Side Effects
by Amy Goldman Koss

    SIDE EFFECTS by Amy Goldman Koss
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 6+
    Release Date:  10/3/06
    Publisher:  Roaring Brook Press
    Reviewed by:  Jennifer Rummel
    Rating:  5 Stars


    Izzy wakes up one morning concerned because her glands are still swollen from a recent sickness--and she soon
    discovers that she has cancer.  She’s placed into a children’s hospital where people come talk to her until she no
    longer hears what they’re talking about. All she can do is concentrate on drawing.

    Her mother is a basket case and Izzy is in shock.

    Now her life has drastically changed. People who were her friends no longer talk to her and people she's never
    talked to are fake around her.  She doesn't quite know how to react, but it's not with the anger her best friend feels.  

    Izzy goes though treatments: the pain, the puking, and the needles, but still never loses her sense of humor.

    SIDE EFFECTS takes a deep look into the medical and emotional roller-coaster of cancer patients. With Izzy, you
    hear the knowledge first-hand, which makes you both laugh and cry.