clements is a freelance writer and copyeditor as well as an avid researcher on a quest to learn as much as she can about everything. She has published a variety of news articles, as well as created role-playing game content for tabletop games. Clements' first novel, The Swing Set, is the product of extensive research instigated by a dare. In addition, she publishes poetry and short fiction on a regular basis on her blog. The Swing Set began as homework. Clements' 7th grade daughter was assigned a project to write a story from the point of view of an inanimate object of the teacher's choosing: a swing set. Having grown up with a swing set in her back yard as a child, Clements found the inspiration to brainstorm her own tale. Realizing that the story she planned to tell would be boring and apathetic, she decided to "spice it up a bit" by giving a character a life threatening illness. Wanting to ensure she represented cancer patients accurately led to what became extensive research on the subject matter, prompting her to change the story and instead create what became this novel.