The F- It List

September 30, 2013
Alex Buckley is reeling from the death of her father and the nearly unforgiveable thing her best friend Becca did the night of his funeral. Then Becca is diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which forces a reconciliation between the two high school seniors and gets Alex entangled with helping Becca live out her expletive-based version of a “bucket list.” Halpern (Get Well Soon) takes a familiar YA formula and makes it fresh through Alex’s honest reflections about life, death, and especially sex as she navigates the objectives on Becca’s list, many of which revolve around sexual experiences (both solo and with a partner). Alex’s sarcastic narration and bawdy conversations with Becca and sweet, outsidery Leo (who helps Alex check off a few entries himself) are funny, smart, real, and even endearing once readers get the hang of Alex’s way of looking at life (of Becca’s sexy homeschooled neighbor: “He totally wants to bone the cancer right out of you”). A memorable novel about a rock-solid friendship surviving trying circumstances that never loses its sense of humor. Ages 13–up. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio.

December 1, 2013

Gr 10 Up-Alex and Becca have been best friends since third grade. Then Alex's father dies at the end of their junior year, and Becca sleeps with Alex's boyfriend the night of the funeral. Hurt and angry, Alex stays away from her all summer. On the first day of school, she plans to make up with her and learns that Becca has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Because Becca doesn't know if she will live much longer, she asks Alex to take her bucket list, which they rename the F-It List, and carry out the items on it. Alex reluctantly accepts and fulfills a few of the assignments, such as eating a hot pepper and masturbating. The story chronicles Becca's illness and Alex's acts of friendship, which are performed primarily out of guilt that Becca is sick and she isn't. Alex is also trying to deal with a complicated relationship with a new boyfriend as well as the loss of her father. The characters have a limited vocabulary of curse words but use them constantly and gratuitously. Both girls have casual, unprotected sex with all of their boyfriends without any thoughts of taking precautions. The plot is predictable and the teens arouse little or no sympathy from readers.-Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2013
Grades 9-12 Alex is still reeling from the shock of her father's deathand the fact that her best friend Becca slept with her boyfriend the day of his funeralwhen she gets more bad news: Becca has cancer. The two reconnect, and Alex agrees to help Becca cross items off her bucket list; only since bucket lists are for old people, they deem it the Fuck-It List ( noble, but with a hint of edge to it ). Some items are relatively easy to accomplishbake cookies for the janitor, for instance. Others, like have sex with someone you love, are going to take some time. Along the way, snarky, horror-movie-obsessed Alex falls for Leo, but having sex with someone and connecting to them emotionally are two entirely different things. The Fuck-It List seems to get mostly abandoned somewhere along the way as Alex grapples with truly shitty things that have happened and learns how to live life with abandon in spite of them. Alex's voice is a strong one, and fans of Halpern's Get Well Soon (2007) and Have a Nice Day (2012) will embrace it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2014
When Alex's best friend is diagnosed with cancer, she asks Alex to help her complete a "Fuck-It list" (like a bucket list, but edgier). Alex tries to be supportive while mourning her recently deceased father and hooking up with a crush. Unapologetically abrasive (and R-rated), the novel is heavy on tragedy but a realistic portrayal of cancer's far-reaching effects.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)