I was so excited to read Sick Kids in Love. So excited that I bought the book during National Novel Writing Month when I had absolutely no time to read. And then I promptly loaned it out, never to be seen again.
Biggest mistake of my life? No, but it ranks up there pretty high.
“Isabel has one rule: no dating.
It’s easier―
It’s safer―
It’s better―
―for the other person.
She’s got issues. She’s got secrets. She’s got rheumatoid arthritis.
But then she meets another sick kid.
He’s got a chronic illness Isabel’s never heard of, something she can’t even pronounce. He understands what it means to be sick. He understands her more than her healthy friends. He understands her more than her own father who’s a doctor.
He’s gorgeous, fun, and foul-mouthed. And totally into her.
Isabel has one rule: no dating.
It’s complicated―
It’s dangerous―
It’s never felt better―
―to consider breaking that rule for him. “
Sick Kids in Love is hilarious at some points, and heartbreaking at others. It’s real, and raw. I laughed out loud. I cried. I made my wife stay up late so I could finish the book because I literally couldn’t put it down.
Isabel is funny and witty with realistic doubts in herself and those around her. She deals with real problems, and she’s the kind of character you can just root for. Especially as someone who’s been dealing with similar problems for a long time.
Sasha is fowl mouthed as described, but he’s also caring, and sweet, and sensitive in all the right ways. He remembers things, and he gets what Ibby is going through in ways a healthy person never would. Which I found myself connecting to, and clinging to.
Insert heart eyes here. I just needed them to work out.
This book touches on issues most never would, in ways most authors wouldn’t dare. Because most authors wouldn’t get it right. Most authors wouldn’t hit those issues in a way that says “yes, this is exactly what this feels like.”
Without a doubt, the greatest part about this book is the ending.
“They don’t die in this one.“