Firstly the cover and title had me, they are beautiful. It’s a story about a girl’s mother getting breast cancer, and It handles the subject matter quite lightly which normally I don't love but it was quick and easy to read.

While some aspects of this book were excellent, other parts left me disappointed. The topic is a painful subject but one that definitely needs to be discussed and used in books for younger people to relate to. The characters display their grief in different ways - which is completely applicable in the real world. Grief comes in all different forms and emotions. But with that said, I was not fond of the attitude one character displayed toward her mother. I would be selective on who I recommended to and have to say it wasn't one I would re-read. .

I DNF’d this book at around 12% as I just could not get on with the writing style unfortunately. The main characters definitely read as though they were much younger than they were supposed to be which was also confusing

2 Stars ( I received an e-arc from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review)

I did not finish this book as I found the main character extremely exasperating, definitely a case of the author trying to write in how they think a teenager sounds. Yes the main character is going through a lot besides puberty however I found her overly dramatic and almost cruel towards her mother. Her mother is going through medical issues, her brother is properly supportive and all she can think about is turning 13 and boy girl birthday party. She seems offended by the cancer and doesn’t want anyone to know, so after 45 pages I had to put the book down.

A sweet and poignant coming of age story, Pink Hair and Other Terrible ideas was actually a very good one. While Josephine was a younger protagonist than I usually read, I found her very relatable. As she struggled with her mom's diagnosis in the middle of the already tumultuous time that is adolescence, I really felt for her. Dealing with something like that is messy and scary and confusing and I thought it was handled well. Sometimes when I read young adult, I feel like the author misses out on the young part of the genre and basically writes them as adults but I didn't have that problem here and I appreciated that. I enjoyed the youth of the voice here and it was well portrayed. I enjoyed this a lot. it was a quick read for me but I'm glad I read it.

This was a quick read about a girl trying to manage through the regular pre teen worries, but also the fact her mum has just been diagnosed with cancer. It follows Josephine trying to cope and her wondering whether it’s better to keep your feelings to yourself or talking about it with other people, making the situation more real. This is definitely the kind of story that would be helpful to a teenager going through a similar situation.

Josephine has typical pre-teen worries around best friends, first crushes, and family problems, when she gets the news that her mother has breast cancer.
I loved this book because Pyros shows us how people can have completely different thoughts, fears, and methods of coping with difficult situations.


Thank you to NetGalley, Capstone Editions and Andrea Pyros for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

In this book we meet twelve year old Josephine a teen having to face a sudden issue, her mum having breast cancer.



While her brother embraces it and eyes his hair pink in support, Josephine has to come to terms with the sudden news from prioritising her mum over the party of the year Josephine has to grow up fast in this book.



It was a realistic view on the life of a teen struggling to come to terms with her life as it seems surreal her mum could be facing a hard long battle ahead. Instead of focusing on the teen matters like most books they do side line for the bulk of the novel allowing a serious tone to lay the base for the whole novel. Moving, caring and true to life.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

I couldn't finish reading the copy, it expired before I could get to the end. As much as I can say the YA release has been a fun read and a very fast and easy paced book. I was really excited to hard this ARC but hopefully will buy the book soon

Short review of this book.
Thank you to the publisher for the e-arc in exchange of honest review.
When I read the name of the book I thought the main character dyes her hair and regrets it but it was so wrong.
This book is middle grade novel.
But it was story how middle graders twins handle the news about their mothers cancer.
Whereas one twin accepts it and he okay to share it with his friends.
But others twin can't do that. Because she thinks it will make this all real.
But the story was good.

I don't like this cover. I like a cover to give me at least a hint of what I'm in for, and this doesn't. It makes it seem really immature and more like a self-published ebook. Story-wise, this is good for MG and younger YA readers, and those struggling with the issues the book tackles, such as family illness and school drama. However, the characters ages didn't work for me - the twins are supposed to be 12, but neither of them seemed to be. Josephine seemed way younger, which is always a pet peeve, and it was not believable that Chance was her twin.

Reeling from her mother's cancer diagnosis, Josephine wants to keep it a secret until her brother dyes his hair pink in support and lets everyone know. It covered many relatable topics with relatable and loveable characters. The characters do read as younger than their ages, but some kids mature faster than others.

I think this books painted perfectly the reality of teenage lives nowadays. So much tend to go on in one's life - there's grades, schools, friends, and families. I appreciate that this book focused on sharing the good in term of friendships.

I also enjoyed this book because the author didn't force us to like the characters. The author showed that people have different thoughts and everyone has different opinion of everyone.

Book Review
Title: Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas
Author: Andrea Pyros
Genre: YA/Family/Terminal Illness
Rating: ***
Review: The opening to Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas was great, we are introduced to Josephine and her twin brother Chance, whose parents are divorced which is hard on any 12-year-old. However, Josephine also wants to get invited to the party of the year, but we know from the synopsis that a lot of going to happen in Josephine’s life which will force her to re-evaluate her priorities.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Josephine and Chance find out that their mother has stage 2 breast cancer and the twins have radically different approaches to this, Chance is so supportive asking questions and making sure his mother is ok, while Josephine tries to bury her head in the sand and pretend it doesn’t exist although it is constantly playing on her mind. She doesn’t even tell her best friend Makayla who lets her know she is invited to Autumn’s party and that everyone has to invite a boy they like which is hard for Josephine as she likes Diego her brother’s best friend.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, the twins are dealing with their mother’s diagnosis and treatment plan very differently which is actually causing Josephine to lash out at her brother and mother. Josephine also wants to keep her mother’s diagnosis a secret so it doesn’t affect her life and social standing which is something Chance just can’t understand. On top of all this she is dealing with all the drama of being a pre-teen with an active social life.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, we can see that Josephine is really struggling to deal with her mother’s cancer especially since she is going in for a breast removal 3 days before Autumn’s party which she hasn’t asked if she can even go to yet and given the state of the family situation right now, I don’t think her mother is going to let her go. Josephine seems to be lingering under the impression that if she ignores the fact her mother has cancer that it will go away and while this is a very childish attitude to take into this kind of situation, we have to remember that she is only 12 but at points her behaviour and lack of empathy are unacceptable in my opinion.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, things take a different turn when Chance dyes his hair pink for breast cancer awareness month and Josephine realises that people are going to ask questions about it and Chance will tell them that their mother has cancer which is the very last thing Josephine wants. Despite screaming and shouting about it, their mother takes Chance’s side because what he has done is extremely supportive and shows his mother that through everything, he is going to be there for her, while all Josephine can think about it how this is going to affect her.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, the school is coming down hard on Chance for violating the dress code and he is basically ordered to change his hair back to a more natural colour. With their mother’s surgery approaching both the twins are nervous about what will happen afterwards, but all seem to be going well. However, I have to say despite Josephine’s slight change in attitude, I hate her as a character. For most of this novel she has been the most selfish, self-centred and heartless child who has no regard for how anyone else feels and doesn’t care about anything unless she is thinking about how much it is messing up her own life and I need a lot more than “she changed” to make me believe that.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, Josephine finally realises what her brother has been trying to do and follows his lead despite the repercussions for her personally. The ending of Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas was pretty good and though provoking I seriously couldn’t overlook Josephine’s attitude for most of this novel as the novel is told for her perspective. I felt that there were a lot of other books that look at terminal illness that do it in a far better way with more likeable characters.

When Josephine’s mum announces that she has breast cancer, it turns Josephine’s life upside down. Instead of worrying about getting invited to the hottest party in school, she’s now counting down the days until her mum has to have life-saving surgery.

Josephine doesn’t want anyone to know, but her twin brother, Chance, has other ideas. He gets his hair dyed pink to raise awareness of breast cancer, and soon enough the entire school are planning to get their hair dyed in solidarity.

Well, the entire school except Josephine, who would never want to be the centre of attention.

My main issue with Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas is that the ages of the characters don’t ring true. Josephine reads as though she’s either seven or eight, while Chance seems more like an older brother than a twin. It feels as though they were aged up to allow for the hair dying aspect of the plot (although most hair dyes don’t recommend use on under 16s, so take precautions if you’re inspired by the characters in this novel!).

The other issue I had was that Josephine’s mum’s breast cancer was treated as a subplot. I think Andrea Pyros was intending to show that teenagers have lots of different things going on in their lives, so if a family member gets cancer it’s just one of many difficulties for them to face, but Josephine came across as shallow. She’s more interested in Autumn’s party and maintaining her social status than her mum – she even admits to herself that she completely forgets about her mum at times!

As someone who lost a close family member to cancer at the same age as Josephine, I was expecting to be heartbroken yet inspired by Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas. Instead, I was rather infuriated: Josephine is self-entitled – outraged when her best friend is upset that she didn’t share her mum’s diagnosis – and self-obsessed, genuinely believing that Chance getting his hair dyed will put her at the centre of attention. In reality, Chance gets applauded and people forget Josephine’s even his sister, and she’s not happy with that either! It’s so contradictory and hypocritical, and if I’d rolled my eyes any harder I think they would have stayed in my skull.

This book wasn’t a terrible idea, but I wouldn’t recommend it to any teenagers who find themselves in Josephine’s position, because I don’t think it’ll come across as comforting or anything that they can relate to.

I loved this, very good middle grade book featuring real issues real pre teens might face. I loved Josephine and Chance and their family, I would like to meet them again in another book!

Well, I wish I could say I read this one, but sadly I didn't. The book already left my Adobe Reader thingie way and apparently it has been archived for a few days.

I did manage to find a preview on Amazon, so I will write a tiny review based on that.

This was one book I meant to read so badly, but then was so busy I forgot all about it. :( And it is a topic that is close to me, though it wasn't my real mother who got breast cancer (twice, the first time I wasn't there, but hte second time when it came back I was there, and then it spread), but my fiance's mom, who I considered my second mom (though I never had the chance to tell her that, which I still regret). I wish I had more time with her, wish she could be there for our wedding, to see our new home *tears up* sorry, this makes me cry. So this book was something I really wanted to read.

Thankfully, I managed to find a preview on Amazon, it misses some pages here and there, but up to page 40 I can read, so that is good.

The story starts with our MC and her friends talking about a party, playing chess, and then the second chapter is when she hears the awful news about her mom's cancer. I teared up so much during that moment. I loved that the mom took all the time to answer any questions they had, even though she herself didn't know everything yet.

We find out about dad, and how the parents are divorced. It is sad when parents divorce, but I guess you can't force two people to stay together. I do wonder how this will play out, given the comments of our MC. Apparently dad isn't that good of a parent. Not cooking dinner or any food, letting them stay at his gigs until very late. I am kind of worried.

Of course, the party is also in full prep mode, and I was happy to see our MC had a guy she liked. I hope she is able to talk to him and ask him out. Sadly, my preview only lasted up to 40, so I will not now until I find the book again.

But those 40 pages are definitely a 4 star to me.

Kids have so much going on in their lives today with school, grades, friends, and family, it’s hard to get through it all, especially for kids who keep their struggles to themselves. What I love about books is that they are friends, the kind who show kids they’re not alone. Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas, by Andrea Pyros, does that by tackling issues such as sibling disagreements, a less than attentive father, friends, crushes, and a devastating cancer diagnosis.

As adults, the great majority of us have dealt with friends and/or family with health issues, some of them quite serious. It’s difficult, heartbreaking, and confusing. I can’t imagine a child being in the middle of that. In Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas,Pyros shows us how two people, siblings, deal with their mother’s breast cancer diagnosis.

What I loved about this book was that Pyros showed us how people can have completely different thoughts, fears, and methods of coping with difficult situations. Every reaction is not only possible, but also appropriate, and no one should feel ashamed or embarrassed at how they choose to deal.
The author also did a great job keeping the twins’ lives moving. When a diagnosis such as cancer occurs in someone’s life, unfortunately, the world around the family keeps moving. School and work responsibilities are still there, school activities are still held, and friend’s lives move on.

While reading this book, I remember thinking that there was something that it needed, but I still cannot think of what it would be. There were parts throughout the book that I felt dragged on for a long time, but I think the underlying message throughout was wrapped up in the end.
I do not know if I would recommend this book to my students, but I am sure that there would be older students (maybe high school) that would be able to relate to this book and really enjoy it.
Overall, I am glad I finished this book and I would give it a 3.5 stars.

I was surprisingly invested in this story.
I'm definitely not the target group, but I clearly remember what it was like becoming a teenager! All the changes and the confusion.. Pyros does a great job portraying how teenagers get overwhelmed by so many elements in their surroundings and try to deal with it all. On top of everything, the main character, Josephine, has to manage her mother's terrible news, an impulsive twin brother and being jealous of her best friend who's life is always soooo much easier..

I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to a young reader who can, no doubt, relate.