wownew

Waiting on Wednesday weekly event that spotlights upcoming-releases that bloggers are most excited about. This week’s I-can’t-wait book is: Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy. Side Effects will be released on March 18, 2014 by HarperCollins.

About the Book

What if you’d been living your life as if you were dying—only to find out that you had your whole future ahead of you?

When sixteen-year-old Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, her prognosis is grim. To maximize the time she does have, she vows to spend her final months righting wrongs—however she sees fit. She convinces her friend Harvey, whom she knows has always had feelings for her, to help her with a crazy bucket list that’s as much about revenge (humiliating her ex-boyfriend and getting back at her arch nemesis) as it is about hope (doing something unexpectedly kind for a stranger and reliving some childhood memories). But just when Alice’s scores are settled, she goes into remission.

Now Alice is forced to face the consequences of all that she’s said and done, as well as her true feelings for Harvey. But has she done irreparable damage to the people around her, and to the one person who matters most?

Julie Murphy’s SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY is a fearless and moving tour de force about love, life, and facing your own mortality.

Harvey laughed to himself in a sad way and rubbed his eyes. “You want me to help you with a list of things you won’t disclose to me.” He leaned forward and bit the skin around his thumb. “Classic.”
“You won’t regret it.”
“But—”
“Harvey,” I said, my voice low. “Trust me.”
I knew what this looked like. It looked like I was using Harvey. But here was the reality of the situation: the minute my life went from semi-permanent to most likely temporary, I decided to latch on to everything in my world that had always been permanent, and for me, Harvey was so permanent he was concrete.(From Goodreads.com)

Why I’m Waiting

There’s just something about this book that sounds so amazing. I’ve read a lot of books about coming to terms with your death, but what happens when you come to terms and then survive? I can’t believe I have to wait until March to read this! And Julie’s already got another awesome book deal in the works, so now I’ve got TWO of her books to wait for.

About the Author

From the author’s website:

I love pocket change, but I like to keep it in a jar, and not in my pocket. When I was little, I was on a bowling league. Moxie is my favorite word. If I won the lottery, the first thing I would buy would be a photo booth. I like outerspace. I believe in karma. I’m terrified of cicadas. I love school. I don’t pick up my house phone. I like getting mail. I’m the funniest person you know. 2+2=5. I live in Texas with my husband who loves me, my dog who adores me, and my cat who tolerates me. Baseball aficionado. Professional potty mouth obsessed with movie trailers. And movies, too. And books. DUH. Let’s be friends.

I am represented by Molly Jaffa of Folio Literary Management. She’s the cat’s meeeeeoooooow.

Come visit me over at The Fourteenery and OneFour KidLit where I contribute with fellow 2014 debuts.