1. T HE S ECRET J OURNAL OF B RETT C OLTON

2. A UTHOR Kay Lynn Mangum She is the youngest of four children. Kay Lynn holds an associates degree from Dixie Junior College, and a bachelors degree in English literature with an emphasis in creative writing from Southern Utah University. She currently works as a legal assistant, but hopes to be able to write full time in the near future. She fell in love with writing stories in elementary and has always dreamed of seeing her stories in print! She loves interviewing people for her books and traveling to the places she wants to set her stories in. The Secret Journal of Brett Colton, her first novel, began as a short story she created at age 16 for a high school writing contest sponsored by The Salt Lake Tribune. www.KayLynnMangumNovels.co m

3. O THER N OVELS BY K AY L YNN M ANGUM … www.KayLynnMangumNovels.co m

4. P ROTAGONIST : K ATHY C OLTON Kathy Colton Is the protagonist in this book. She is a 16-year-old high school sophomore who has spent her entire young life resenting her older brother Brett who died when she was two. Kathy knows nothing about him but the everyday stories she hears about him, even though he is dead, he still remains the topic of discussion in her house. She doesn’t see what’s so great about him until she finds his journal on the night of her sixteenth birthday. She finds out the journal was written especially for her from a brother who loved her so much. With all the drama going on about the journal, she still has to deal with dumb football jocks falling in love with her, snobby ex- girlfriends looking for revenge, and her family who just doesn’t understand her.

5. A NTAGONIST : T HE C OLTON F AMILY Kathy’s family is the Antagonist in this book. They don’t understand why she is always complaining about them for talking about Brett so much. Colton Family Mrs. Colton Mr. Colton Alex (Brother) Sam (Sister)

6. F AVORITE C HARACTER : J ASON W EST Jason is the dreamy star quarterback that every girl at Central High is in love with but can’t seem to charm Kathy Colton with his strikingly good looks and football status. When he shows her he really is smart and not like the other football jockeys in class, they really get to know each other and are both falling for each other. (Photo from ClipArt)

7. LEAST F AVORITE C HARACTER : A NGELA Angela is Jason’s girlfriend who can’t stand the fact that him and Kathy are spending so much time together, even if it’s just tutoring. She is SO JEALOUS of Kathy! She’s your typical Barbie who every girl envies but at the same time can’t stand. She looks good with Jason the handsome football player, but she’s not who Jason wants in the end. (Photo from ClipArt)

8. E XPOSITION In this story, Kathy Colton (the protagonist) is entering into a new world, high school. She is not exactly popular and the only reason people know her is because of her last name. Her older brother Brett Colton died at age 17 from Leukemia and was the star quarterback at Central High Kathy realizes high school isn’t that bad when she begins to fall for the last person she thought she would fall for, Jason West..

9. R ISING A CTION The rising action is when Kathy is forced to tutor Jason West in honors English. She is sick of hearing about her brother Brett constantly and freaks out at her family because she has had enough, Brett never cared about her, so why should she care about him? When Jason asks her to the homecoming dance, which is also the day of her sixteenth birthday, during one of their tutoring sessions, she is so happy until she finds out he asked someone else.

10. C LIMAX On the night of her sixteenth birthday, after the homecoming dance, Kathy’s mom gives her a letter that she’s held on to for the past 14 years, a letter from her dead son Brett to his baby sister Kathy. Kathy opens the letter and becomes speechless, her dead brother had planned this all along and even gave her a key to a box downstairs where it held something that was sure to change Kathy’s life forever, his journal. The journal entries are all written “Dear Kitty” which is what he called Kathy when she was as baby, and Kathy realizes how much he loved her and how precious she was to his life. She is overwhelmed with emotions. Jason West proves he is falling for her when he asks Kathy to the Christmas dance and she gladly accepts. They had an amazing time and Kathy couldn’t help but think how much she liked Jason and couldn’t believe this was happening to a girl like her. They share their first kiss at the Christmas dance and the sparks begin to fly, she knew she was falling head over heels for this boy.

11. F ALLING A CTION Kathy’s family doesn’t like how close she and Jason have been getting and tell Kathy he is using their tutoring sessions as a time to preach his religion to her. Kathy finds out in Brett’s journal that he wanted to join the Mormon religion when he was sick and dying from cancer, but his parents thought he was crazy. Kathy has so many questions and is confused. When Jason breaks up with his girlfriend Angela because he is in love with Kathy, Angela tells Kathy that she’ll never be good enough for Jason. And that Jason only likes Kathy because he feels sorry for her. She says that Jason likes preaching his religion to anyone who will listen, especially naive girls like Kathy. Kathy finds herself questioning Jason’s intentions with her and starts wondering if what everyone is saying is true. She is feeling lost and turns to Brett’s journal for help and an escape from everything going on around her.

12. J OURNAL E NTRY FROM B RETT ~ Dear Kitty, When I first accepted I was sick, I knew I’d reach a turning point, because I knew my life would never be the same again. I wasn’t able to choose to have leukemia any more than I was allowed to prepare for it. I knew I could either give up or else I could try to make sense of it and make the most of the time I had left. You were the one who pointed me in the right direction, who made me want to change my mind and choose to make the most of the time I had left. I’m grateful that at least I’d been given some time. People in fatal car accidents aren’t given any warning at all. At least I’ve been warned. I’ve been given the chance to say goodbye…

13. R ESOLUTION Brett’s journal that has helped her so much with school, boys, her family, and her entire outlook on life, eventually comes to an end. Kathy can’t decide if she if it leaves her empty or happy inside. But she knows one thing for sure, Brett loved her more than anything and she loved him back. She shows her family Brett’s journal and they don’t know how to react. They are so thankful Kathy is sharing this with them, especially her mom. They end up accepting Jason as Kathy’s boyfriend and realize what a nice young man he is.

14. S ETTING This story takes place in Centerville, Utah where Kathy lives, and she attends school at Central High School. The time period took place in the late nineties. Kathy Colton was sixteen-years-old.

15. T HEME O NE : FAMILY In this book, Brett Colton is dying from leukemia and he knows he doesn’t have much time to live but he wants to spend the time he has left with his family, especially his baby sister Kitty. His family doesn’t know the right words to say to him, they don’t want to accept the fact that he is going to die. His mom is always worrying and fussing over him when he is sick and he just wants her to relax and let him enjoy his last couple months. His dad isn’t around a lot because he is always working extra hours at the office to pay for Brett’s medical bills. Brett needs his family more than anything at this point In his life, they are all he has and he reaches out to them in the most emotional moments.

16. T HEME T WO : D EATH Kathy and the rest of her family have to deal with the death of Brett and it is very hard on all of them. They each handle his death in their own personal way. Mrs. Colton- She was extremely upset to lose a child and keeps him in her memories all the time. She is always bringing up Brett like he were still around. She wears a locket around her neck with a picture of him inside. Mr. Colton- He is having a hard time expressing his emotions from losing Brett, he knows he has to be strong for the whole family but it’s killing him inside. He buries himself in work to forget about the pain. Baby Kathy “Kitty”- After Brett dies, she can’t sleep at night and fusses whenever anyone tries to comfort her. She knows her big brother Brett is gone and she makes her parents put her to sleep in Brett’s room everynight. Alex & Sam- It is very hard on them to lose a sibling, they eventually go on with their lives but they are emotionally torn from the whole thing.

17. T HEME T HREE : L OVE The amount of love that Brett has for his little sister is so immense that it is almost indescribable. He spends every second of everyday he has left with his baby sister, she gives him a reason to keep living. He knows she loves him too when her first words aren’t “Mama” or “Dada”, instead Kitty’s first words are “Bet”. She sleeps with Brett every night listening to the Beatles ‘Rubber Soul’ album with her tiny bear that Brett gave her for Christmas.

18. R ATING I rated this book a 10 because it was such a good story plot and definitely one of the best books I’ve ever read. I loved this book and couldn’t put it down! (Photo from ClipArt)

19. S OCIAL I SSUE : L EUKEMIA Leukemia: cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by abnormal proliferation of white blood cells, also know as leukocytes. How to understand Leukemia a little better -In a person with leukemia, the bone marrow makes abnormal white blood cells. The abnormal cells are leukemia cells. - Unlike normal blood cells, leukemia cells don't die when they should. They may crowd out normal white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. This makes it hard for normal blood cells to do their work. http://www.medicinenet.com/leukemia/article.htm

20. S ONG Rascall Flatts- Skin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhnU9IYTD9c

21. T HERE ARE FOUR MAIN TYPES OF L EUKEMIA : Chronic lymphocytic Leukemia Chronic myeloid Leukemia Acute lymphocytic Leukemia Acute myeloid Leukemia Chronic: gets worse slowly, mostly found in older people Acute: gets worse quickly, mostly found in children http://www.medicinenet.com/leukemia/page2.htm

22. T REATMENT #1 C HEMOTHERAPY 1. Chemotherapy: the use of drugs or chemicals, often in combinations, to kill or damage cancer cells in the body. *Chemotherapy’s main goal is to target the cancer cells and destroy them completely, the drugs do affect the normal cells as well, this causes certain side affects. The main side effects include: - Hair loss - Vomiting/Nausea - Fatigue http://www.medicinenet.com/leukemia/page4.htm

23. T REATMENT #2 RADIATION THERAPY Radiation Therapy(radiotherapy) : works by damaging the genetic material (DNA) within cells, which prevents the cells from growing and reproducing. External beam radiation: A focused beam of radiation is delivered outside the body by a machine called a "linear accelerator" or "linac." The linear accelerator can move around the body to deliver radiation from various angles. Radio immunotherapy: a radioactive molecule is attached to a monoclonal antibody to target certain types of cancer cells. *Radiation Therapy, either alone or with chemotherapy, is used as a conditioning treatment to prepare a patient for a blood or marrow stem cell transplant. http://www.emedicinehealth.com/leukemia/page7_em.htm

24. T REATMENT #3 S TEM C ELL TRANSPLANT There are two major types of stem cell transplants: Autologous Transplant: uses the patients own marrow. This marrow is collected while the patient is in remission, and may be treated with chemotherapy agents or monoclonal antibodies before being given back. Allogenic Transplant : uses the marrow from a donor. The donor usually has to be a brother or sister with the same tissue type. If a sibling is not available, a search of the National Marrow Donor Program can search for a matched unrelated donor. *Stem cell transplantation procedures continue to be improved as treatment options for patients with Leukemia. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stem-cell- transplant/MY00089

25. Y OU - TUBE V IDEO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17sIyLOm0Xc