Izzy would have never guessed that, on that morning, the lump in her throat would lead her straight to the hospital. In side effects, by Amy Goldman Koss, a fifteen year old named Izzy Miller, was as normal as any other fifteen-year old girl, until she started to get sick and didn’t know why. Her mom suggested that they go to the doctor. After they did a few tests, Izzy and her mom were sent to Children’s Hospital across the road where Izzy was told the terrifying truth about the lump in her throat. She had lymphoma, a type of cancer. At school and all throughout the town she was now known as “the cancer kid,” and was no longer a “normal teenage girl”. She was in the hospital all the time and went through awful treatment that has some, side effects.

The conflict in this story is person vs. fate. She is fighting off her death, cancer. Her body had to work really hard to try and kill the cancer. So the conflict in this book is definitely person vs. fate. I absolutely love this book! I was incredible and inspiring. Everything made me want to keep reading! Koss’s voice, and the way she organized the words really pulled you in. I would recommend this book to almost anyone, but mostly people around fifteen because that is how old Izzy is. I give it a thumbs up!