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babs_reviews's review
4.0
I thought Alice was a grade A bitchface that manipulated poor Harvey by pulling on his heart strings. Cancer didn't make her a bitch she just used it as the excuse to pull off the mask. Once she realized she was in remission she was in a tail spin because she didn't know how to put the mask back on and make everyone see her how they did before. I rated it a 4 and that is only because of Harvey. He was the saving grace for this novel, his pure unadulterated love. His story, his feelings, the core of his heart was pure. Plain and simple he saw her, he saw through her, and despite of the ugly she carried on the inside he loved her. For not only the her he could tolerate but the her he couldn't. For it all boiled down to his ability to love her despite herself.
miss_merna's review
2.0
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
After a while their relationship begins to blossom again. Once Alice is certain her expiry date will come soon, her doctor exposes she’s on remission.
Well, this is when the story went downhill for me. Alice could not simply be happy about the revelation. No she can’t. Well, if she was then we would have to chop off 250 pages. So, we make her somehow upset about her remission. It’s not stated clearly why she is - only it makes her saddened for reasons too important to specify very clearly.
Nice simile.
But..
still not helping because you won’t distinctively tell me which part of getting better upsets you. I must have misread the book. Alice says, she’s unhappy about the remission because now she can be with Harvey. I don't understand. Is she upset about that since her cancer will always be a shadow upon her life? Does it concern her that she will live in fear with Harvey knowing any minute she could lose him, therefore, she has lost that comforting certainty of when her death was already set?
Might be.
The relationship between Harvey and Alice is quite dysfunctional. Harvey genuinely loves Alice and demonstrates this more than enough. Alice feels the same way but she complicates their relationship, and it’s not because of her health, it’s her utter confusing attitude. I frequently felt as if the book was primarily about Harvey's unrequited love for Alice. I would have liked to apprehend the motivation behind Alice's actions, but the book failed in this instance.
Don't give one sentences like: “I knew how to die. It was living that scared me,” and then expect me to completely understand the character. You need to dive deeper and express more in order for me to connect with the character's emotional state.
For instance, after her remission, she attends school but becomes irritated by her classmate’s questions about her leukemia. After school that day, she meets a guy and begins chatting him up. Harvey finds her outside and says he should quickly drive her home, considering it’s cold. She ignores him and continues to chat to the guy while Harvey stands there waiting for her.
It seems this bitchy attitude can be excused because she has cancer. But why? It’s not like cancer strips away your morals. Apparently, this must be it. Maybe that was the whole point of the story. Cancer or more specifically remission makes you a bitch, but you have to redeem yourself... Okay, that doesn't make sense. The story doesn’t have much of a purpose which explains the lack of making sense.
Sometimes, I had thought Alice and Harvey were cute. I could almost see why they were so drawn to each other.
Then again, overuse of angst in romance really makes you think twice. Alice continuously angers Harvey by trying to make him jealous, and when he attempts to get over her by dating someone else then she would become overly jealous. See my problem? God that was so annoying.
Her attitude after her remission is just intolerable. She treats Harvey, who is relentlessly by her side, like shit because she she can't handle her emotions. As suggested earlier, it would appear odious if I criticize the heroine’s bad behavior since she has cancer. I, on the other hand, am not that easy enough to hand her the cancer card, and let her attitude go unnoticed. She basically behaves as if the world owes her something due to her sickness. Alice must have been misinformed about how the world works if that's what she thinks.
Not gonna work.
I could have liked Alice, and many times I did, but there was potential to build her character and provide reasonable and believable explanations as to why she chooses to act the way she does. It would have made the heroine's character development more thorough, instead of purely giving her an epiphany about her actions. (No, it was not a spoiler, in case you're thinking that.)
The non-linear structure of the book might be exasperating to readers. In my opinion, I thought it was done well and fit the book perfectly. The book switches from past to present. The past is the first year of her leukemia and when she is completing her bucket list. The present is set a year after which is throughout the duration of her remission. The POV is told from both Harvey and Alice. They have quite distinct voices. Harvey's tone sounds kinder and more caring, so you could easily identify it.
The book has its amusing and engaging moments, therefore it earns solely one star, plus an extra star for Harvey’s character. But I don’t find the book deserving of anymore. I initially finished the book with satisfaction until I really thought about the story, which then I found myself quite unsatisfied.
I’m sure some will enjoy this, but I find the book… pointless when it comes to realistic fiction.
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Sorry. I noticed, I repeat myself quite a lot about how I disliked Alice's attitude. My repetition comes to show how much I really do though...
“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 water, sending those dear pieces you were not.”
After a while their relationship begins to blossom again. Once Alice is certain her expiry date will come soon, her doctor exposes she’s on remission.
Well, this is when the story went downhill for me. Alice could not simply be happy about the revelation. No she can’t. Well, if she was then we would have to chop off 250 pages. So, we make her somehow upset about her remission. It’s not stated clearly why she is - only it makes her saddened for reasons too important to specify very clearly.
“I had Harvey, and I had him for good. Hadn’t that been all I wanted? To make those perfect moments last? But now I felt trapped, like a homeless person who’d been given their dream home only to suffer from intense wanderlust because we always wanted something until we have it.”
Nice simile.
But..
still not helping because you won’t distinctively tell me which part of getting better upsets you. I must have misread the book. Alice says, she’s unhappy about the remission because now she can be with Harvey. I don't understand. Is she upset about that since her cancer will always be a shadow upon her life? Does it concern her that she will live in fear with Harvey knowing any minute she could lose him, therefore, she has lost that comforting certainty of when her death was already set?
Might be.
The relationship between Harvey and Alice is quite dysfunctional. Harvey genuinely loves Alice and demonstrates this more than enough. Alice feels the same way but she complicates their relationship, and it’s not because of her health, it’s her utter confusing attitude. I frequently felt as if the book was primarily about Harvey's unrequited love for Alice. I would have liked to apprehend the motivation behind Alice's actions, but the book failed in this instance.
Don't give one sentences like: “I knew how to die. It was living that scared me,” and then expect me to completely understand the character. You need to dive deeper and express more in order for me to connect with the character's emotional state.
For instance, after her remission, she attends school but becomes irritated by her classmate’s questions about her leukemia. After school that day, she meets a guy and begins chatting him up. Harvey finds her outside and says he should quickly drive her home, considering it’s cold. She ignores him and continues to chat to the guy while Harvey stands there waiting for her.
It seems this bitchy attitude can be excused because she has cancer. But why? It’s not like cancer strips away your morals. Apparently, this must be it. Maybe that was the whole point of the story. Cancer or more specifically remission makes you a bitch, but you have to redeem yourself... Okay, that doesn't make sense. The story doesn’t have much of a purpose which explains the lack of making sense.
Sometimes, I had thought Alice and Harvey were cute. I could almost see why they were so drawn to each other.
“You can play the cancer card forever, Alice.”
“You’re right, just until I’m dead. Then I dub you the carrier of the card, which shall henceforth be known as the ‘my friend died of cancer’ card.”
Then again, overuse of angst in romance really makes you think twice. Alice continuously angers Harvey by trying to make him jealous, and when he attempts to get over her by dating someone else then she would become overly jealous. See my problem? God that was so annoying.
Her attitude after her remission is just intolerable. She treats Harvey, who is relentlessly by her side, like shit because she she can't handle her emotions. As suggested earlier, it would appear odious if I criticize the heroine’s bad behavior since she has cancer. I, on the other hand, am not that easy enough to hand her the cancer card, and let her attitude go unnoticed. She basically behaves as if the world owes her something due to her sickness. Alice must have been misinformed about how the world works if that's what she thinks.
Not gonna work.
I could have liked Alice, and many times I did, but there was potential to build her character and provide reasonable and believable explanations as to why she chooses to act the way she does. It would have made the heroine's character development more thorough, instead of purely giving her an epiphany about her actions. (No, it was not a spoiler, in case you're thinking that.)
The non-linear structure of the book might be exasperating to readers. In my opinion, I thought it was done well and fit the book perfectly. The book switches from past to present. The past is the first year of her leukemia and when she is completing her bucket list. The present is set a year after which is throughout the duration of her remission. The POV is told from both Harvey and Alice. They have quite distinct voices. Harvey's tone sounds kinder and more caring, so you could easily identify it.
The book has its amusing and engaging moments, therefore it earns solely one star, plus an extra star for Harvey’s character. But I don’t find the book deserving of anymore. I initially finished the book with satisfaction until I really thought about the story, which then I found myself quite unsatisfied.
I’m sure some will enjoy this, but I find the book… pointless when it comes to realistic fiction.
-------
Sorry. I noticed, I repeat myself quite a lot about how I disliked Alice's attitude. My repetition comes to show how much I really do though...
marginsofmarisa's review
4.0
Wow. This book... I knew it was going to be good, but I didn't know it would be this good.
If you read the other reviews you will probably see all the hate Alice is getting. Sure... 90% of this book she's a total bitch. But that's the point. If you hate her for that, you don't know the pain that is on her heart. Seeing her mom cheat on her dad was a confirmation to her that love doesn't exist. That's why she's the way she is.
I absolutely loved Harvey, of course. No explanation needed.
The reason I gave this 5/5 stars was because this book was real. Alice's situations- cancer, enemies, commitment issues- were very real. The author did an amazing job of not making this some cheesy book that's fake. (And can I just give her props for all those Carrie references?? We would be great friends I want to meet her)
The ending was done perfectly. I love endings that make you decide what happens. It's sort of like Eleanor and Park, ya know? (If you've read that book... If not- go read it!!)
Harvey had every right to not want to see Alice. But I believe that Alice's mom finally fixing things with Alice gave her the strength to become better.
This book is so amazing. Just props to the author.
P.s. This book would make an amazing movie...
If you read the other reviews you will probably see all the hate Alice is getting. Sure... 90% of this book she's a total bitch. But that's the point. If you hate her for that, you don't know the pain that is on her heart. Seeing her mom cheat on her dad was a confirmation to her that love doesn't exist. That's why she's the way she is.
I absolutely loved Harvey, of course. No explanation needed.
The reason I gave this 5/5 stars was because this book was real. Alice's situations- cancer, enemies, commitment issues- were very real. The author did an amazing job of not making this some cheesy book that's fake. (And can I just give her props for all those Carrie references?? We would be great friends I want to meet her)
The ending was done perfectly. I love endings that make you decide what happens. It's sort of like Eleanor and Park, ya know? (If you've read that book... If not- go read it!!)
Harvey had every right to not want to see Alice. But I believe that Alice's mom finally fixing things with Alice gave her the strength to become better.
This book is so amazing. Just props to the author.
P.s. This book would make an amazing movie...
iceangel32's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this book purely on the title. It wad not at all what I expected. This was a book about a girl that had cancer. She was not a nice girl, she used her friend to get what she wanted. She was dead set on revenge. She sort of knew what love was but could not deal with her feelings. Something major changed and she had to deal with it all.
It was a book about coming to terms with yourself and who you are and who you have and will become. How you have the ability to change even if it is not easy and how some people will always be there in one way or another.
It was a book about coming to terms with yourself and who you are and who you have and will become. How you have the ability to change even if it is not easy and how some people will always be there in one way or another.
annabelleo's review against another edition
1.0
I take notes on everything I read, as I read them. So, even if I don't put a rating in here right away, I know my thoughts on these books. I read this book about a year ago, and I GENUINELY forgot it existed. I had to read my notes, and the book cover to remember a single detail about it. For that, it loses a little bit in the points department, not that it was rated that highly to begin with
bookishmadness's review against another edition
3.0
What I Thought: Side Effects May Vary, for how you feel after reading this book. You may laugh. You may cry. You may scream and shout and pull out your hair. You may be satisfied, or you may not. Side Effects May Vary, in my opinion, is not a book about a girl with cancer. It is not a story about the things she does to get revenge on the enemies in her life. It's not even really about her dealing with the consequences once she finds out she's gone into remission. This is a love story, pure and simple. Yes, it has all of the above stated things, but they are minor parts of a major love story. Had I known that when I started, I may have loved it a lot more than I did. Don't get me wrong, it was a fantastic story, but when I picked it up, expecting a cancer story or a revenge story and got a love story instead, I was kind of disappointed.
Alice is a normal teenage girl, with very normal dramatic teenage problems. Except one day she finds out she has leukaemia, and her life changes. She decides to write a list, a bucket list of sorts, and revenge is at the top of her list. However, she eventually finds out she is in remission, and life starts to go back to normal again - where she has to deal with the consequences of her actions.
Side Effects May Vary is a raw and powerful book, that shows us that every action has a consequence, and that love can be an extremely powerful and haunting force in life. This novel was definitely not what I expected, and not what I hoped for either, but I definitely still think it is one of those YA novels that needs to be read by everyone.
The Good: It has some hilarious moments.
The Bad: As explained in the first paragraph above, it was not what I expected.
Rating: 3 stars
Alice is a normal teenage girl, with very normal dramatic teenage problems. Except one day she finds out she has leukaemia, and her life changes. She decides to write a list, a bucket list of sorts, and revenge is at the top of her list. However, she eventually finds out she is in remission, and life starts to go back to normal again - where she has to deal with the consequences of her actions.
Side Effects May Vary is a raw and powerful book, that shows us that every action has a consequence, and that love can be an extremely powerful and haunting force in life. This novel was definitely not what I expected, and not what I hoped for either, but I definitely still think it is one of those YA novels that needs to be read by everyone.
The Good: It has some hilarious moments.
The Bad: As explained in the first paragraph above, it was not what I expected.
Rating: 3 stars
christiana's review against another edition
2.0
I was cautiously optimistic about this one, but was ultimately left wanting more. The story was well done, but I cared about Alice less and less as the book went on. Alice and the main character from The F-it list would have a lot to talk about. They both have chips on their shoulder.