Ellie is a member of an improv theatre group and, when she meets Jason, a member of a rival improv group, they form an immediate connection. With some new friends and a huge comedy competition coming up, things are looking good, but a freak accident brings Ellie crashing down - quite literally. What happens next will break your heart into little pieces and then put it back together again.

Ellie's story is based on the author's own experiences in battling chondrosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. The author states that "the upside of tragedy is that it can be transformed into art." And that is exactly what she has done. "A Messy, Beautiful Life" is a touching account of a young girl's experience with cancer at a time when she should be fully living her life. The story is so good that I forgot to take notes, but I loved Ellie as well as her support group of Jason, her friends, her mother, and especially her stepbrother Craig.

Cute and funny and sad. Don't miss this one.

ARC gratefully received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Messy, Beautiful Life was a lovely read. It wasn’t the snot-fest, ugly cry I thought it was going to be. I mean it did make me cry but not for reasons I expected.

The biggest thing I took away from this book was its humour. It’s an incurably funny book.

I loved the “ah-ha” moments when the title and that beautiful cover finally became significant. That’s always fun.

Ellie was quite a young, carefree teenager before her diagnosis. She matured some as the book progressed. I really appreciated witnessing how her relationships with her friends and family, especially her step brother, evolved. Single mom/daughter relationships always resonate with me too. This one was no different.

I really enjoyed this debut book from Sara Jade Alan and look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Ellie is comically talented, has great friends, and on the verge of a new romance. Her life is starting to look up until it's discovered that she has a rare form of cancer. This book sees Ellie through that diagnosis, the research, and her potential treatment. All this, while also dealing with familial issues and a new romance.

A Messy, Beautiful Life had a unique premise and creative back drop (impr0v) to the main story line. I found it to be compelling and finished it within a day. Unfortunately, what I found most compelling didn't make for a 5 star read. While the story has a consistent romance and medical thread throughout the book, it was the type and treatment of the cancer that I found most interesting - a rare form of bone cancer. To it's detriment, the story was full of YA romance/drama clichés and more telling than showing. All that made it difficult to connect to Ellie and her POV. Also, I found the inst-love romance difficult to grasp. I'm willing to suspend belief in Ya when it comes to romance, because, you know, teenager and all, but ultimately, there wasn't enough discourse between Ellie and Jason before they fell "head-over-heels." Jason was interesting and I enjoyed his tenacious and empathetic character, but mostly the characters felt somewhat one dimensional.

Overall, I found A Messy, Beautiful Life (at times) intriguing and readable. I would have rated it higher if there was more character development, a believable pace to the romance, and more showing/less telling.

3.5 Stars
While I loved most of this book, I did not like the end. It felt trite Everything was perfect and tied up with a big red bow. For as much as I enjoyed reading this book (I laughed , I cried, it was full of feels), the ending really bothered me. And maybe it wasn't just the perfection of it all. I think it was how easy it seemed. Like a fairy godmother waved her wand. I think I wanted more of a struggle for the HEA. So I deducted a star from what i felt the rest of the book deserved.

The cover of this book and the blurb caught my attention which made me curious to read. The book was a decent read but I had a hard time connecting to the story or characters. The main character is diagnosed with cancer but I felt like the author really didn’t get too invested with Ellie’s struggle. Yes, Ellie did have issues and was in denial but I wanted to see more angst and more struggle with her diagnosis and recovery. With the way the book was billed I was expecting more grit and raw emotion. This book had a quick gloss over certain areas and I would have liked the author to have gone into more detail and I feel like I would have enjoyed the story a lot more than I did. I did like the whole improv aspect which is something that I’ve never read about in YA or Romance. So I give the author credit for being creative.

I love this book, mostly because it felt real. Some of it was a little crazy, but it was also relatable, and heart-wrenchingly beautiful.

The blurb drew me in, because it reminded me of those crazy and funny books that you know you'll end up sobbing in. And for some reason, I love those?? And this was no different.

To be honest, the plot takes a while to actually get going. But I never felt bored waiting for the big things, because the main character's narrative was so funny and interesting to read. And she also reminded me of a real person. You know the type of teenager who's going to fall in front of her crush, and say the wrong things, and be completely dorky. I liked that a lot.

The emotions. Oh my god the emotions. Probably 70% of the book was me smiling to myself, or outright laughing. And then there were other moments that were sad enough to make me want to hug my mom, and even a few moments that made me cry a few tears.

Overall, a good book

P. S. make sure to read the author's note at the end.

** Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy. However, all my opinions remain my own.

I like to read books with settings in places I recently visited. So it was a pleasure to read an advance copy of A Messy, Beautiful Life that takes place in the north suburb of Chicago. The colorful cover reminds me of the Osaka Garden, with beautiful Japanese landscape, a waterfall, bonsai trees and foot bridges. It was my hope that the story within would be just as beautiful.

The problem with judging a book by its cover is...well, it can be misleading. And while the book cover and title is literally beautiful, the subject matter is not. Life can indeed be messy and downright ugly sometimes, especially if finding out you have a rare cancer called chondrosarcoma. As such is the life of 17-year-old Ellie. Her life is at its very best and very worst simultaneously; hence, messy and beautiful. She tries to be strong, funny and brave for her mom, friends, improv group and that hot guy. She doesn't want them to watch her die. So Ellie puts on a smile and tries her damnedest not to cry. #LiteraryBars

Sorry if you are on the verge of crying mere minutes into my book review. Sometimes we need a reminder to appreciate life to the fullest, the importance of family and building friendships. Author Sara Jade Alan writes about cancer and love in such a tender comforting way through well-developed characters and, at times, perfect dialogue.

I'll be careful not to compare this new release to that other cancer book that shall remain nameless but made me boo-hoo-wet-face in between pages and in movie theater. Nope. Instead I will say, fans of TFIOS should add A Messy, Beautiful Life to your immediate reading lists because I know you will appreciate this good read. And the cover is so public-friendly!

Happy Early Pub Day, Sara Jade Alan! A Messy, Beautiful Life will be available Monday, October 2.

LiteraryMarie

3.5 “Fighting with Humor” Stars

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you, Entangled Teen!

Even though I should've expected it, this book still took me by surprise by its funny approach on such a serious topic--and I say surprise and funny in a good way.

Comedy was the theme for A Messy, Beautiful Life. From the main character's voice to the way she dealt with her diagnosis, there was a light vibe the story maintained from start to finish.

Since Ellie and her friends were a part of an improv comedy group, the book introduces humor right from page one. I was immediately drawn into Ellie's world by her voice, her group of friends and Jason, the love interest. I loved that they met during an improv show and that they were in sync from moment on. There was enough chemistry to make me want them together from moment on.

The entire improv comedy scene made this book fresh and entertaining. I can't remember reading anything with this theme, and while some of the scenes were a bit of "fade to black" (for a lack of a better term), there were a few other that showed the jokes and they were pretty funny.

But the things I liked most about this story were Ellie's relationship with her friends, parents, Jason, and the way she dealt with her disease.

This was a character-driven story that worked because the characters were interesting. Ellie's two best friends could've used a little more work, since they didn't have different enough personalities to set them apart, but they were still amazing friends to Ellie. There was none of the unecessary girl-hate drama.

But the star of friendships for me was the one between Ellie and her stepbrother. I loved how Craig came out of his shell and showed Ellie how important she was and how great of a big brother he could be. Every scene between Ellie and Craig was awesome.

Ellie's relationship with her mother was another plus, and even the drama with her father was handled well.

Now, as for Ellie and Jason, like I said before, I felt their chemistry from the start and I liked that Jason's past was connected to Ellie's present in a sad, but still meaninful way. I also liked how they worked through it and found a way to be happy.

When I say A Messy, Beautiful Life handled Ellie's diagnosis in a funny way, I mean funny as in a "this won't get me down and I'll keep fighting" approach and not as in "I'm making fun of something serious." Even Ellie's stand up comedy show focused on her cancer was tasteful.

In the end, I think this book succeeded in bringing a different, light and funny way to deal with such a serious topic, and the good dynamic between the characters and cute romance acted as a bonus.

*Amazon review will go live on release date*

THIS BOOK IS SO INCREDIBLE! I immediately fell in love with its quick-witted dialogue, hilarity, and emotional moments. This book about love, life, and everything in between made me laugh out loud and then cry just as loudly.


Ellie’s story is heartbreaking and yet all at once courageously funny. The ups and downs of falling in love with a boy whose mom passed away from cancer while you yourself find out you have cancer are unique and yet strangely beautiful. This book gives me shivers of happiness and I am 100% in love with it.

I also love how well this book captured the awkwardness of falling in love and then the warm feeling that comes when things begin to fall into place. There are just so many fabulous details of interactions between characters that make the plot line feel so real. When you read you fall deeply in love with the characters and everyone becomes more then just a fictional name on the page.


I devoured A Messy, Beautiful Life and I simply want everyone to see it’s beauty for themselves. This is definitely a book that does John Green fans proud.

Beautiful story full of heart and humor. I have read a lot of different books about cancer and this one had a different impact because of the humor expressed within the story. After a recent diagnosis of AML for one of my HS students, this was a great read because it kept the seriousness of cancer but presented it in a beautiful and approachable way. The relationships that are explored (both friendly and romantic) make the story even stronger. Will be recommending this one to my students for certain!

Please note: I received a copy of A MESSY, BEAUTIFUL LIFE from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher and author.

Five stars and here’s why:

Is it possible to cry and laugh so many times with one book? Because I read it all at once and ended up doing both. I couldn’t put it down. At first, I didn’t know what to expect because Ellie is the main character and she has cancer. But her snark and sassy attitude keep us rooted to the story because this is real life. There’s a lot of pain, but there’s also a lot of beauty if you can dig deep and find that silver lining. Sara Jade Alan rocked this story. There were just the right amount of swooning moments to keep me turning the pages. If you love phenomenal writing, a story that will blow you mind and warm your heart, this book is for you. Highly recommend. Be prepared to give up your day and read it all in one sitting.

You don’t expect to find yourself smiling or even laughing when reading a novel about a teen who discovers she has cancer and yet I did both as I read Sara Jade Alan’s A Messy, Beautiful Life. Perhaps the reason why the author so ably writes about the topic is because A Messy, Beautiful Life is based to some extent on her own experiences.

Ellie, for the most part, is a typical teen who is discovering herself in her last year of high school. She’s funny and part of an improv group, which is how she meets Jason, the boy she falls for (literally). Their first meeting is a definite “Meet Cute,” during which I was chuckling and grinning. But this is just that kind of book.

One instant I was laughing and the next I had tears in my eyes when Ellie discovers that her world seems to be falling apart. She’s diagnosed with a cancer that strikes deep inside of her leg bone and can’t be touched by radiation or chemotherapy.

“Ha. Whose bone would you want?”

Thinking about it for a second, I said, “The bone of a ninja.[…] Wouldn’t that be cool? My bone would be sullen and mysterious…and then–ka-pow!–kick the crap out of things.”

Jason’s mother just died of cancer, which makes Ellie feel guilty for inviting him into her life so she decides that it would be better if they call it quits. It’s a hard decision, especially when she likes him so very much.

But Ellie as well as her friends approach this period in her life with humor and enlightenment. And that’s another thing I like about this book. It’s insightful and a little bit magical. The cynics out there might call it hokey, but I was touched by what I was reading and it made me feel better, good even. So I feel completely justified in calling this a feel-good book.

“Most people are so scared of the pain in their life, they do anything they can to avoid it, to not feel what is really there. Ignoring it merely causes a different kind of hurt.

And mostly, I would call this the story of hope, of friends and family who support you, who make you smile and with whom you can laugh when things get rough.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*WARNING: Potential Spoilers*

Going into this book I had very mixed feelings, having only truly read about cancer in the form of The Fault in Our Stars, I was trying to prepare myself for a cancer story that would have me crying from start to finish and I wasn't sure I was prepared for this.
However I was pleasantly surprised to find that it had me laughing more than crying which I found to be such a great sense of relief.
Yes I have said the words Cancer and Laugh in the same review and it was rightly written.

This book had me both laughing and crying as I found the characters and the plot to be very complex yet still easy to follow and a great read.

I absolutely loved the fact that improv was used as a plotline as it is not something I have even read about in a ya novel in such a way as this. It brought the humor and allowed you to see the different sides of the characters which may not have been seen in any other way.

I found that the characters where enjoyable to relate with and that their friendships were definitely something that everyone can relate to. I admired that Ellie was down to earth and that she was unwilling to let cancer stop her from doing this she enjoyed.
I absolutely loved Jason, due to my own personal experiences I was able to connect with him so well, I loved the way he was always willing to help and how while he was rich he wasn't a character that was too into the money. I also loved the connection you could see and feel between Ellie and Jason.

The brother-sister relationship growth between Ellie and Craig was also amazing, I was so happy when they started becoming friendlier!

The writing was amazing and it without a doubt brought you into the story and kept you hanging on until the final page to find out how everything was going to turn out. It is without a doubt a page turner anyone would enjoy.

The only slight annoyance I had was that the plot moved along so fast, I began to get a little lost in some parts if a couple of days were missed and there would be something new major going on. I also felt that the inner dialogue of the main character was a little whiny about such normal things.

Overall however I would think anyone would love this take on cancer and the way Sarah Jade Alan made such a serious subject mix with such good humor and fun.

I wanna say right at the beginning, that I highly recommend this book to everyone, except if you want to stay away from cancer stories (something I totally understand).

THIS BOOK. The cover is gorgeous, even though it took me way too long, to figure out there is a bone between all the flowers. Something that makes total sense. Also the titel is perfect for the book. PERFECT!!!

I kinda wanna dump all my feels for the book all at once in this review. But let's have some order. Maybe. Hopefully.

The writing is amazing. Seriously. I have some problems with books at the moment and taking forever to really get into them. But this one. The author had me right from the beginning. The writing was just so beautiful.

I also loved the characters right from the start. Ellie is the perfect main character. Seriously. She is funny, she is loving, caring, she is freaking strong. That girl stole my heart. And Jason, what a great guy. DANG. I really loved him the moment he showed up and could totally understand why Ellie was falling for him super fast. These two were the greatest, through all the mess, they were beautiful. I also loved all the side characters. Craig, Ellie's stepbrother. He was amazing, seriously. In the beginning I wasn't sure cause Ellie descriped him as the most annoying person and then he showed up, and I just loved him. And he cared so much about her and ahhhh, he is great. And Ellie's mom, I LOVED her. Moms are the greatest. I wasn't sure about Ellie's father in the beginning. I was super unimpressed by him not being there. Thankfully that turned around and he got much more involved. I also loved Ellie's friends, Hana and Quinn. THEIR FRIENDSHIP. The greatest thing about all these characters and their relationship was, that this group felt like a huge family that went through all the ups and downs in life together and that was just so damn beautiful.

This book has the perfect mixture of lighthearted, fun moments and moments that will shatter your heart. But it's beautiful and gives you all the feels. And ugh, I truly love this whole story, the characters, just everything. I will stop now before I slip even more into fangirl mode and no one will understand a word I'm saying. So bye. Read this book!!!

“A Messy, Beautiful Life”concerns Ellie Hartwood, a seventeen year old leader of her school’s improv group, Spontaneous Combustion. At the start of the book, her team is sharing the stage with another school’s improv group, Scared Scriptless, where she met Jason. Ellie and Jason have undeniable chemistry and connection not only in their stage performance but in romance department as well. But then Ellie is diagnosed with cancer and Jason has just lost a family member from it. Ellie is now torn between keeping Jason, the person who brings her happiness or pushing him away to avoid bringing him sadness.

Whoever wrote the book’s blurb should get some kind of credit because that’s what drew me in to be interested in the book in the first place. Ellie’s voice in the blurb sounds like someone who is sunny and fun but suddenly here comes cancer. I thought it would really be interesting to see how a person with such personality would handle such a devastating situation. And then perusing through the first pages, I found out that Ellie, Jason and their friends do stage improv and I’m like hey, I haven’t read a YA contemporary with characters doing improv before. This is going to be interesting. After finishing the book tho, I’m like sigh, this is disappointing.

The narration is more telling rather than showing. There are a lot of times where Ellie makes info dumps on how certain improv acts are done. Here’s one example: “In the game of Freeze, two players do a scene until someone on the sidelines yells “Freeze” then the players have to hold whatever pose they were in. Another actor tags one person out, takes on the same position but starts an entirely new scene that justifies the starting position. It continues as people call out “Freeze” and start new scene after new scene.”

The characters, even the supposedly sunny and funny Ellie, have lacking personality. This is a shame because Ellie had the potential to be an inspiring character. Jason had the potential to be the supportive and gentlemanly love interest. But they are not given anything much because most of the things are told rather than shown. The side characters are just like background noises, telling the main character what to do: you should go to the party, Ellie; you should already tell Jason you have cancer, Ellie; you should sign up for the standup contest, Ellie.

The characters’ emotions are also kind of just stated there in the pages but not felt by the reader. There are scenes where the characters are in tears but I am not emotional about it. Or where the characters are laughing and I find myself not laughing with them. And where Ellie and her friends are swoony about their love interests and I’m kind of like a dead tree stump reading but not feeling anything. Of course, it’s not like I’m a real dead tree stump cursed to be devoid of emotions but it’s more like the book makes the characters cry, laugh and swoon without having to do the work of building up to those scenes.

While reading, I was getting the sense that things are happening a bit too fast for the characters. There is one when I was like what, they are kissing already when they’ve just met?! I backtracked and checked and it was actually already a matter of days already. Again, the passing of time is literally expository and told by Ellie like, “it’s been nine days since...” too many times and that’s not okay. It could do with filling the pages with daily, routine student activities like class attendance and stuff so the readers feel the passing of time as something resembling real life.

I could tell that the author really has the know how of improv, a backdrop that would really be interesting for cutesy romantic fluff. And the trope of getting through a life-threatening disease such as cancer has proven to be a success in milking the readers’ sympathy in many YA contemporary books. It was a shame that “A Messy, Beautiful Life” had these two things in potential but was not able to deliver on selling both the laughs and tears to me.

This book was surprisingly funny. I know it's a book where the main character has cancer, but it wasn't the whole focus of the book which I loved.

Early on, cancer isn't mentioned. The first part of the book allows the readers to really get to know the amazing people in this book. Ellie is hilarious and inspirational. She is in high school living with mom. Her dad had remarried and she has a step brother, Craig. Ellie's dad kind of bailed with her somewhat crazy step mom and left Craig back home to finish high school. Ellie does improv comedy and Craig is really into music. At first, they don't get along well at all, but we start to see this amazingly sweet side of Craig. He ended up being one of my favorites. He became such an incredible brother and friend.

Ellie has two best friends, Hana and Quinn. Both do improv with Ellie. While their group is performing, Ellie meets Jason. The way they end up together is adorable. Jason is such a nice guy and not just faking it to get the girl. He's genuinely good. It is during a party when Jason goes to kiss Ellie and she falls. Nothing is broken, but her doctor finds cancer in her bone. It's a very rare cancer and Ellie faces amputation. She goes through every emotion you can imagine, but she keeps her humor through it all. Even doing a comedy routine that focused on cancer jokes. She was able to joke a lot while still being terrified. She was determined to live her life.

"Ellie, hello. Come on in. Looks like those crutches are making you buff."
"Yes, I'm getting the shoulders I need to fulfill my body-builder destiny."

Jason's mom died from cancer the year before, so Ellie tries to keep it from him. She doesn't want to be a burden on a guy she just met, but really likes a lot. He's been through so much already. But I think it's part of what made their relationship stronger. He was able to talk with her about all of it.

What I loved most about this book (besides the positive outlook) were the relationships. There was so much focus on that. Yes, the cancer was a big part, but it was really the love and friendship. Also Ellie's strength and fears. Ellie's realtionship with her mom also stood out. There was so much love there and I was able to tell how honored she felt to have Ellie as her child.

"The Vicodin didn't like me. I spent the entire night and morning after surgery throwing up every hour. Nothing like having your mom wipe vomit off your face and dress you to make you feel mature and ready to be an adult. College, here I come."

I didn't know until I finished that the author had this cancer. It made the book even better to me. She's obviously a very special, strong woman, and I thank her for writing something so personal.

I received a copy of this book from Entangled Teen through Netgalley for review. This one gets 4 1/2 stars. (rounded up to 5)

3+ stars

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

I really enjoyed this book but the end left me unsatisfied. I think this has to do with my taste but unfortunately, it means that although I liked most of the book, I don't feel like I can give it four stars. I guess the ending means a lot to my reading experience.

That is too bad because the build-up was pretty nice. Ellie and Jason meet and Ellie discovers that she had cancer. This leads of course to all sorts of questions: what am I going to do? Will I survive? Is it a good idea to start dating someone?

<spoiler>I loved how Ellie's bond with her stepbrother grows. It is very endearing. The improv comedy shows are also very original. The writer took a risk with the cancer jokes but I don't think it was bad taste. For me, personally, the ending would have been better if it had ended before the surgery. I also think I got thrown off by the "miracle doctor" because most of the time life just isn't that easy. There are probably cases where miracles happened, and I am glad they do. It just wasn't the ending for me.</spoiler>

My emotions are such a jumbled mess right now. This is one of the reasons that stand alones bother me. It's because I want MORE of the characters! This book had me smiling at the adorable friendship dynamic to crying at the sadness of getting a cancer diagnosis. How unfair is life that cancer even exists? It makes my heart hurt.

Ellie was such a strong, flawed and all around awesome character. She was normal teenager and she reacted as a normal teenager should. I loved that. In YA, sometimes teen girls are written so meanly or they are written to be an airhead. Not with Ellie. I was attached to her immediately and loved reading her POV. Her wit and her strength were incredible. Not to mention, she is into improv. You definitely don't see that a lot in YA. Especially not girls.

What I really loved about this book was Ellie's circle of friends. Her support system was absolutely incredible! Her friends were just amazing. It is so refreshing to see girls supporting one another instead of turning against each other or drifting away, which can happen after a diagnosis such as cancer. Even though Ellie didn't want to burden her friends with her illness, they wouldn't leave her nor would they let Ellie leave them. And I think that is amazing. We all need friends like that.

Overall, I'm so happy with this book. The cover is beautiful. The story was beautiful, even if it was sad. The friendships will make you jealous and want you own pack. There was even diversity and LGBT representation in here that wasn't forced. This is a good example of how YA books should be done. I highly recommend this book!

'A Messy, Beautiful Life' made me cry so many times as it made me laugh. I read it all at one go because I couldn't let go. It's a book mostly about first love and cancer, but you will find also a lot about relations among people and about a loss of your beloved one. Ellie is the main character here, the cancer girl, who at some point feels that luck has completely abandoned her, but thanks to her devoted friends she finds out that there's a lot of beauty and love surrounding her, and that she is weirdly quite happy in this unhappiness. There are a lot of swooning moments. And I know it's sort of greedy and all but I actually have two fictional boyfriends from this book, Both Craig (Ellie's stepbrother) and Jason (Ellie's boyfriend) are very sensitive and romantic types. I really want to keep them both!

This was such a sweet story. I loved that the main characters were into improv comedy. It was unique and quite entertaining. Ellie was adorable, and I completely understood where she was coming from with Jason. I connected with her immediately and appreciated her outlook on life. Jason was an absolute sweetheart. While I did feel like the author could have dug a bit deeper with certain parts of the storyline, I thoroughly enjoyed it.