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    Side Effects May Vary
    Side Effects May Vary
    Side Effects May Vary
    Audiobook9 hours

    Side Effects May Vary

    Written by Julie Murphy

    Narrated by Cassandra Campbell and Kirby Heyborne

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The first book from Julie Murphy, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin'—now a Netflix feature film starring Danielle Macdonald and Jennifer Aniston, with a soundtrack by Dolly Parton!

    For fans of John Green and Rainbow Rowell comes this powerful novel about a girl with cancer who creates a take-no-prisoners bucket list that sets off a war at school—only to discover she's gone into remission.

    When sixteen-year-old Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, she vows to spend her final months righting wrongs. So she convinces her best friend, Harvey, to help her with a crazy bucket list that's as much about revenge as it is about hope.

    But just when Alice's scores are settled, she goes into remission, and now she must face the consequences of all she's said and done.

    Contemporary realistic fiction readers who love romantic stories featuring strong heroines will find much to savor in this standout debut.

    Editor's Note

    Unexpected & brutally honest...

    In this non-tragic (yes! It’s possible!) cancer story, Murphy has added a twist to the Kids with Cancer trope. Alice’s brutally honest reaction to finding out she’ll live is what touched me most while listening.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMar 18, 2014
    ISBN9780062299888
    Side Effects May Vary
    Author

    Julie Murphy

    Julie Murphy splits her time between North Texas and Kansas with her husband, who loves her, and her cats, who tolerate her. When Julie isn’t writing, she can be found watching movies so bad they're good, hunting for the perfect slice of cheese pizza, or planning her next great travel adventure. She is the author of the middle grade novels Dear Sweet Pea and Camp Sylvania as well as the young adult novels Ramona Blue, Side Effects May Vary, the Faith series, Pumpkin, Puddin’, and Dumplin’ (now a Netflix original film).

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    Reviews for Side Effects May Vary

    3.5/5

    120 ratings16 reviews

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    • 4/5
      great story line.... character development should be a little stronger in the beginning. overall I loved the non linear structure which revealed the narrative in a beautiful way
    • 4/5
      teen fiction (terminal illnesses that turn out not to be terminal; teens making tough choices; really horrific examples of highschool bullying). A quick read with all of those raw teenage emotions.
    • 5/5
      Alice is resigned to her fate - she is dying of leukemia at 16 years old. However, before the inevitable happens, there are things she wishes to accomplish, including acts of revenge, so with the help of Harvey, the boy who has always loved her, she acts. Then she goes into remission. This is where it gets really interesting - how do you now live with all that you have done before thinking you would not have to deal with the results of all that you did? I love this author's work.
    • 4/5
      Love the fresh take on a teenager with cancer. I also love how she didn't make the protagonist so innocent.
    • 2/5
      I have read John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, and I want to preface this review by saying this book is nothing like it. Side Effects May Vary is about Alice finding out she has cancer and decides to create a to-do/bucket list which consists of revenge and last ditch efforts of happiness. However, a little more than a year later she is in remission and is looking at having a future that is more permanent than semi-temporary. Throughout the book Alice's best friend, Harvey, helps her finish the list. Harvey, though, is in love with Alice. I enjoyed this book because it was completely different from the typical cancer book. Not saying those books are bad, this one was just a refreshing read. I will admit I was annoyed with Alice a lot during the book, she was selfish, bitchy, and cynical. Whether that had to do with the cancer, her finding out, at the beginning of the book, that her mom is having an affair, or maybe even both. And this is why I love this book and why it's become one of my favorites because Alice has this awful disease but life isn't perfect and having a disease doesn't make you this perfect person. Alice's personality doesn't change until close to the end of the book. Her behavior isn't excused but she does realize she needs to change. Alice doesn't act like a brave, upbeat person, she is still a girl who doesn't know what she wants and acts like a typical teenager around her parents.

      Harvey, surprisingly, annoyed me. I had read some reviews and people loved Harvey and wanted better for him. I did not like Harvey. Harvey and Alice's relationship is fucked up, mostly due to Alice's treatment of him. She strung him along, manipulated him, and was just plain awful. Harvey went along with it because he was in love with Alice. Alice only wanted to be with Harvey when her health was bad because she wouldn't be there for the fallout. Her heart could stay in tact. Their relationship was unhealthy and Harvey was in love with the idea of Alice, not Alice herself. Harvey needed to work through this himself and I'm glad Murphy had him realize this when he saw her dancing again.
      "I'd always known Alice, but in the last year and a half I'd seen every piece of her under a magnifying glass. Her flaws, her strengths, her vulnerabilities. She spun, spotting herself in the mirror, as she kicked her leg out and gained momentum with each turn. I loved her because I didn't know how to stop, but she wasn't on this pedestal anymore."
      However, part of me did not want them to be together because of how the relationship was throughout the book. I am glad that both realized they needed to change before they could truly be together.
      One of my favorite scenes is at the end when Alice and her mother, Bernie, finally start working through their feelings. Bernie also admits to Alice the reason for the affair was because she wanted to have control back.
      "Choosing to be with someone else gave me some of the control back. And then you got sick, and I realized life was going to do whatever the hell it wanted and the control we think we have is a facade."
      I am like Alice and Bernie. I need that control in my life. I have grown up watching screwed up marriages and never wanting one like that. I wanted to protect myself, my heart, like Alice and I wanted to have control like Bernie. But life is a fucking mess that may not work out exactly like we want. Alice's cancer took choices of the future out of her hands for a year and gave her the start to live her life freely, openly, bravely without cares or consequences. Not that we should act out and reenact the Carrie scene on someone we hate. A truly unique perspective on what happens when our life goes from somewhat permanent to a definite expiration date back to being permanent. And realizing that the beauty in life is the unpredictability and the fact that we don't have control over anything.
    • 4/5
      Side Effects May Vary is written in third person and switches point of view between the two main characters, Alice & Charlie. In addition to this, it moves back and forth through time. Unlike many books that follow this model, I found that this was NOT at all confusing in this book. In fact, it worked!

      Even so this book was very difficult for me. I found the main character, Alice, extremely hard to like. It would not be an exaggeration to say I hated her. I didn't understand her motives or her goals. I didn't feel sympathy for her. I just didn't like her.

      Charlie, the main male character in the book, and Alice's steadfast friend despite the fact that, for the most part, she's a self-centered brat, is easier to like. But his devotion to Alice and his angst over her is equally as frustrating as Alice's personality.

      My big criticism of this book is Alice's inability to admit that she is in love with Charlie. While this is a believable plotline for some characters, for Alice there is absolutely no reason in her background that would suggest that she has been so traumatized as to be unable to love or to admit that she's in love. She is raised as a beloved only child, who seems to have fairly normal relationships with both her parents (there is tension between her mother and herself but not enough to warrant her being so broken when it comes to the romance department). With no understandable reason for not being a normal teenager (no horrible past relationships where she's been irrevocably hurt, no childhood traumas ... nothing) I struggled for most of this book to find something to like about Alice.

      In the end, this book evoked such strong emotions from me, I left with admitting that it had to be a good book. Whether you love or hate something, when it drives you nuts while reading it, it must be a good read.
    • 3/5
      To read a book about a dying girl who isn't declaring her love to her childhood sweetheart is so refreshing until I hit the part about where she's practically abusing his feelings for her.
      Alice has leukemia and when we hear that word we think "oh no how much time does she have?" so naturally she thinks the same way. There's a heart warming Hallmark Movie moment where she tells Harvey that he's her favorite or some other cutesy thing like that because it's her way of telling him the L word without actually saying it. So when out of the blue her doctor calls the family to meet him she's glad she let Harvey know before the end. Of course this is the case until he has good news or bad depending on who you ask. This book is about The After, what happens when the dying girl is no longer dying and she has a miraculous recovery. It could be a story of self loathing, epic romance, or inspirational You Can Do It! Hallmark Movie moment. This is none of those and that's what kept me reading.
      Alice is horrible, a terrible friend, a selfish person and most importantly an angry girl. As soon as she caught her mother having that affair and having a bigger reaction to that more than her cancer diagnosis I had a feeling she wasn't going to be your typical go getter character. If you can't accept the fact that she makes most people's lives miserable this isn't a book you should be reading. I won't lie she had me feeling angry and upset for lashing out at those who tried to help her but then stopped to realize that it was because that reaction hit a little too close to home. There are plenty of people who become worse people when faced with death and Alice is one of them. Yet you can't help but sympathize with her.
      This isn't a romance book, this isn't a feel good book, this book is meant to give you angry tears and question how you would react when death comes looking for you. It was a well written story but Harvey had me rolling my eyes every time he let Alice do whatever with him. I don't mean this in a bad way but I'd like to forget about what I read because I see this kind of behavior often enough.
    • 3/5
      She's got cancer. He never had a chance before; he was just a friend. But now things have changed.

      And then she doesn't have cancer. And things change again.

      A gentle little YA story full of high school drama with a bit of romance.
    • 3/5
      This book wasn't bad, but I found it very disjointed and difficult to follow. Not only was it told from both Alice and Harvey's point of view (which I enjoyed) but it jumped between the present and twelve months earlier. I think the book would have been better if the author had written it in two parts - the first being "Then" and the latter "Now", but still had Harvey and Alice telling their stories. While I loved Harvey, he was such a sweet, caring soul, Alice annoyed me. You would think that after being given a second chance of life she would be more grateful. Instead was selfish, vindictive, self-absorbed and so horribly cruel to Harvey. Also, I am truly over teenagers with cancer - John Green has a lot to answer for!
    • 4/5
      Alice is a contradictory character - only willing to risk herself when she feels there is no chance to be hurt. It was hard to watch the destructive things she did in order to protect herself - but very rewarding to see her finally take a chance and be vulnerable. It's a tough lesson to learn - that the best things only come when we are willing to take the risk.
    • 3/5
      Source: Won this in a giveaway from The Hanging Garden.
      Rating: 3/5 stars
      Recommended?: Yes, though I found the double narrators unnecessary.

      Review:

      SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY is told in chapters that vary between Alice's and Harvey's points of view, and alternates between present day and right around her diagnosis. While it was interesting to see different scenes from their points of view, their character voices were very similar. It was hard to connect with the characters, in part because they did sound so much alike, and therefore didn't feel real because of that similarity.

      I loved how manipulative Alice is, how twisted up in her own needs and fears. The way she lashed out felt very real, and while it may be hard to read, her emotions come through strong and almost uncontrollable and wonderfully terrible.

      The part that rang truest for me was her response to making remission, and everyone's joy contrasted to her darker emotions. Remission does not mean cured, and to have lived life knowing you had a short expiration date, only to be told you had more time and for everyone around you to treat you as if you're completely cured, nothing to worry about ever again -- that would fuck with your head, and Murphy captures that well in Alice. She's hurt and mad and confused and scared, and I love that about her.

      What I didn't like was the shared narrative, because the voices were too similar, and I didn't feel like Harvey brought a lot to the story. His passivity annoyed me, but mostly, I felt like the different chapters rehashed the same pieces of information. I don't think we got enough fresh storytelling out of Harley's scenes to make the similar voices and shared narration work for me.

      There were some pacing issues throughout, particularly in the "then" sections showing us Alice's diagnosis and what she did. Every time the pace of the story seemed to pick up and I thought I wouldn't be able to put it down, there was a narrator switch or a timeline switch, and I was jolted out of the story again.

      Overall, an enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to reading more of Murphy's work.
    • 4/5
      If you just read the back cover, you might assume that this book is just a rip-off of "The Fault in Our Stars". Let me assure you... NOPE! Very different book! Alice is diagnosed with cancer and has a very short time to live according to her doctors. She has a bucket list but also a list of those who have hurt her. She wants revenge! Be patient and stick with it - this book is definitely worth your time!
    • 4/5
      At first I thought this novel was an attempt to write something like John Green’s A Fault in Our Stars, but it isn’t trying to be that at all. If anything I’m reminded of Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver where you really don’t like the narrator yet keep wishing she’ll change. Side Effects May Vary is a realistic fiction novel about a not-nice girl who gets even with two people only to discover that she’s going to live and now has to live with the consequences.

      When the novel first starts, the shifting points of view between Harvey and Alice and the shifting time between Now and Then is jarring. You also start in the middle of the story, which is confusing. Once you get what’s going on, you sink into the book and easily and avidly follow to the end.

      Alice skips school and comes to her house with her boyfriend only to find that her mother beat her there and is having an affair. In anger, Alice wishes something really bad would happen to wipe this affair away. One month later, Alice is diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. To be honest, it’s hard to feel sorry for Alice because she’s not nice at all. She doesn’t even seem to care that she’s dying. When her boyfriend tells Alice’s enemy about her mom, Alice dumps him and vows vengeance against both.

      Enter Harvey. Alice has always loved Harvey and he is a really nice guy. She’s cut him out of her life over the last several years; however, after being diagnosed, she only wants him. For the last year of her life, Harvey stays by Alice’s side and even helps her with her vengeance. Alice does not deserve Harvey, but he loves her even knowing that she’s cruel, mean, and selfish.

      After a year, Alice goes into a miracle remission and she doesn’t know what to do with Harvey. She loves him, but his permanence scares her, so she pushes him away. Yes, she’s mean about it. The whole time you’re reading the book, you want Alice to have an epiphany, a moment when she chooses goodness and treats people nicely, which keeps you reading! I really liked the book and think it’ll be a popular book. I don’t think 6th graders will find the content interesting, but I think 8th grade girls will really like the novel.
    • 4/5
      Side Effects May Vary was a wonderful book. After seeing mixed ratings, I was hesitant when approaching the story. However, I really enjoyed this book!!! It was intense, with flawed but realistic and memorable characters.

      The book is separated into "Then" and "Now" chapters. I really enjoyed both of the forms. The "Now" chapters were, to me, the most emotional and unpredictable parts of the book. However, the "Then" chapter gave me lots of gimme-more backstory on the characters. Also, it was really interesting to see how Alice, the main character, dealt with cancer in the "Then" chapters.

      I am going to shock a lot of people and say that I loved Alice's character. Would I want to be her friend? No. Does she deserve Harvey? Definitely not in some parts of the book. However, people in real life are not perfect, especially a teen who thought she only had a few months to live. Alice was a fresh character and I couldn't help but like her. She is occasionally mean and quite controlling, yet you can tell she really cares for Harvey and others.

      Harvey was a really sweet guy. That said, he let Alice completely walk all over him. In the beginning, I kind of wanted him to to just stand up for himself! That said, his niceness was part of his charm, and I loved his chapters almost as much as Alice's.

      Overall, this book was gripping and totally fresh. Fans of heavy contemporary will not want to put this novel down. I know I couldn't take my eyes of my kindle! The story and characters will stay with me for a long time.

      *I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.*

      4/5 Stars
    • 4/5
      3.75
      I wanted to read Side Effects May Vary because I am a sucker for an emotional book. Anything about cancer or illness just screams my name and I have never really been able to put a finger on it besides the fact that I am a reader, and we all have things that push our buttons.
      Side Effects May Vary is told in dual perspective, from Alice the main character with cancer who suddenly finds out she is in a miraculous remission. And also from Harvey, the boy who has love her forever, and helps her with her Dying to do list. They grew up together so the dynamics between them are complicated especially since they grew apart in high school. Alice got a jock boyfriend who she later found out things about and Harvey pretty much just stayed the same. But when Alice finds out she is sick, Harvey is the first person she goes to. At times, it was hard for me to still even really like and respect Alice though because when she found out she was in remission, we don't get her side of it, and she starts avoiding Harvey. I think that she often really takes advantage of Harvey, knowing his feelings for her, and she just takes him along for the ride. But as I continued reading about her, I realized that it was all defensive. Due to her personality and some of the things she'd seen in her life, she is afraid of feelings and commitments, so while I still don't agree with how mean she is and how she takes advantage of her close relationship with Harvey, I understand. I also see some character growth in her, that she realizes what she's doing, and that she isn't the person she wants to be inside. The transformation was so slow, especially when she is given a new lease on life, and nothing has an expiration date anymore.
      That is the other thing about Side Effects May Vary, it is told in the then and the now, with the now starting right before she found out that she was in remission. So, in some of the time we get Alice's then while Harvey's now and I didn't really know why she was avoiding except maybe fear and not knowing what to do with herself with time she thought she would not have. At one point she said a really profound thing about she had come to terms with being sick and dying and now the future and the not knowing was completely overwhelming to her. The then and now was a good format for this though because we see how things are and also what happened to lead Alice and Harvey to that point.
      Overall, I really liked their romance, they had a lot of history and chemistry, and I knew that what they felt was strong even if at times, neither of them went about it in the right way. But I think that Alice's fear of committment was really drawn out and it took a lot for her to get around it. Here's a great example of her voice and how she would tell the truth to Harvey, which made me feel a little less sorry for him at times, because Alice didn't lie about what she was dealing with and he knew her personality.
      “You freak the shit out of me, Harvey. I don’t get it—how you can feel like there are no consequences for living with your feelings on your sleeve. Because there are, you know. There are consequences so horrible, and I wish I could ignore them like you can—the feelings and their consequences. I wish it didn’t matter to me.”
      I like the other touches in the book, such as Alice's dancing, her rivalry with Celeste, as well as Harvey's relationship with his mom and the extension of his piano playing and getting his independence through quitting and getting a job.
      Side Effects May Vary was different from what I expected, and while I flew through the book, it wasn't the emotional hard hitter in the way that I thought it would be. There is still some ups and downs, but it is more a look at the lives of two people, seeing how they deal with illness, family issues, and their long standing friendship and feelings of love and not knowing what to do with it. Another thing that I had an issue with was her miraculous intermission. One day she was at death's door and the next, the doctor told her she was in remission. But I could mostly ignore it for the unique angle it gave on the book--about how cancer's presence or lack of could really effect people.
      But I do think that it is a neat angle to take on the whole sick girl theme. That she was ready to die and then all of the sudden healthy and life being thrown at her quickly. She is having to think about college, and what she wants for her life, and also facing some of the consequences from her dying to do list. Which were pretty epic and also some cruel. She says and acts in some ways, and it was hard to see how it effected Harvey and she had no idea. But the girls in this were some serious mean girls and boy. They received it but also dished it back out in some pretty horrific ways. But it really showed some big growth in Harvey when he stood up to her about it and gave her a choice and walked away, leaving things on her court.
      The ending was good for the story, and it showed that Alice really was changing and trying to do things the right way, not only to get Harvey, but for herself and for her family. It showed Harvey standing up for himself despite being hurt and still loving Alice. And it gave a glimpse of what their happily ever afters could look like without knotting the bow and making into some epic series that follows their lives.

      Bottom Line: Good book that shows Alice getting a new lease on life and her love story with Harvey, the boy who was and always is in love with her.
    • 3/5
      Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

      Quick & Dirty: An emotional book about second chances and living life to fullest. I had a hard time with the protagonist, but overall it was a good read.

      Opening Sentence: If ever my parents gave me a religion, it was the gospel of honesty.

      The Review:

      What would you do if you found out you had terminal cancer and only had maybe a year left to live? Well, sixteen year old Alice just found out she has leukemia, and she has a bucket list she wants to complete before she dies. She recruits her old best friend, Harvey, to help her out. Her list isn’t just about doing things she doesn’t want to miss out on, it is also about getting revenge on all those who have wronged her. She goes to extreme measures to fulfill her bucket list and when everything is finally complete, she goes into remission.

      What would you do if you got a second chance at life? This is the terrifying question Alice is now faced with. She never thought about the future because she didn’t think she had one. Now she has to live with the consequences of her actions in the last year, and she doesn’t know if she can handle it. She may have done too much damage to repair her life, and she may push away the only person she has ever truly loved.

      Alice was an extremely frustrating character. I get that she has had a really hard year, but honestly, from the very beginning she was kind of bratty and it just got worse. She would take baby steps to start redeeming herself and then she would do something so annoying that I would like her less than I did in the first place. She is getting a second chance at life and all she can do is feel sorry for herself, when she put herself in the situation by living her last year not the way she should have. She was weak and petty, which made it really hard for me to sympathize with her. So for me, I really wasn’t a fan of Alice.

      Harvey on the hand was my favorite part of the book. He is such a great guy who was there for Alice no matter how awful she was. His love for her was unconditional and so sweet. Harvey is one of those people that you wish could be a part of your life because once you are in his life, no matter what you do, he will always care about you. But he’s not a weak character either, he’s not afraid to stand up for himself when he’s had enough. I loved Harvey and thought that he deserved way better than Alice.

      Side Effects May Vary was a very emotional book and it deals with the touchy subject of cancer. The book altered between Alice and Harvey’s POV. It also switched from present day to a year ago when Alice was first diagnosed with cancer. I liked this setup because it helped the book flow really well and it never seemed to drag. I liked the message that was portrayed and felt that it was delivered very well. Overall, this was an interesting read and if I had liked the protagonist better, I think this would have been a great book. I look forward to reading more books from this author, I think she has a lot of potential.

      Notable Scene:

      Mom doubled back to me and ushered me forward, nudging me with the tips of her fingers at the small of my back. I knew what she wanted, so I played along. It had been quite a while since I had made nice for Mom and Dad, and now it looked like there would be some making up to do. I reached up to pat Dr. Meredith on the shoulder and thank him, but he pulled me into a bear hug instead. The sweat seeped through his dress shirt, and I wanted to pull away, but I didn’t. because if I did, my parents would have seen the few tears rolling down my cheeks and onto Dr. Meredith’s lab coat. I’d grown so used to the terms of my life—the conditions—that now I didn’t know how to tell the difference between the good and the bad. But I knew, unless the cancer came back, that I was going to live. Now, I had to decide who and what I could live with.

      FTC Advisory: Balzer + Bray/HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Side Effects May Vary. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.