In the midst of Becca's struggle, Alex has other things vying for her attention. Like the father she's recently lost, her mother and two brothers who feels broken without her father, and a mysterious and distracting boy, who should be the least of her worries with all the death and drama currently surrounding her days, but who somehow keeps inserting himself into the forefront of her mind.

It's F**KING TERRIFYING and brilliant and gripping and tragic and humane . Such a well-written book, with such vivid efficient prose, a powerful political plea disguised as a revenge novel. It's brilliant.' MARIAN KEYES Let me just say, if it wasn't for reading wth a friend, I don't think I could have finished this book in the next 3 months. Sure it was an ok read, but definitely not something you look forward to after along painful day of school or work. If this book was a breakfast food it would be a Bavarian cream filled donut. It’s enjoyable but not particularly substantive. You may approach it expecting it to be a jelly filled donut, but it ends up being different. Delicious and convenient, an easy on the palate food item, but not a full meal. It does give you joy however, and that brings along with it some sense of perspective and self reflection. As long as you only have one from time to time it can be a beneficial start to a Sunday. He's always had athletic abilities and even had a period in his life where he went all in with the gym and weights, so far as to even using steroids. Before that, he'd do dips on the two poles protecting the pay phone, spending all day outside listening to music and working out before the two poles were removed. So he's always had the drive, motivation and ability for strenuous workouts; you see him going HAM on the kettle bells now and you know that that beast was always inside.F**k It has taken the world by storm, helping countless people to let go, stop struggling and finally do what they want; to ignore what everyone else is telling them and go their own way. The story is never about fulfilling the list. It's about what that list is to the two girls as individuals and to them as best friends. The book just comes across as sincerely tone-deaf; sure, the above strategies work in certain scenarios. But there are never provisions made for 'sometimes these scenarios are incorrect'. Sometimes the thing you are scared of is a legitimate fear, so telling yourself 'nothing is going to happen' is just plainly false. Sometimes illnesses require medical treatment. That's a proven fact. And some illnesses don't get better at all. And anybody who thinks 'just go on benefits' is a solution to not having money has clearly never dealt with the DWP, and has been avoiding all the stories about claimants who have been left to die due to unapproved claims. Overall, this was my first experience with Julie Halpern's writing, but it's not a story I would recommend because it didn't really impress or grab me in the measures of what it offered. It had some moments, and I'll give it credit for those, but ultimately, it's not a story I would read again or want to return to. It was just too much and not well enough in its focus.

So, find out how to say F**k It to all your problems and concerns. Say F**k It to all the 'shoulds' in your life and finally do what you want to do, no matter what other people think. Terrifying and brilliant and gripping and tragic and humane ... it becomes progressively more tense ... This should be mandatory reading for every U.S. citizen ... Such a well-written book, with such vivid efficient prose, a powerful political plea disguised as a revenge novel. It's brilliant. -- Marian Keyes Unfortunately, what starts out as tongue-in-cheek good fun takes a turn for the serious when Mr.Parkin starts exploring the idea of chi and forms. As soon as he moves on to this idea of movement and releasing chi, the book loses some of its charms. It is such a juxtaposition that it undoes any of the learnings from the previous first-half of the novel. I personally enjoyed the irreverence and humor of the first half of the book and felt a bit like Mr. Parkin began to take himself too seriously. He has some great ideas and provides plenty of food for thought, and I personally wish he would have left the forms and chi discussion alone. I truly appreciated that Halpern never made Alex's issues seem less than Becca's. Instead, the two girls were a united front. They were each fighting battles, sometimes together and sometimes separate, but neither was more or less important. Except what then follows is the biggest load of pretentious and privileged bullshit I've ever read.

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From the first chapter/part of the book - “no one knows anything” to the last chapter/part - “the answers you need are in you”, Ron gives you the questions you need to ask yourself, the warmth of an old friend, and the friendly push one needs to make a choice. The book also makes one realise that while we all might be living purely different lives, it is this different, unique and yet common ‘human experience’ that binds us all as people.

If this book hits you at the right time in your life, then you might think it's wonderful. I started the bidding at five stars. For everyone else, it's a one star. What I loved about Julie Halpern's story is her characters. Alex is a complete sass mouth, Becca's a cancer-patient/perv, Caleb is a sweetly awkward boy in love with a young woman who flashed him and Leo... Leo is a guy trying to make amends. Each character is wonderfully fleshed out, exceptionally quirky, and downright funny. There's a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, some interjections of fandom, and cancer is seen as something that can be fought against.Positives? I see where the author was attempting to get at, and it was a unique read. Maybe I don't think it was bad enough to be a 1 star rating, maybe a 1.5-2. One of my favorite lines he said in the book was about people making fun of you: “You got to just remember they’ll laugh but it’ll be okay. Sometimes shit’s just funny. “ He also talked about confidence: “To be confident you literally have to know yourself.” Good way of thinking about that.

In fact, my favorite part of this book is when she mentions she wishes Becca didn't have cancer (and that someone she knows wouldn't have died) so that her life wouldn't be so complicating. Damn, how low can you go? Touted as akin to Taoism and other spiritual beliefs, the main premise of the F**k It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way philosophy is letting go. Indeed, there is merit in this idea of letting go and the freedom one uses the phrase. According to Mr. Parkin, "The one thing you'll always do when you really say, 'F*** It' is relax" and "problems can't exist in the face of total relaxation" (p. 88-89). Mr. Parkin wants us to say the phrase to everything we do because it releases us from attaching too much meaning, too much pressure, too many expectations to everything we do. If one sits and thinks about it, and considers all the times where one has flung up his or her hands and declared "f*** it!", Mr. Parkin is indeed on to something. It's a philosophy I can get behind; a philosophy that I would *love* to see spread and adapted and adopted all over the world. So this book gets an A+ from me on the philosophy angle, hands down. I did learn some things from this book for sure, and he had some good perspectives/lessons on life things. For one I was 27 years and 140ish days old when Action Bronson taught me that it’s ‘nip it in the bud’ and not ‘nip it in the butt.’ Through no-nonsense ideas, fascinating facts and motivating calls to action, John brings us from pessimism to inspiration, so that our thoughts become powered byI feel like I should end this review on the fabulous ending paragraph of the book: "I shook my arm, and the three bugs lazily flew away, on their way to accomplish great things in a short amount of time. Really, how we all should try to live our lives. No matter how long we've got." Julie Halpern brings something new to the "YA cancer lit" subgenre with The F-It List... simply put, I love this book. In this revised and updated edition, with brand-new chapters and insightful perspectives on the world we find ourselves in today, John C. Parkin shares humorous personal anecdotes, authentic advice and essential F**k It techniques - alongside exploring a whole host of worries and stresses to which we can say… F**k It! The ship sinks further when you realise that the author loves to talk about himself. Huge long screeds about his family, his life, his wife, the decisions that he faced. I wouldn't have minded if he was someone interesting and/or had done something noteworthy. But he isn't and he hasn't. We're down to three stars. Good content, but poor writing and he talks about himself too much. I also loved that Alex really loves horror movies. I related to her so much when she says: "Nothing made someone more attractive than knowing they liked the same movies I did." It's sooo true. Someone becomes ten times more attractive if we like the same movies. I also like how Alex and Leo both have an obsession with horror movies and that's something that brings them together. Also, The Walking Dead is one of my favorite shows and I love how much it was brought up in this book. Leo's character is reading The Walking Dead comics in this book which is ironic because I'm also currently reading the comics. And, Becca has a huge crush on Norman Reedus and is always bringing up Daryl Dixon and his crossbow. As a huge fan of The Walking dead it made me really giddy and excited whenever it was mentioned.