Side Effects May Vary

by Julie Murphy

First published 2014

Alice receives her leukemia diagnosis at sixteen and decides her remaining time won't be wasted. She recruits her best friend Harvey to help execute a bucket list that targets everyone who has wronged her. Alice approaches each task with fierce determination, settling old scores and confronting people who made her life difficult. She burns bridges and speaks truths she never dared voice before, believing she has nothing left to lose. Then her doctors deliver unexpected news: she's in remission. The cancer that gave her permission to be ruthless is gone, but the damage she caused remains. Alice must now navigate the social wreckage she created, face the people she hurt, and figure out how to live in a world where consequences matter again. Her survival becomes more complicated than her illness ever was.

Genres: fiction, contemporary, young-adult, contemporary-romance

Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking

Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, second-chance

330 pages · Hardcover · Storytide

Content warnings: terminal-illness

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