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Diabetes in Fiction

A compilation of diabetic representation in fiction. Every book listed includes at least one character with diabetes. Click “Read Full Details” to read a book’s plot summary and learn how diabetes is represented in the story.

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Sal and Gabi Break the Universe (Sal and Gabi #1)

by Carlos Hernandez

How did a raw chicken get inside Yasmany’s locker? When Sal Vidon meets Gabi Real for the first time, it isn’t under the best of circumstances. Sal is in the principal’s office for the third time in three days, and it’s still the first week of school. Gabi, student council president and editor of the school paper, is there to support her friend Yasmany, who just picked a fight with Sal. She is determined to prove that somehow, Sal planted a raw chicken in Yasmany’s locker, even though nobody saw him do it and the bloody poultry has since mysteriously disappeared. Sal prides himself on being an excellent magician, but for this sleight of hand, he relied on a talent no one would guess . . . except maybe Gabi, whose sharp eyes never miss a trick. When Gabi learns that he’s capable of conjuring things much bigger than a chicken–including his dead mother–and she takes it all in stride, Sal knows that she is someone he can work with. There’s only one slight problem: their manipulation of time and space could put the entire universe at risk. A sassy entropy sweeper, a documentary about wedgies, a principal who wears a Venetian bauta mask, and heaping platefuls of Cuban food are just some of the delights that await in this mind-blowing novel gift-wrapped in love and laughter.

Mommy Beeps

by Kim Baillieul

Where does insulin go? In the butter compartment of the fridge, of course. Mommy Beeps is a story for children who have a parent, sibling, teacher, or other loved one who has diabetes. Explore the day in the life of a type 1 diabetic and her child as they go on adventures - dealing with high and low sugars, waiting on hold for lab results, and visiting the endocrinologist. Check out the book "highly recommended" by DiabetesDaily.com - with detailed illustrations of diabetic supplies & machines that beep (whether a meter or pump), Mommy Beeps provides opportunities to discuss the varying ways diabetes can be managed and how it impacts those around them. This book is sure to be an essential for any child who is close with anyone who has type 1 diabetes (or type 2!) - but is not diabetic themselves.

The Dutch House

by Ann Patchett

At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakeable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures. Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.

It All Begins with Jelly Beans

by Nova Weetman

Meg spends her days hoping no one thinks too hard about why she wears the same t-shirt and slippers to school every day. Luckily, the nurse’s office provides a welcome escape from classmates who don’t understand…and snacks when food runs out at home. Riley knows fitting in at her new school would be a lot easier if her friends were more understanding of her type 1 diabetes. So she keeps her testing under wraps…and an emergency bag of jellybeans on hand. When Meg and Riley end up together in the nurse’s office one day, both girls think they’ve worked each other out, but what if they’ve got it all wrong? On the brink of moving on to junior high, Riley and Meg must find the courage to discover who they really want to be. And maybe a bag of shared jellybeans will provide all the help they need.

Every Moment After

by Joseph Moldover

Best friends Matt and Cole grapple with their changing relationships during the summer after high school in this impactful, evocative story about growing up and moving on from a traumatic past. Surviving was just the beginning. Eleven years after a shooting rocked the small town of East Ridge, New Jersey and left eighteen first graders in their classroom dead, survivors and recent high school graduates Matt Simpson and Cole Hewitt are still navigating their guilt and trying to move beyond the shadow of their town’s grief. Will Cole and Matt ever be able to truly leave the ghosts of East Ridge behind? Do they even want to? As they grapple with changing relationships, falling in love, and growing apart, these two friends must face the question of how to move on—and truly begin living.

Wrecked

by Leia Stone

Getting married at eighteen wasn’t the smartest idea but … I’d been in love. Bryce, with his perfect words, his money, and all-American good looks. He had pulled me in, and when he spit me out, I’d barely been left alive. Now at twenty two and divorced, I just wanted to build a life for myself on my own terms. Free of fear. First job. First crappy apartment. First taste of freedom. Enter Ethan King. The guy from high school I never had a chance with. As the leader of the local motorcycle gang, he’s not exactly an outstanding citizen, but he’s the one bright spot in my life. He’s exactly what I need right now. Until Bryce, who never could accept losing, decides he’s not ready to let me go. And if there is one thing I know about that monster, it’s that he has no problem destroying everything in my world. Only this time I have Ethan King. And no one messes with a King.

The Ups and Downs of Audrey May

by Missy Mareau Garcia

Nine year old Audrey May knows that life can be full of changes. She’s traveled all over the world with her Dad who works on movies, but she’s never been to a school with other kids. She has no idea that starting a new school will be much easier than finding out she has Type 1 Diabetes . Thankfully she won’t face it alone, she has the love of her parents and her crazy little sister to get her through the ups and downs.

Gunner (The Devil’s Angels MC #1)

by Lola Wright

Ava: Left to die as an infant, Ava Beaumont has not had an easy life. Being raised by the system has taught her to be independent, hardworking and cautious. When Ava becomes a victim she uses her inner strength to put it behind her and move forward. Now she lives a good life with the family she has created through adopting pets that were also throwaways, including a smart mouthed parrot and a skateboarding pig. When Ava meets Gunner she realizes what her life is lacking but does she have the courage to trust a big, rough biker enough to let him into her safe little life? Gunner: Being the President of the Devil’s Angels MC was not something Gunner asked to become but through the loss of his dad the job was thrust upon him. While he loves his club and club brothers wholeheartedly, Gunner wants his club to move in a better direction. And when Gunner spots bakery owner Ava, he realizes that’s not the only change he wants to make in his life. Nothing worth having is easy to acquire. This is an MC story with a heart. Come meet the crazy pets and even crazier club members of the Devil’s Angels MC.

Halfway Girl

by Tessa Bailey

The team’s resident linebacker, Jerimiah, has gotten used to making people uncomfortable. He’s huge, intimidating and doesn’t have a lot to say. Until he meets Birdie. Now he can’t seem to stop talking, if only so she’ll say more. And stay a little bit longer. To be fair, she doesn’t really have a choice, since they just got locked in the basement together at a frat party…

Jade War (The Green Bone Saga #2)

by Fonda Lee

In Jade War, the sequel to the World Fantasy Award-winning novel Jade City, the Kaul siblings battle rival clans for honor and control over an Asia-inspired fantasy metropolis. On the island of Kekon, the Kaul family is locked in a violent feud for control of the capital city and the supply of magical jade that endows trained Green Bone warriors with supernatural powers they alone have possessed for hundreds of years. Beyond Kekon’s borders, war is brewing. Powerful foreign governments and mercenary criminal kingpins alike turn their eyes on the island nation. Jade, Kekon’s most prized resource, could make them rich – or give them the edge they’d need to topple their rivals. Faced with threats on all sides, the Kaul family is forced to form new and dangerous alliances, confront enemies in the darkest streets and the tallest office towers, and put honor aside in order to do whatever it takes to ensure their own survival – and that of all the Green Bones of Kekon. Jade War is the second book of the Green Bone Saga, an epic trilogy about family, honor, and those who live and die by the ancient laws of blood and jade.