Reviews with content warning for Ableism - Sick Kids in Love

there's nothing i love more than accurate representation of what being a chronically ill teenager is like. i was very hesitant to read this — i "only" have chronic migraines, so even though it's horrible, it could be way worse and while i love seeing chronically ill rep in books, it sometimes just makes my illness feel even more insignificant. but this book spoke to me and understood me in so many ways and i'm so so grateful it exists <3

Content Warnings

crackedspines_'s review

Go to review page

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

scarlettskyes's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

alohomara's review

Go to review page

hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Pleasantly surprised with how insightful it is for YA romance!

I liked it because it discussed things like the shame of having "healthy" friends adjust so they can accommodate you, and this feeling that you overthink and doubt everything that you're just overreacting and paranoid, but also things, why should there be a hierarchy that this person is considered sicker than the other therefore the sicker person has more right to be absent from school when they're not feeling okay? It was... introspective. I'm not sure if Moskowitz actually has some chronic illness, but it's an interesting exploration of an unhealthy person's POV.

Content Warnings

thereadingchallengechallenge's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“I’m sick,” I say, “And I don’t wish I wasn’t. And I don’t really care how uncomfortable that makes you anymore.”

Isabel Garfinkel is too busy to date, thank you very much. She’s in the middle of her junior year, working on the school paper, volunteering at the hospital and managing her rheumatoid arthritis as well as she can. But when she meets a boy named Sasha, she begins to realise she could be handling some things a whole lot better.

I’ve started this book so many times. I enjoyed it every time I picked it up but I was always terrified it would turn out ableist and poorly researched like Moskowitz’s attempt at representing cystic fibrosis in Teeth. Thankfully, Moskowitz has put the effort in and brought us a beautiful book about living with illness and how often being sick isn’t the most complicated part of a person’s life.

Isabel is a wonderfully complex character and it was kind of an honour to read about her embracing her disability. Though I could’ve done with even one conversation about how she and Sasha are disabled. They’d talk about being sick or chronically ill but neither ever used the D-word in a positive light, none of them ever named the ableism they faced as ableism. For a book primarily about how it’s okay to be disabled, it sure had a problem with using the word disabled.

Aside from that, I did love this. Isabel and Sasha’s romance is brutal and beautiful and so realistic. They argue and they work through things and they support each other beautifully. The emotional maturity is off the charts and I loved reading about that. I also enjoyed how they just had fun with each other, how they felt at home with one another and were able to boost each other up when their illnesses were giving them the run around.

There are also some wonderful conversations around what makes a good parent which was interesting to see, especially the way Moskowitz let that subplot unfold. The stuff with Isabel’s mother did feel a little unfinished and it was a red flag when Sasha’s dad let the nurses put him in physical restraints at the hospital but overall that theme was good, and so necessary when disabled kids have such a deep reliance on their parents to help them manage and deal with their conditions.

A wonderful novel that’s still made it into my favourites but would’ve benefited greatly from a bit more disabled pride.

Content Warnings

azyef's review

Go to review page

emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

cherry__tomatoes's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful informative relaxing sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I truly loved this book, this is the first book I've read with disability representation, and it's a great start. Isabel, a girl who worries about if everything is perfect and worries about others than her problems, falls in love with Sasha, a reckless boy who could give two shits about other people and their opinions. I love how Sasha helps Isabel escape from herself, Isabel fights with being perfect for most of the book which I can relate to, and Sasha helps her loosen up. Their cute heartwarming relationship is amazing to be, they do have their ups and downs like every relationship but they truly are amazing. I loved this book it had a lot of diversity and representation. The only reason this book isn't 5 stars is that there are some incoherent storylines, for instance, we

hear about how Sasha's dad is dating Isabel's mom, and that Isabel's mom wants Isabel to call her but then that storyline is never really explored

. But overall a great read with tons of representation and filled with heartwarming and happing exchanges between two sick kids in love.

Content Warnings

More...