The F-It List by Julie Halpern
Pages: 256 
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Source: ARC provided from publisher in exchange for my honest review.
Synopsis from Goodreads:
With her signature heart and humor, Julie Halpern explores a strained friendship strengthened by one girl’s battle with cancer.
Alex’s father recently died in a car accident. And on the night of his funeral, her best friend Becca slept with Alex’s boyfriend. So things aren’t great. Alex steps away from her friendship with Becca and focuses on her family.
But when Alex finally decides to forgive Becca, she finds out something that will change her world again–Becca has cancer.
So what do you do when your best friend has cancer? You help her shave her head. And then you take her bucket list and try to fulfill it on her behalf. Because if that’s all you can do to help your ailing friend–you do it.
Review:
The F-It List is a book that makes me reconsider why I don’t read contemporary more often. I can see that some people may be turned off because of the title or the cancer, but I highly recommend you give this one a try.
The core relationship is between two best friends, Becca and Alex, who are absolutely hysterical together. Every chapter made me laugh, which I didn’t expect from a book with cancer in the plot. In my opinion, The F-It List has one of the best friendships I’ve ever read.
Becca and Alex would do anything for each other, which I love reading about in friendships. This is put to the test when they try and check off the items of Becca’s version of a bucket list. I really don’t want to spoil any of the fun from discovering the items on the list, but they are all funny, immature, insightful, or a crazy combination of them all.
The relationship between Alex and Becca is far from being the only in the story. Alex meets Leo, who helps her deal with all of the crazy events of her life. Their romance was a perfect addition to the novel and a main reason I read this book as fast as I did. Both girls also have difficult relationships with their moms that are portrayed very realistically and complexly.
Some moments I was crying from laughter and others just crying. At times I forgot this was a tale of tragedies, grief, and recovery, but then it would hit me all at once. I felt ALL THE FEELS with this books. The effects of cancer aren’t glorified or romanticized, which made some scenes of the novel even more difficult to read, but were beneficial to the telling of the story.
Overall, I highly recommend getting The F-It List as soon as possible. It’s hilarious and sad and amazing.
In Italics 
Kayla Sanchez
I’m so glad to hear you liked this one – I was declined on NetGalley, but I think I’ll buy a copy for myself. Most everyone I’ve talked to has liked, if not loved it, and these are the types of contemporaries I really fall in love with.
I think it’s really important that illness isn’t made out to be something miraculous or romantic – when it’s real, it hurts more, and you learn something from it.
Arial at In Italics
I certainly recommend buying a copy. I think I am going to buy myself one soon, so I can see the completed version.
I am glad you feel the same way about romanticizing illness. It did make the book hurt more but also be more meaningful. I hope you love this one!
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