Two Weeks With the Queen

By Morris Gleitzman

Book Overview

'I need to see the Queen about my sick brother.'
Colin Mudford is on a quest. His brother Luke has cancer and the doctors in Australia don't seem to be able to cure him. Sent to London to stay with relatives, Colin is desperate to do something to help Luke. He wants to find the best the doctor in the world. Where better to start than by going to the top? Colin is determined to ask the Queen for her advice.
In Morris Gleitzman's trademark style, this very moving story illuminates deeply serious issues about illness and loss with bright moments of humour.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 014130300X
• ISBN13: 9780141303000
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Puffin Bks
• Length: 127 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.1" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 10 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 8

Customer Reviews

very very sad.

I must have read TWO WEEKS WITH THE QUEEN about 6 years ago now (I was about 10) and where I might have forgotten details of the plot and the names of some of the characters it's still a book that I remember and love. It has a strong, charismatic and honest main character (Colin) that's little brother is currently dying of cancer. He is sent away to England, as his parents think it will be less stressful than watching his brother die. Colin resolves to find the Queen's own doctor and cure his little brother. On the way he meets a gay man who's lover is also dying. A strong friendship begins as they each face the worst. It's a story with relationships, love, death, prejudice, terminal diseases and hope. Told with humour and honesty through the eyes of a young boy just trying to save his brother. A must read for anyone.

?Hope in the Eyes of Youth

?Colin isn't having a very good year. Sent to visit relatives in England because his brother has been diagnosed with cancer, he hatches a plan to list the help of the Queen of England. He is certain that she can help him find a doctor who will cure his brother. Needless to say, enlisting the help of royalty is a difficult task. It isn't until he has failed to break into Buckingham Palace and begins to haunt the corridors of hospitals looking for someone who can help him find a cure that he gets the help he needs. The "help" does not come from a physician, but from a man he finds sobbing in the street for his friend who is dying of AIDS. In the relationship that forms between this unlikely pair, Colin discovers that being there for his brother is more important than any cure and that Queens are not always royalty.

excellent

Morris Gleitzman is the best Australian author ever. His books are so realistic in a warped sort of way. Two weeks with the queen is about a boy called colin who is sent to england to stay with his aunt, uncle and cousin. While he is there he tries to find a doctor who can help his brother who is dying of cancer. All Morris Gleitzman's books are really cool. I should know, I've read them all about 3 times. I recommend this book for people between the ages of 9 and 14. Read it today you'll love it!

An uplifting tale of a young boy's acceptance of death

Colin's parents don't know how to explain what's going on with his brother. He was too sick too eat their Christmas dinner, and Colin quickly learns there is a more serious problem. That problem is called cancer, and this Australian family and their doctors can do nothing to save the boy. Colin's parents decide that he would be better off in London, with his Aunt and Uncle where he won't have to see his brother suffer. Colin disagrees, but he knows that if he can get to London, maybe the Queen will send her best doctor to cure his brother. After a couple of thwarted trips to Buckingham Palace and a trip to the finest hospital in London, Colin is feeling a bit useless. No one seems to want to help his brother. Then he meets a new friend,Griff,who helps him to understand the importance of being with the person you love when they are ill. Griff teaches Colin through example, as his partner suffers from cancer and the AIDS virus. Learning about relationships and the importance of supporting those you love helps Colin to accept his brother's forthcoming death. Colin realizes that the way he can most help his brother is by goin home to be by his side till the end.