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84th out of 240 books
—
221 voters
Side Effects
by
Amy Goldman Koss (Goodreads Author)
As if it doesn't suck enough to have cancer, practically every time you pick up books or see movies where characters get sick, you know they'll be dead by the last scene. In reality, kids get all kinds of cancers, go through unspeakable torture and painful treatments, but walk away fine in the end. From the acclaimed author of The Girls and Poison Ivy, Side Effects is abou...more
Hardcover, 144 pages
Published
October 3rd 2006
by Roaring Brook Press
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Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com
Izzy wakes up one morning concerned because her glands are still swollen from a recent sickness--and she soon discovers that she has cancer. She's placed into a children's hospital where people come talk to her until she no longer hears what they're talking about. All she can do is concentrate on drawing.
Her mother is a basket case and Izzy is in shock.
Now her life has drastically changed. People who were her friends no longer talk to her and peo...more
Izzy wakes up one morning concerned because her glands are still swollen from a recent sickness--and she soon discovers that she has cancer. She's placed into a children's hospital where people come talk to her until she no longer hears what they're talking about. All she can do is concentrate on drawing.
Her mother is a basket case and Izzy is in shock.
Now her life has drastically changed. People who were her friends no longer talk to her and peo...more
This tearjerker is an outlier. One look at the cover art and you know you ought to feel inspired. There is a teen girl in cargo pants. She is going to be Real. The human spirit is destined to triumph.
Leave it to me to think this book is a chore.
Funny how this is the first cancer narrative I’ve read that describes in detail the process of chemotherapy. Other tearjerkers mention chemo in passing, skipping ahead to the angst of My First Wig. Other tearjerkers would like to bypass the sickness all...more
Leave it to me to think this book is a chore.
Funny how this is the first cancer narrative I’ve read that describes in detail the process of chemotherapy. Other tearjerkers mention chemo in passing, skipping ahead to the angst of My First Wig. Other tearjerkers would like to bypass the sickness all...more
It all started with a couple of lumps on Izzy's neck. She asks her mom to make a doctor appointment, hoping to get out of school for the day. It turns out to be much more serious than some swollen glands, though, as tests reveal Izzy has lymphoma. Suddenly life is turned upside down, as Izzy learns the ins and outs of hospitals, chemo and myriads of tests. She also has to deal with a continually crying mother, weirded out best friend and slews of caseworkers, doctors and nurses.
The story has a h...more
The story has a h...more
How can the horrific journey of cancer be uplifting and downright funny?
I don't know the scientific formula, but Amy Goldman Koss has done it.
This was a short read and I honestly couldn't put it down. It's amazing to me that a book pretty much solely about one girl's experience with CANCER could be a page-turner, but there it is!
It was as character-driven as a circumstance-plotted book could be. Izzy was sooo much fun to be around; satirical, sarcastic, funny, realistic, artistic. I felt--physic...more
I don't know the scientific formula, but Amy Goldman Koss has done it.
This was a short read and I honestly couldn't put it down. It's amazing to me that a book pretty much solely about one girl's experience with CANCER could be a page-turner, but there it is!
It was as character-driven as a circumstance-plotted book could be. Izzy was sooo much fun to be around; satirical, sarcastic, funny, realistic, artistic. I felt--physic...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Side Effects By: Amy Goldman Koss
I recently finished reading the book Side Effects, by Amy Goldman Koss. It is an inspiring story about a teenage girl named Izzy. Izzy gets diagnosed with lymphoma. It was very surreal for her. This was her story.
What I liked most about this book was how Izzy stayed the same and didn’t let the cancer bring her down. She was a strong person. She made it seem like it was no big deal. She acted as though she was no different from anyone else in the world. She did n...more
I recently finished reading the book Side Effects, by Amy Goldman Koss. It is an inspiring story about a teenage girl named Izzy. Izzy gets diagnosed with lymphoma. It was very surreal for her. This was her story.
What I liked most about this book was how Izzy stayed the same and didn’t let the cancer bring her down. She was a strong person. She made it seem like it was no big deal. She acted as though she was no different from anyone else in the world. She did n...more
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As a middle schooler, I was semi-obsessed with Lurlene McDaniel and her cancer characters. The triumphs when the patients made it, the tragedy when they didn't - I sucked it all up. This novel has a slightly different feel - a little more irreverent, maybe. The main character, Izzy, has a little more sass to her. I would have liked to know more about Izzy before she was diagnosed with lymphoma, just to know where she fit in at school, since a good part of the story focuses on the reactions of he...more
Side Effects Book Review
Side Effects is a book about a girl that finds out that she has a type of cancer called Lymphoma. Her name is Issabella, and she loves to draw. She has a brother named Max, mom, dad and a dog named Pupkin. She starts out with swallon glands so she goes to the doctors to see if they can figur it out. She is sent to the hospital to get xrays done. They send her and her mom home and told them that the doctor will call you back. When they got home they got a phone call, sure...more
Side Effects is a book about a girl that finds out that she has a type of cancer called Lymphoma. Her name is Issabella, and she loves to draw. She has a brother named Max, mom, dad and a dog named Pupkin. She starts out with swallon glands so she goes to the doctors to see if they can figur it out. She is sent to the hospital to get xrays done. They send her and her mom home and told them that the doctor will call you back. When they got home they got a phone call, sure...more
The book Side Effects written by Amy Goldman, teaches us how to deal with problems that occur in out lives. She shares with the readers the life of a teen and what problem occurs in her life. The author then explains to us ways to overcome the problem in your life.
In Side Effects Isabella is diagnosed with cancer, she is a teenage girl in middle school and had just found out she has cancer, what a shock! The author first tells readers she and her family deal with the news, her mother handling...more
In Side Effects Isabella is diagnosed with cancer, she is a teenage girl in middle school and had just found out she has cancer, what a shock! The author first tells readers she and her family deal with the news, her mother handling...more
The only thing keeping this from a fifth star is that by the end, everything feels rushed, like reaching 144 pages would be too much and it had to end on magical #143 and it had to end painfully, fantastically happy.
I don't begrudge the happy, I do find the rushed bit a little vexing because the rest was so good.
I don't begrudge the happy, I do find the rushed bit a little vexing because the rest was so good.
2 likes · like · see review
I've read quite a few "kid with cancer" books, so I wasn't expecting much, but this was different. I've never liked any protagonist in this genre of novel as much as I like Isabelle Miller. She's got this whimsically sarcastic spark about her that really makes her human and easy to relate to. She doesnt contemplate life and death or "what happens if..." she just goes about life as usual, plus the puking and lack of hair.She is not much worried about her own fate but rather works to make sure all...more
1 like · like · see review
A great book about living through the horrors of cancer treatment. This book was written so well, and with such an even blend of humor and poignancy, that the reader really gets of sense that life does, and must go on in spite of the cancer. The protagonist is witty and has a sharp, sarcastic sense of humor that somehow lightens the subject mater to the point that, even though you are reading about a heavy subject, you still laugh out loud many times during the book. I've read reviews that gripe...more
Isabelle, or Izzy as she is know, is going about her regular high school life until in the course of a day, her life changes dramatically. This is the day that she goes to a doctor’s appointment because she has swollen glands and a cold that won’t go away. Even as she leaves the doctor’s office and the hospital, where she goes for a quick test, she and her mother are unaware that anything is wrong. But then the phone rings with news that something is very wrong and she needs to go back to the ho...more
I'm definitely ignorant when it comes to any sort of cancer, so for me, this was a great informational base about lymphoma, with a moderately likable narrator. Izzy's a great, honest narrator, so that was great appreciated. My one complaint, that took this from a five-star read, to a four-- was this. One the sleeve, it talked all about how cancer books never tell what happens to the ones who live, so I got excited about learning about how she went back to being normal after the disease. Unfortun...more
I read Side Effects for a school project, and I loved it. Side Affects is about a fifteen-year-old girl, Izzy, who finds out she has cancer. Lymphoma, to be exact. She's rushed to the Children's hospital, where she starts taking medicine for the cancer, and has to get blood drawn, which, unfortuanly, the nurses always have a hard time finding. They suggest a PICC line, which would help, but Izzy said no, and her parents decided to side with her. The book basically takes the reader through the ca...more
Jun 21, 2010
Jennifer
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
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In the dedication at the front of the book the author writes "And as if it doesn't suck enough to have cancer, practically every time you pick up a book of see movies where characters get sick you know they'll be dead by the last scene. In reality, kids get all kinds of cancers, go through unspeakable torture and painful treatments, but walk away fine in the the end. The book is about that descent into hell, with a safe return. I dedicate it to everyone who has been there and back."
It manages to...more
It manages to...more
1 like · like · see review
Once I started, I couldn't keep away from this book. I needed to read it because I have a couple of friends who have kids who has the same (or similar) thing, and I wanted to understand it better. And I DO now! When I spoke to one of my friends this morning, I was having a hard time thinking about what they are facing starting chemo this week! It's going to be SO hard.
I probably would have given it another star, except that the main charachter had such a foul mouth, and although that may be cons...more
I probably would have given it another star, except that the main charachter had such a foul mouth, and although that may be cons...more
Side effects by Amy Goldman Koss is about a girl named Isabelle who is diagnosed with lymphoma cancer. This book is almost like Isabelle's diary because it tells you how she is handling things, how she's feeling, and how her family is doing. Isabelle hides her fear by being disrespectful to the nurses, doctors, and her family. Isabelle makes a friend with the girl in the bed next to her. Her name is Carrie. Carrie was diagnosed with blood cancer. Carrie helped Isabelle go through her treatments...more
2 likes · like · see review
I want to give this story 4 stars, even 3. But I was so into it, really grooving, loving that this was a story of struggle, survival, narrated by a character with a voice so engaging and so real, I was certain this was an autobiographical story. Then two things: One was that almost towards the middle to last part, we learn that this girl is only in 8th grade. Her voice seemed much older so I was kind of thinking, "Huh. . ." But I let that go. I know plenty of very mature 8th graders. Here is why...more
Aug 19, 2011
stefanyAC1 Alvarado
is currently reading it
Side effects is a really good book. i actually like this book and any types of book that talk about a real life situation and although this ia a fiction just a story it tells something about life. The chapter I am on is talking about how isabelle, the main character, is at the childrens hospital getting her checkup, checking her blood and trying to see how they can help her with her cancer. Right now isabelle doesnt really care that she has cancer she acts like it doesnt really matter, but im g...more
As a volunteer for the children's hospital, I'm often around pediatric oncology patients. I've always prided myself on my people-first approach to interacting with all the children at the hospital, but I particularly enjoyed reading a narrative that was both engaging and honest. Side Effects is fiction that gave me a better perspective on what children and teens often experience-confusion, anger, hopelessness, hope and possibility. Grief, illness, death...these are all non-linear aspects of life...more
**SPOILER ALERT**
Alright, I won't really give away what happens, but I have to say ,I am somewhat disappointed with this book.
After reading The Fault In Our Stars and The Probability of Miracles (I'm on a bit of a kick for this type of novel), I had higher expectations for this story. It started out well, giving a unique readers perspective on the life and experiences of a cancer patient, but from there, just fell off. The book was not "slow" so to speak, in the beginning; I enjoyed that the au...more
Alright, I won't really give away what happens, but I have to say ,I am somewhat disappointed with this book.
After reading The Fault In Our Stars and The Probability of Miracles (I'm on a bit of a kick for this type of novel), I had higher expectations for this story. It started out well, giving a unique readers perspective on the life and experiences of a cancer patient, but from there, just fell off. The book was not "slow" so to speak, in the beginning; I enjoyed that the au...more
This book was very inspirational to me because it showed me how no matter what she went through she still didnt fall like everyone expected her to. she was struggilng to make everyon around her happy and make it normal for EVERYONE but not her. It's amazing that she could go through the whole chemothereapy thing and not even cry it amazes me because i know i would have been weak the very moment i heard i had cancer. Cancer showed her who her real freinds were. I truly enjoyed reading this book.
Side Effects takes you through the journey of Isabelle discovering she has cancer and then through her treatment. There is definite emotion, but it is not as overwhelming as it could have been. This is written well for middle school and high school kids. It deals less with the medical side and more with the real life concerns of kids that age such as whether her crush knows about her lymphoma, having to go to school and do homework, and dealing with people's stares. At some points it feels a lit...more
Reading about painful chemo treatments and the after effects is difficult, especially when I know many people who have gone through that excruciating process. But Ms. Koss handled the topic with humor while pulling no punches about what cancer can do to the sufferer, those her love her, and even hangers on who try to capitalize on her situation. Izzy, her family, and friends are the people next door finding their way through the maze of disease and coming out okay at the end.
This book was wow. Thats the word I use to describe it. It was funny, emotanal, and crazy. I loooooooooved the character Izzy omg like she was the only person that I almost really liked. She is so brave and powerful and doesn't give a dog's but about what people say about her. The only dissapointing part in this book to me was that Izzy and Jared didn't get to go out out all I could have said was darn. But otherwise this book was an awaker amd I loved it to death.
I had read this book before, maybe a year ago. Then when Anna's friend Megan got diagnosed with cancer in her knee, I thought it would be good for Anna to read to see what Megan will be going through. I had to do some research to find it, but I finally found it at the Johnston library. Anna read it in one day. The book is a very frank, matter-of-fact description of a girl's experience with chemo - hair falling out, vomiting, etc. No sugar-coating.
Izzy is a normal teen with a sarcastic flair and artistic talent. When she's diagnosed with lymphoma her entire family is affected and Izzy's left not knowing how to act or think. I love how she refuses to be cliche with her disease and fights against all the sap and fear her mother slides into and instead approaches her cancer with strength, a sense of humor and a realistic wit. The ending was a bit pat, but other than that I loved this book.
A cancer book where no one dies? What?
No, actually, this is a really good book. The main character has a strong voice she keeps throughout, and her observations are both snarky and real. It's a quick read (at least for me), but doesn't pull punches about the bad stuff (feeling like an outsider, people acting strangely, puking one's guts out for six months).
All in all, a good book.
4/5 on here, 8/10 for myself
No, actually, this is a really good book. The main character has a strong voice she keeps throughout, and her observations are both snarky and real. It's a quick read (at least for me), but doesn't pull punches about the bad stuff (feeling like an outsider, people acting strangely, puking one's guts out for six months).
All in all, a good book.
4/5 on here, 8/10 for myself
I must say I loved this book and the main character, for her sarcasm and pessimism to the world who tries so hardly to baby her way through her cancer. Every one changes their view of her except for her little brother who never really believed she had cancer in his innocence. In the end it is revealed she too never fully believed it either and that is why she acted with such calmness and casualty.
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“The other shoppers were too well behaved to stare at the green-headed stoner and the tear-streaked lady zigzagging up the aisles with a chubby bearded guy scurrying behind them picking up the things they dropped.”
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