Side Effects

December 11, 2006
At once acerbic and warm-hearted, Koss's (The Girls
) novel offers a first-person account of a 14-year-old's grueling ordeal after she is diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin's lymphoma. In an introductory note, the author remarks that many "kids get all kinds of cancers, go through unspeakable torture and painful treatments, but walk away fine in the end." Though Koss lets readers know in advance that Izzy will pull through, the teen's candid, often comical narrative will involve them deeply in her adjustment to the drastic changes that come with her illness and treatment. Often sarcastic and glib, Izzy, diagnosed in the first chapter, delves into the details of her chemotherapy and its devastating side effects, including hair loss, mouth sores, rashes and shooting arm pain. ("Was it necessary that I have every
possible side effect from chemotherapy? Couldn't I just skip a few?" she wonders.) When Izzy returns to school, she uses humor to cope with her peers' awkward, over-friendly attitude toward her, commenting that there was "something spooky and science-fictiony" about "all this smiling and nodding and helloing." Koss interjects many poignant moments, including Izzy's dread of continuing her "chemo nightmare." The teen's thoroughly likable and uplifting best friend plays an enormous role in helping Izzy to remain positive and avoid self-pity. This tale will certainly open readers' eyes to the tribulations of young cancer patients and how to offer support. Ages 11-up.

September 1, 2006
Gr 6-10 -A problem novel that -s nicely paced and easy to read. Ultra-normal teenager Izzy learns that she has stage IV Hodgkins lymphoma. She undergoes standard treatments, withstands her newfound pity-popularity at school, leans on her best friend, and grows in her understanding of her mother. She narrates with a relatively light, joke-cracking tone as her ballpoint pen doodles cartoon jibes at the things making her uncomfortable. Throughout, readers see how the teen -s condition affects her loving family and supportive best friend. Reassured by the preface, they will have no fear of Izzy -s recovery. Rather, the story focuses in great detail on her treatments and how she gets through them, holding out for a future in which she will have -long, braided hair - and a boyfriend who can deal with serious stuff like cancer. Readers witness every hospital visit, every injection -everything that goes in, and the color of what comes out (with some spectacular pukes). The book has realistically typical teenage characters and apparently solid research into various Children -s Hospital patients and their treatments, but it -s not too heavy, complex, or long." -Rhona Campbell, Chevy Chase Neighborhood Library, Washington, DC"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2006
Fourteen-year-old Isabella is a typical teenager. She is concerned with friends, school, and gaining weight until the fateful morning that she discovers the enlarged glands in her neck. With the subsequent diagnosis of stage-four Hodgkin's lymphoma, she enters the netherworld of cancer: IVs, PICC lines (which she refuses), chemotherapy, hair loss, nausea and more nausea, and even medical marijuana. It's a harsh, realistic story of teen cancer, one that author Koss describes in her introduction as Issy's "descent into hell, with a safe return." Chronicling the appearance, disappearance, and rearrangement of friends, which will remind readers of Cynthia Voigt's " Izzy Willy-Nilly "(1986), as well as the overwhelming side effects as the chemo takes its toll, Koss refuses to glamorize Issy's illness or treatment. Instead, she settles for an honesty and frankness that will both challenge and enlighten readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)