I really wanted to like this book.

But I first ran into an issue on page 22. I'll include the quote below:
"Didn't Frida hate white people?" Ashley says.
I say, "Just because I'm white doesn't mean I'm going to do my report on someone who was ignorant enough to like white people."
It is my personal belief that you should not judge an entire race based on the actions of some. There are good and bad people of every race, religion, culture, and anything else you can think of. Comments like the one above won't bring us together.
There were also other very similar themes like this scattered throughout the book. For example, Isabel believes that she shouldn't date because the women in her family are bad and therefore, she must be bad. I don't know how to explain, but there just seemed to be a lot of grouping people by other people's actions and calling them all bad.
Secondly, Sasha just randomly says that he is bi one or two times and then never says anything again. He also seems to believe that his family is disappointed that he is not gay, but all I saw was a loving father and siblings who didn't care one way or another. It just seemed like some of that was there to virtue signal.
I was so pleased with how clean the romance was (basically no kissing!) and then suddenly it changed (almost all off-page) for no reason whatsoever. I was very disappointed.
Isabel was bratty. She expects everyone to treat her exactly how she wants in regard to her disability but she never says what she wants. Then she just starts yelling at her friends and Sasha.
I really wanted to learn more about the Jewish celebrations Sasha and Isabel celebrate but every time there was one, it was literally one sentence long.

1 Star

Tropes: sick kids
Content: lots and lots of language, kissing, one (strange) romance scene, the comments above, drinking, Isabel's friends smoke
Note: lesbian couple, Sahsa is bi? ( )

3.5 Stars ( )

I do love a romance driven by the flaws of the main character, and this one doesn't disappoint. This is a YA, so the ending is happy-for-now, but it is beautifully earned. There's quite a lot about chronic illness, as you'd expect, but there is also confronting ableism, calling out parents for failures, a bit of railing against authority figures for their failures, some lovely family dynamics, one nasty surprise, nuanced forgiveness themes, and I loved it all. ( )

I am so happy to have read this. As a person with a chronic illness, I have never felt more understood by a work of fiction. Sick Kids in Love is devastatingly sweet while also being poignant. It's an important reminder that a life with chronic illness isn't lesser while also being a damn good story. I fell in love with this book and these characters. ( )

This was a wonderful book. Both main characters have invisible illnesses, though one more than the other. I thought the book was well written, funny and also heart-warming and a little sad. But not sad because of the illnesses, sad for other reasons. Also, both characters are Jewish. This book was chock full of representation and really well done. ( )