While removing the tonsils (tonsillectomy) is sometimes recommended for tonsil stones, this carries a significant risk of pain and bleeding and should only be used as an absolute last resort, if at all. Also, you are still at risks of strep throat without tonsils, a deadly mouth disease almost similar to sore throat.
Running Out of Time is a novel by Margaret Peterson Haddix, published in 1996.
Sparks diverted his attention by working on A Bend in the Road, his fifth novel, and the first draft of The Guardian, which succeeded the release of Nights in Rodanthe. However, The Guardian imposed a tremendous challenge to Sparks, and he reckoned it would require a great deal of re-writing.