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A review by saschadarlington
A Messy, Beautiful Life by Sara Jade Alan
5.0
You don’t expect to find yourself smiling or even laughing when reading a novel about a teen who discovers she has cancer and yet I did both as I read Sara Jade Alan’s A Messy, Beautiful Life. Perhaps the reason why the author so ably writes about the topic is because A Messy, Beautiful Life is based to some extent on her own experiences.
Ellie, for the most part, is a typical teen who is discovering herself in her last year of high school. She’s funny and part of an improv group, which is how she meets Jason, the boy she falls for (literally). Their first meeting is a definite “Meet Cute,” during which I was chuckling and grinning. But this is just that kind of book.
One instant I was laughing and the next I had tears in my eyes when Ellie discovers that her world seems to be falling apart. She’s diagnosed with a cancer that strikes deep inside of her leg bone and can’t be touched by radiation or chemotherapy.
“Ha. Whose bone would you want?”
Thinking about it for a second, I said, “The bone of a ninja.[…] Wouldn’t that be cool? My bone would be sullen and mysterious…and then–ka-pow!–kick the crap out of things.”
Jason’s mother just died of cancer, which makes Ellie feel guilty for inviting him into her life so she decides that it would be better if they call it quits. It’s a hard decision, especially when she likes him so very much.
But Ellie as well as her friends approach this period in her life with humor and enlightenment. And that’s another thing I like about this book. It’s insightful and a little bit magical. The cynics out there might call it hokey, but I was touched by what I was reading and it made me feel better, good even. So I feel completely justified in calling this a feel-good book.
“Most people are so scared of the pain in their life, they do anything they can to avoid it, to not feel what is really there. Ignoring it merely causes a different kind of hurt."
And mostly, I would call this the story of hope, of friends and family who support you, who make you smile and with whom you can laugh when things get rough.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Ellie, for the most part, is a typical teen who is discovering herself in her last year of high school. She’s funny and part of an improv group, which is how she meets Jason, the boy she falls for (literally). Their first meeting is a definite “Meet Cute,” during which I was chuckling and grinning. But this is just that kind of book.
One instant I was laughing and the next I had tears in my eyes when Ellie discovers that her world seems to be falling apart. She’s diagnosed with a cancer that strikes deep inside of her leg bone and can’t be touched by radiation or chemotherapy.
“Ha. Whose bone would you want?”
Thinking about it for a second, I said, “The bone of a ninja.[…] Wouldn’t that be cool? My bone would be sullen and mysterious…and then–ka-pow!–kick the crap out of things.”
Jason’s mother just died of cancer, which makes Ellie feel guilty for inviting him into her life so she decides that it would be better if they call it quits. It’s a hard decision, especially when she likes him so very much.
But Ellie as well as her friends approach this period in her life with humor and enlightenment. And that’s another thing I like about this book. It’s insightful and a little bit magical. The cynics out there might call it hokey, but I was touched by what I was reading and it made me feel better, good even. So I feel completely justified in calling this a feel-good book.
“Most people are so scared of the pain in their life, they do anything they can to avoid it, to not feel what is really there. Ignoring it merely causes a different kind of hurt."
And mostly, I would call this the story of hope, of friends and family who support you, who make you smile and with whom you can laugh when things get rough.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.