Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy
"What if you'd been living your life as if you were dying—only to find out that you had your whole future ahead of you?

When sixteen-year-old Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, her prognosis is grim. To maximize the time she does have, she vows to spend her final months righting wrongs—however she sees fit. She convinces her friend Harvey, who she knows has always had feelings for her, to help her with a crazy bucket list that's as much about revenge (humiliating her ex-boyfriend and getting back at her archnemesis) as it is about hope (doing something unexpectedly kind for a stranger). But just when Alice's scores are settled, she goes into remission.

Now Alice is forced to face the con­sequences of all that she's said and done, as well as her true feelings for Harvey. But has she caused irreparable damage to the people around her—and to the one person who matters most?"- summary from Amazon

This was a really interesting book- flipping back and forth between Alice and Harvey, and past and present. It got a little confusing at times, trying to keep up with the timeline. It's definitely not a book for everybody; Alice is fairly unlikeable throughout the book, though she has her reasons. But I know other readers couldn't really get past it, especially the hot-and-cold way she treats Harvey. I really liked how Murphy ended the book; it felt really realistic and made so much sense. She also did a good job with the leukemia aspect of the book, clearly having done her research.

Overall, a great debut and I'm excited to read more from Murphy.

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.