A chance encounter in 1990 becomes a transcendent turning point for two very different people, including the conflicted surgeon daughter of an ALS patient and a Sunset Beach newcomer from Zimbabwe who aims to meet his birth father. Spanning two decades, Sparks transports readers to the bush of Zimbabwe and the Carolina coast.

When Mr. Putter catches a cold, his friend Mrs. Teaberry sends over some special treats to help him feel better.

Sixteen-year-old Hazel, a stage IV thyroid cancer patient, has accepted her terminal diagnosis until a chance meeting with a boy at cancer support group forces her to reexamine her perspective on love, loss, and life.

With Meg Murry's help, the dragons her six-year-old brother saw in the vegetable garden play an important part in his struggle between life and death.

When Amelia Bedelia wakes up with a fever, she passes the time learning about weather, resting, and eating some chicken soup.

Junie B.'s journal entries start with Room One's stomach virus excitement, the first-grade Columbus Day play, and getting the part of the Pinta, the fastest ship.

Judy is excited about becoming a doctor, especially when Class 3T starts a new unit on the human body, but she learns more about being a patient when she catches tonsillitis from her little brother, Stink.

Digger is not feeling well but after his sister, Daisy, convinces him to go see a doctor she must still persuade him to be brave by getting her own examination.

Certain that no one has even been as sick as he is, Bear resists Mouse's efforts to cheer him and cure his cold.

Llama Llama's mother takes good care of him when he has to stay home from school because he is sick, but when Mama Llama begins to feel sick, too, Llama Llama knows how to take care of her.