Title: Side Effects May Vary
Author: Julie Murphy
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Quotation: “I don’t want the easy kind of love. I wanted the crazy love, the kind of love that created and destroyed all at the same time.”
Would recommend to: people who appreciate a different story.

This was my “young adult” choice of the past month, and I don’t have any regrets.

The book chronicles a girl’s life before and after she found out she was cancer free. You follow her through her acceptance of her cancer, how she copes with the news that her life may be coming to an end, and finally how all of her actions have shaped her life as it stands now.

I think it’s a really powerful story about life and how our actions stimulate a domino effect.

While I do like the overall story, I think the main character, Alice, is a bitch. She doesn’t really care about the people around her, and cancer doesn’t give you an excuse to be a terrible person in my book.

She also doesn’t redeem herself in my opinion. While she realizes that she messed up with the man of her dreams, she still doesn’t seem to get that she’s been a bad person. I wish there had been a more apparent attitude change.

I did really like the book though — it was an easy, entertaining read that kept my mind occupied.

If you’re into young adult reads and are looking for something with a twist, I would definitely suggest this book to you.

Happy reading,
Kimberly