Review of "Jamie’s Journey: Cancer from the Voice of a Sibling" by Sharon Wozny, illustrated by Melissa Bailey

Score: 95+/100 (9.5+ out of 10)

Jamie's Journey is a raw, real, emotional, and heart-wrenching book about a sibling wrestling with her sister's battle with cancer and her personal struggles. It serves an educational and empathetic purpose, providing a voice for young people in situations in which they feel they don't have one. It allows us to see the often silent and overlooked struggles that families and siblings of cancer patients go through, letting them know that feeling negative things doesn't make you a bad person, an evil person, or an unloving person—in fact, it shows that you're human and that you care. Feelings like jealousy, guilt, animosity, shame, resentfulness, loneliness, longing, etc. are tactfully explored, not in a judgmental or condemning way, but in a way that leads to greater empathy and understanding.

Sharon Wozny is able to draw on years of experience working with cancer patients and their families via the Children's Cancer Network (CCN), providing a genuine and authentic story.

We've seen cancer's impacts on people first-hand, in our families and friend groups (we've lost a few good people) and in the hospitals we've worked and volunteered at. Cancer is a ruthless and destructive killer. It touches and hurts everyone in some way.

Some children’s cancer books explain diagnoses and treatments. This one does something braver. It hands the microphone to the sister on the sidelines and says, “Your heartbreak counts too.” Jamie’s Journey is a heart-wrenching, necessary look at what happens to the sibling when cancer barges into a family, and it treats that experience with rare honesty and compassion.

The story follows thirteen-year-old Jamie as her ten-year-old sister, Jordan, is diagnosed with a brain tumor and starts a long course of surgery, chemo, and hospital stays. We move with Jamie from “life was normal” to the night everything changes, sitting in waiting rooms, watching the machines, and riding that emotional roller coaster that flips from relief to terror in a single page. Each scene is distilled into a clear feeling statement at the bottom of the spread: “I was very worried,” “I was angry,” “I was feeling forgotten,” “I was jealous,” “I was feeling guilty,” “I felt helpful,” “I was happy again.” It is simple language, but the simplicity hits hard because so many siblings will recognize those same words in their own heads.

Where this book really shines is in how unapologetically it names the “unacceptable” emotions that siblings are often ashamed of. Jamie admits she likes attention. In fact, the lack/loss of attention from others seems to be oppressive and crushing. Life starts to revolve almost exclusively around her sister.

She resents missed softball and dance, the way her sister is treated like a “rock star,” the loss of one-on-one time with her parents, and the darkness that scares her when she feels forgotten. The text makes it clear that these reactions are not signs of being a bad kid. They are normal responses to a huge, unfair disruption. That is an incredibly important message in a space that usually focuses only on the patient.

The illustrations are a major part of why those emotions land. Melissa Bailey’s art has that hand-drawn, soft pencil look with selective color that feels intimate and personal, almost like sketches from a family’s own journal. Jamie’s face does a lot of heavy lifting: the worry in the hospital room, the tight, hunched anger in the waiting area, the hollow sadness of sitting alone in a corner, the quiet pride as she hugs her bald little sister, the stunned tenderness when Jordan calls her a hero. Even without reading the text, you can see what each page is feeling. Paired with the expressive body language and small details (the stuffed dog, the blanket, the IV pole, the thought bubbles around Jamie’s head), the visuals pull you into the emotional climate of the family rather than just the medical facts.

Seriously, Jamie isn't even fully colored most of the time, yet she's one of the most vibrant and expressive illustrated character in this contest!

We actually love how her outfit changes and is a different color all the time, showing the passage of time and that Jamie is or represents a real person who is going through life like the rest of us, not just a cartoon character.

The second half of the book turns into a guided journal, and this is where the project becomes more than a story. Siblings are invited to write, draw, scribble, and dump out their own roller coaster of feelings through prompts like “Worried,” “Anger,” “I felt forgotten when…,” “Loved and valued,” “Speechless,” and “Inspiration.” Speckles, a little spotted creature, pops up as a comforting mascot. It is not about spelling or neatness. It is about giving kids a safe container where feeling jealous, selfish, or confused is allowed. For parents, counselors, and child life specialists, this transforms the book into a practical therapeutic tool, not just something to read once and shelve.

Jamie’s Journey is a compassionate, beautifully illustrated affirmation that the sibling’s pain, confusion, jealousy, and love all matter. It tells kids in this position, “You are not a side character. You are a survivor too.” For families walking through pediatric cancer, and for professionals who serve them, we would call this close to essential reading. The heart in the artwork, the hard truths on the page, and the interactive journal in the back easily make it one of the stronger works in the contest.

It definitely packs a punch emotionally. And it has practical applications for children who find themselves in these tragic and traumatic situations.

It's a reminder to them that their feelings and experiences are normal and valid--that they're not forgotten and that they're always loved.

Check it out on Amazon!