Read as digital ARC. This book, man...You're going to have to surrender a small chunk of your life to reading it and then another chunk of your life to sorting out your feelings about it. Julie's captured something really authentic here, and it might rip you apart a little bit. Basically, Alice doesn't know what she's doing, and I think that's something all of us can relate to. Sometimes she makes bad decisions, and you'll want to grab her by the shoulders and give her a shake. Sometimes she's s...

Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...When 16 year old Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, she devises a plan to complete a list of things before she dies. Not thinking of the consequences of her actions, she enlists the help of her friend Harvey, in order to complete the list. After the list is complete, Alice is ready to let go, but then she is given the news that she is in remission and must now deal with the consequences

Julie Murphy, she has ruined me.People, this book is the type of book that makes you question your enthusiasm for the other books you've read, because this book is everything - voice, pacing, wit, characterizations, the infinite moments of memories, the ending. This non-linear book reminds me one of my favorite reads, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Not that the story is the same, it's that the feel of the story is the same. That both Alice and Arnold Spirit are learning to live...

Where I expected a deep and meaningful plot there was a bland storyline mostly based on the petty revenge of a young girl. Where I expected a mature, old-soul type main character there was a shallow teen who recovered from cancer and hates the world for it. Characters in a Gif: Alice I’m going to get right into this with Alice. This girl. This girl literally has a personal grudge against what seems like everyone on Earth. She’s a total bitch to her best friend Harvey, who has done nothing but...

All mixed reviews made me read it. Jasprit gave up on 50%, Alise and Giselle were annoyed by main character, but Brandi and Christy gave me hope that it might not be that bad. Where does that leave me? Better than that other popular book about cancer. Earlier this year I read the famous The Fault In Our Stars by John Green and I failed to find it appealing as many other readers. There was "something" that felt off and I couldn't buy the whole "we are dying and everything is rainbows and unicorn

I don't know how I feel about this one. You can definitely tell it's a debut so I do want to put a disclaimer out there. If this is your first Julie Murphy novel, read more. I personally feel Julie Murphy is an amazing author and you can see her development and progression as a writer in her subsequent novels (Dumplin' and Ramona Blue). I am not saying this is a terrible novel but everything about her as an author gets better in the following novels. The story actually is a unique and admittedly...

Absolutely loved this! Harvey is the best book boyfriend I have read this year. Alice rips my heart out just as she ripped Harvey's to shreds. Beautiful writing (I seriously wanted to quote a line from every other page) with characters that jump off the page. A must read!

The book is essentially about a girl named Alice who is revealed to have leukemia. She creates a bucket list of things she needs to complete before her death. Forming a close relationship with Harvey is one of them. They were buddies during their younger years before fate took them to different directions “Then we’d drifted. High school did that to you, turned you into pieces of driftwood. And the parts of you that you’d tried to keep in one piece became the property of the wind and wate...

It literally took me like 3 minutes to snap out of this book's setting once i finished it*feels**hand gestures* *lays down*--- (old)I met the author at a book signing and she was completely awesome- I can't wait until this comes out!

MYEYEBALLSAREBROKEN! Are there more than 5 stars to give? Loved loved loved. (more thoughtful review with proper vocab tk)

I’d always heard that when you truly love someone, you’re happy for them as long they’re happy. But that’s a lie. That’s higher-road bullshit. If you love someone so much, why the hell would you be happy to see them with anyone else? I didn’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. They say it takes a bitch to know one, and it will come as no surprise to many people that I found myself loving this book.I love the l

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/ “I knew how to die. It was the living that scared me.” At a time when cancer has become nearly cliché in young adult romance stories, Julie Murphy comes up with a new spin on things. Everything was going great for Alice. She was surviving her freshman year in high school, was the best ballet student in her class, had landed a popular boyfriend . . . but then she saw something that she couldn’t unsee, found out Mr. Perfect was cheati...

Harvy = 5 StarsAlice = 0 StarsRating Clarification = 2.5 StarsWow! What a tough book to warm up to! I haven’t struggled with a protag this much in a long time. There were many moments in the story that I just about threw in the towel, so I surprise myself that I saw it all the way through.Side Effects May Vary balances a potentially touching story between two very different protagonists. First you have sixteen year old Alice that is diagnosed with cancer. From one day to the next, she sees her l...

Nose Graze — Book reviews & blogging tips2.5 Stars=== My review may contain some MINOR spoilers. They're super minor and vague though and won't ruin the book for you. I just vaguely highlight how long the MC is a bitch for and at what percentage she starts trying to not be a bitch. ===I was disappointed in Side Effects May Vary :( There were two main problems for me: I didn't like the "then" and "now" style of narration (I don't think it worked well here), and the main character quickly beca...

First things first, I want to say that this book was very honest and real. It's very raw and very real, it doesn't gloss over anything or romanticize cancer or it's side effects. That being said, while I can appreciate that about the book, I did not like this book. My main problem with this book was the main character Alice. I did not like her at all. She's so mean, such a bully and so manipulative. She was just cold and heartless, not to mention so freakin' moody. With Harvey, she'd be clinging...

Well, this sucked. Ended up having to skim to the end because I hated the main characters with a passion and couldn't take their BS any longer. The story itself wasn't really worth putting up with these turds.Alice is a demon spawn. Harvey is a limp noodle. I am not amused.This didn't even feel like Julie Murphy wrote it.

Karma was a bitch, but so was I. Once upon a time, there was a girl. This girl grew up with her best friend, her partner in crime, and they were inseparable. She was the ring-leader, and he'd follow her anywhere. He'd do anything for her, because he had fallen madly in love with her. They got to high school. They drifted apart. Then one day, her world shattered with the uttering of three simple words: You have cancer. And with the proclamation of these words, the world became clearer.

I was lucky enough to read Side Effects early on and watch it grow, evolve, and basically burrow itself inside my heart.With subtle yet haunting prose, Julie Murphy weaves a non-linear tale about a dying girl named Alice and her childhood friend, Harvey, who can’t seem to let her go. Alice is the unlikable girl you can’t help but love. When Alice learns she has a second chance at life, she must confront those she wronged when it seemed her days were running out. As the novel progresses, we slowl...

I loved parts of this book, while others irritated me. Or I should say Alice irritated me. However, the angle of getting a second chance at a life you were done and over with does give you food for thought for which I applaud. Cancer books are not stories I go into lightly; there's so much cancer in real life already, why would I want to read about yet another victim of this monster? Still, there's something about this one that called to me and I'm glad I read it. It brings up a different, highl...

Beautiful. Really, just beautiful. Side Effects May Vary is witty and raw and heartfelt, and above all, brutally, wonderfully honest. It's one of those books that creates a world and characters so engrossing that you feel like they become a part of you, and that you have a vested interest in their lives. You fall into the world of Alice and Harvey so completely that when you come up for air you realize it's 3am and you only meant to read a chapter or two before going to sleep. It'll leave you th...