A PASSION FOR LIVING Alexander Stobbs (Hodder & Stoughton, £16.99)

Alex Stobbs is 19 and has cystic fibrosis, which means that he cannot expect a normal lifespan. He is also a brilliant musician, and you may recently have seen him conducting Bach’s St Matthew Passion on TV.

Everything we take for granted – eating, sleeping and breathing – is a huge struggle for him, but, astonishingly, he says: “I’ve had more than my fair share of luck.”

He has a devoted family, a good mind which has enabled him to win several music scholarships, and is kept going by the resources of modern medicine and technology. A child in the Third World with cystic fibrosis would surely have died long ago.

Alex admits that he has dark moods, and doesn’t believe in life after death, but for most of the time he keeps active and does his very best to ignore his condition.

He is a normal teenager who likes cricket and hanging out with his friends, and is determined to give flawless performances as a conductor and singer even if they wear him out.

The book is based on his life over the last 18 months, with an introduction by his mother, a real heroine.