Side Effects — Amy Goldman Koss

As if it isn't bad enough to have cancer, practically every time we pick up a book or hear about a character in a movie who gets sick, we 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. Isabelle, not quite 15, is living a normal life of fighting with her younger brother, being disgusted with her parents, and hoping to be noticed by a cute guy. Everything changes in an instant when she is diagnosed with lymphoma -- and even her best friend, Kay, thinks Izzy is going to die. But she doesn't, and her humor -- sardonic, sharp, astute -- makes reading this book accessible and actually enjoyable.