Book Review | 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?

Julie Murphy's Side Effects May Vary is a fearless and moving tour de force about love, life, and facing your own mortality

Review

This is exactly the kind of book I can get on board with. It was funny, honest, emotional and had a great cast of characters. For such a long time, this book has been on my TBR, and I finally got around to reading it, and I absolutely loved it.

I loved the relationship between Alice and Harvey. I thought the balance between them was perfect, and the way Julie behaved, was honest and made me keep flipping the pages.

The thing about Julie as a main character, is that she's not a character you can always like. She's sometimes outright mean, and you feel sorry for Harvey, but the thing is, you understand why she is how she is, and you root for her all the way through. I never gave up on her redeeming herself. In short, she was a really well written character.

Harvey, though, was just wonderful. Such a great character, who had this link to Julie that he couldn't break from, even when he may have wanted to. The dynamic between the two of them was my favorite part about this book, and it was done so well.

This is definitely one of the best books I've read this year.

9.5/10