The F- It List by Julie Halpern Book Review

I was recently given the book The F- It List by Julie Halpern, along with many others, by my friend's mom who works with a publishing company.  This happened to be the first book from the pile that I decided to begin reading and it took me only three days to do so.  Before I start to give you my opinion (spoiler free) on the book, I included the synopsis below so that you have an idea about what the storyline is. 

"Alex and Becca have always been best friends. But when Becca does something nearly unforgivable at Alex’s dad’s funeral, Alex cuts ties with her and focuses on her grieving family. Time passes, and Alex finally decides to forgive Becca. Then she’s hit with another shocker: Becca has cancer. It also turns out Becca has a bucket list, one she doesn’t know she’ll be able to finish now. That’s where Alex comes in, along with a mysterious and guarded boy who just may help Alex check a few items off her own bucket list. Julie Halpern writes about illness, loss, love, and friendship with candor and compassion. Here is an unforgettable book about living fully, living authentically, and just . . . living." (via barnesandnoble.com) 

Although there Becca is a main character who has cancer, I felt this book wasn't a 'cancer book'.  Yes, it is discussed throughout the novel, and yes, you see the struggles of someone going through chemo therapy, but that wasn't the focus of the novel.  The focus was living and doing things that were written on the Becca's bucket list and truly living life.  

If you're someone who dislikes reading something that has sexual content, although not explicit in this novel, I wouldn't recommend this book for you.  There are a few scenes in which these things are either discussed or occurring, but as I said, it is not explicit enough to make the novel inappropriate.  There is also a fair amount of language in the book, so again if this is something that bothers you, you may not enjoy the book to its extent. 

Neither of what I have written above bother me, so I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I think it was a good read and kept me interested.  Not only was I wondering what would happen to Becca, but I was also wondering what would happen between Alex, Becca's best friend, and Leo, Alex's love interest in the novel.  Another important thing when I'm reading a novel is that I see character development.  You can definitely see Alex's character change throughout the book, and I think that's very important. It adds interest and personality.  Alex is a snarky, slightly dark, horror movie loving teenager who doesn't enjoy cute and romantic things, while Becca on the other hand contrasts to that in that she loves romance and sweet love notes, yet she's a bit of a pervert.  It allows the reader to connect to the characters in some way.  I found that I connected to both characters in certain ways, and the story being told from Alex's point of view was enjoyable and interesting. 

The book is also very well written.  I find that with some novels, there are things that are overly explained or focused on too much, but this book balanced everything out.  The language in the book also made it sound like it was truly from the point of view of a teenager, rather than an adult writing as a teenager.  Overall I'd give The F- It List 4/5 stars.  If you're looking for a good read that will keep you interested and enjoy young adult novels, this is definitely a book you'd want to check out.