A Book Review on Two Weeks With the QueenMoris Glietzmans novel, Two Weeks With the Queen is a story about a boy called Colin who after discovering that his little brother Luke is dying of cancer sets out to find a cure. During this novel Colin learns much about himself and the world around him. He learns that you have to accept things even if you don't want to, you cant always rely on others and the importance of having family with you during tough times.
One of the many lessons Colin learns during the novel is to accept the problems in his life and how to get over them. At first Colin dealt with his problems by ignoring them. 'Just for a second Colins guts went cold, like when he remembered he hadn't done his homework only worse. Then he did what he usually did with his homework.
English: Buckingham Palace in London, England. tak...
A 4 x 7 segment mosaic of Buckingham Palace, Londo...
1897 Map Buckingham PalaceHe stopped thinking about it'. By the end of the book Colin had suppressed so many of his true feelings deep down inside himself that they just exploded on him and he burst into tears. After having his cry Colin was able to accept that Luke was dying.
When Colin goes to England and tries to talk to the queen, he learns that you can't rely on other, more important people to get things done for you. On arriving in England Colin makes a crazy plan to break into Buckingham Palace to ask the queen if he can borrow her doctor. He was sure her doctor would be the best doctor in the world and would be totally capable of curing Luke's cancer. This attempt fails miserably and he never gets a reply to his letter from the Queen forcing Colin to come to a new resolution. ' "Forget the queen," said uncle Bob "the likes of her hasn't got time for the likes of us. In this world people have to solve their own problems" "I was just thinking that" said Colin'.
The final and most important lesson Colin learnt in England is how important it is to have family with you during tough times. Colin was walking around the hospital looking into the wards when something struck him. He noticed that 'the sick people who had their families or loved ones around their beds all looked happier than the ones who didn't'. This made Colin wonder what he was doing in the middle of London when where he really belonged was by his little brother's side.
Colin arrived back in Australia a changed man. He had learnt how to cope with his problems, not to always rely on others and most importantly how important family is during a crisis. I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it succeeded in being funny and sad at the same time, which is quite a challenge. While reading this book I learnt how gays were treated in earlier times and how badly cancer can affect not just the person who has the sickness but the whole family. I recommend this book to any young person who has lost a family member or a friend. Or anyone looking for a short read that will really get you thinking about how tough other peoples lives can be.
Changing of the Queen's Guard at the royal residen...
Buckingham Palace panorama, 1909
The Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palac...