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One Last Wish Books in Order

Part ofLurlene McDaniel Books in Order

Explore the One Last Wish books by Lurlene McDaniel in order, with summaries, series background, and where to start this linked story of hope and loss.

Last updated: June 11, 2026

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One Last Wish books in publication order

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12 books

1

A Time to Die

by Lurlene McDaniel

1992

Sixteen-year-old Kara Fischer has cystic fibrosis and knows time is short. Her bond with Vince, another teen living with the same disease, gives her comfort, hope, and one last reason to believe in miracles.

2

Mother, Help Me Live

by Lurlene McDaniel

1992

Sarah McGreggor needs a bone marrow transplant to survive leukemia, and that crisis brings a shocking revelation, she was adopted. Her search for her birth mother becomes both a search for life and for identity.

3

Mourning Song

by Lurlene McDaniel

1992

Dani cannot save her sister Cassie from a brain tumor, but she is determined to grant Cassie's dream trip anyway. This One Last Wish story is about anger, helplessness, and love that keeps pushing forward.

4

Sixteen and Dying

by Lurlene McDaniel

1992

Anne Wingate learns she is HIV positive after receiving tainted blood years earlier. Granted one last wish, she heads west for one normal summer and falls for Morgan, while time keeps closing in.

5

Someone Dies, Someone Lives

by Lurlene McDaniel

1992

Katie O'Roark has been given a second chance through a heart transplant, but recovery does not make everything easy. As she meets Josh and tries to run again, she has to learn how to live the life she was spared for.

6

Let Him Live

by Lurlene McDaniel

1993

A candy striper befriends a seventeen-year-old boy waiting for a liver transplant. Together they use his One Last Wish money to build something meaningful for other terminally ill kids.

7

Please Don't Die

by Lurlene McDaniel

1993

Katie arrives at Jenny House ready to help girls facing the same medical fears she once knew herself. As the summer deepens, friendship forms among Katie, Amanda, Chelsea, and Lacey, and one crisis changes them forever.

8

The Legacy: Making Wishes Come True

by Lurlene McDaniel

1993

This book tells the story behind JWC and the creation of the One Last Wish Foundation. It weaves love, loss, and generosity into the origin of a legacy that keeps reaching other sick kids.

9

All the Days of Her Life

by Lurlene McDaniel

1994

After a special summer, Lacey wants an ordinary high school life and the attention of the right boy. But chasing popularity leads her to hide her diabetes, and the cost of pretending starts to rise fast.

10

She Died Too Young

by Lurlene McDaniel

1994

Chelsea is waiting for a heart transplant when she befriends another girl who needs one too. Their growing closeness makes the cruel truth impossible to ignore, there may only be a chance for one of them.

11

A Season for Goodbye

by Lurlene McDaniel

1995

Katie, Chelsea, and Lacey return to Jenny House as big sisters to a younger group of girls facing serious illness. Then tragedy strikes, and the friends must decide what kind of legacy they can carry forward.

12

Reach for Tomorrow

by Lurlene McDaniel

1999

Katie returns to the rebuilt Jenny House as a counselor and finds old friends, old memories, and Josh waiting there too. A new season of helping others forces her to decide what kind of future she wants.

One Last Wish books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "A Time to Die"

    A Time to Die

    by Lurlene McDaniel

    1992One Last Wish, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Mourning Song"

    Mourning Song

    by Lurlene McDaniel

    1992One Last Wish, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Mother, Help Me Live"

    Mother, Help Me Live

    by Lurlene McDaniel

    1992One Last Wish, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Someone Dies, Someone Lives"

    Someone Dies, Someone Lives

    by Lurlene McDaniel

    1992One Last Wish, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Sixteen and Dying"

    Sixteen and Dying

    by Lurlene McDaniel

    1992One Last Wish, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "Let Him Live"

    Let Him Live

    by Lurlene McDaniel

    1993One Last Wish, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "Please Don't Die"

    Please Don't Die

    by Lurlene McDaniel

    1993One Last Wish, Book 7
  8. Book cover for "The Legacy: Making Wishes Come True"

    The Legacy: Making Wishes Come True

    by Lurlene McDaniel

    1993One Last Wish, Book 8
  9. Book cover for "She Died Too Young"

    She Died Too Young

    by Lurlene McDaniel

    1994One Last Wish, Book 9
  10. Book cover for "All the Days of Her Life"

    All the Days of Her Life

    by Lurlene McDaniel

    1994One Last Wish, Book 10
  11. Book cover for "A Season for Goodbye"

    A Season for Goodbye

    by Lurlene McDaniel

    1995One Last Wish, Book 11
  12. Book cover for "Reach for Tomorrow"

    Reach for Tomorrow

    by Lurlene McDaniel

    1999One Last Wish, Book 12

Series background & context

One Last Wish is one of Lurlene McDaniel's most distinctive series because it mixes standalone stories with a larger shared world. The early books center on different teens facing impossible medical realities, kids with cystic fibrosis, leukemia, HIV, transplant needs, or siblings who are dying, all touched by an anonymous benefactor who offers one last wish.

That simple setup gives McDaniel room to tell several kinds of stories. In A Time to Die, Kara finds connection with another teen who understands her illness. In Mourning Song, a girl fights to grant her dying sister's dream. In Mother, Help Me Live, Sarah searches for her birth mother and a possible bone marrow match. In Someone Dies, Someone Lives, Katie's story brings transplant survival and second chances into the foreground.

Then the series grows.

Later books such as Please Don't Die, She Died Too Young, All the Days of Her Life, A Season for Goodbye, and Reach for Tomorrow bring several characters together through Jenny House, a special place where teens with life-threatening illnesses can form friendships, mentor younger kids, and try to feel ordinary for a while. Katie, Chelsea, and Lacey become especially important, and the series begins to feel more like an ensemble drama than a set of separate tragedies.

That shift is what makes One Last Wish special. It still has the sadness readers expect from McDaniel, but it also builds a sense of community. Wishes matter, yes, but so do the people who remember you, come back for you, and carry your story after you are gone.

The tone is heartfelt and openly emotional. There are romances, hospital scenes, ethical questions, and more than a few tears. But there is also a steady belief that even short lives can be meaningful, and that friendship can keep expanding the story after loss. If you want a long McDaniel series with recurring characters and a big emotional payoff, this is a great place to settle in.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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