This is such an important book. It has a very specific theme but does contain some strong messages for all type of readers. It would be great for anyone to give it a try. The storyline is bittersweet but absolutely amazing.

I was really excited about this book and the premise was interesting. Unfortunately it didn't capture my attention the way I hoped it would. Maybe I'll try it again later.

Kristen O'Neal's novel 'Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses' is a fast and fun novel with an important message at its heart. Priya was at Stanford studying medicine when she contracted Lyme disease. Unfortunately, it has caused lasting damage due to being treated late - despite being bacteria free, she is now in daily pain and having to recuperate at home, back with her family. As she tries to deal with this regression and huge change to her life, she connects with some chronically ill friends online, including one who is hiding a big secret.

I did enjoy many aspects to this book. The theme of chronic illness is dealt with sensitively and some encouraging messages, about self worth and support, come through the group chat sections. Priya's growth across the novel, coming to terms with her illness and exploring how plans for her future can still be achieved, is a joy to follow. I also enjoyed her friendship with Brigid and Spencer- it was great to see her have a genuine, supportive connection beyond her family.

I felt like some aspects of the narrative were a bitty. Brigid's transformations started to feel repetitive and stall Priya's narrative journey rather than propel it. Priya's cultural identity also felt very surface and shoehorned into the story, adding little to the thrust of the story.

Overall, this deals well with the theme of chronic illness and is a great novel for YA readers. The uneven narrative arc and some lapses in pacing do not detract from it being an enjoyable read, 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Cool title, cover, and premise. I really enjoyed this read! It took me a couple chapters to get into, but once I did I couldn't put this book down. I absolutely loved it and I look forward to more writing from this writer.

After I saw feedback from the BIPOC community, I decided not to read or promote this book. When I requested it, I was not aware that the author was white and I do not support white saviorism in literature. This novel perpetuates harmful stereotypes and misconceptions about both people with disabilities and the Desi and Tamil experience.

While at college, Priya is diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease which forces her to move back home with her family. Ashamed that she didn’t finish school, she befriends Brigid online. They join a virtual support group for people with chronic illnesses. Brigid does not talk about what her illness is, but when she suddenly goes offline, Priya decides to check on her. What she finds when she gets to Brigid’s house is a horrifying creature, a werewolf. Is it really a werewolf and if it is, where’s Brigid? What did the creature do to her or is there a chance this werewolf is actually Brigid?

This was an interesting take on a story about friendship and unconditional support. The relationship between Priya and Brigid was strange especially with one of them being a werewolf. I don’t know that I would drive to a different state if someone I only knew online stopped posting, but that’s exactly what Priya does. Their friendship grows though even after Priya figures out what Brigid’s illness is. One part I loved about their story though was the animal control person, Spencer, who Priya calls twice to help her when Brigid is in werewolf form. I thought his character was a great comedic addition to the story.

This book is young adult and has parts that are written as a chat with slang and hashtags used when the support group is meeting online. I actually enjoyed this even if I might have had to look up a couple of things! I loved the members of the support group and thought they were great secondary characters especially because they brought attention to the chronic illnesses they had.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. This book was an interesting take on how to live with a chronic illness and focuses on peer support and found families. I have read some reviews that say the cover is racist, but please know that the werewolf on the cover is not meant to be Priya, the Tamil character, but is actually Brigid in her werewolf form.

Thank you NetGalley and Quirk Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was first attracted to this title by the fact that it includes a protagonist with a chronic illness -- something that is almost impossible to find in YA (or any fiction) novels today. It was an entertaining book that dealt with some important topics relevant to my students -- dealing with disabilities and mental illness as well as fostering relationships amidst these struggles -- with a plot that plays around with the werewolf trope. However, I'm a little wary of recommending this book widely because, although it is technically #OwnVoices due to the author's own chronic illness, the narrator is a young woman of South Asian descent which the author decidedly is not. Authors can certainly write about experiences outside of their own, but to have a first person protagonist whose culture is important to the development of the plot be of an ethnicity outside the author's ken is... problematic.

While the writing style was good and the story was easy to follow, I didn't vibe much with the plot. There are many parts that lack research to make the experience and the culture of the characters more authentic. I can't talk about the rep because it's far from mine as South American, so I read a few reviews of own voices readers and saw it wasn't done well, just like I got the feeling of while reading it.
It could've been a really nice and fun book with a few changes and more info.

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me.
The sheer amount of cultural appropriation as well as the "POC as animals" aspect really turned me off this book.
I wouldn't recommend it for anyone, really.
Some authors really need to learn to do better.

As a person with a chronic pain condition the inclusion of chronic illness in fiction is something I will always celebrate. For that reason, Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses is one of those books that I will not stop recommending!

The basic premise of two people meeting online who both have chronic illnesses (very realistic - every illness has a online community now), and one of which being lycanthropy is the perfect set up for both genuinely supportive and realistic conversations about chronic illnesses as well as absolutely mad comedic moments.

I would also like to say it is very easy to get medical information wrong in books like this but from what I could tell everything checked out and was honest and realistic.

Warm, quirky, endlessly funny! Loved it!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

I truly enjoyed this book about friendship, because that really is what it is all about at its core. There are whole communities of people online who may never meet in person but are supportive and caring toward each other and this story truly demonstrates that. The format flipping between IRL, texting, phone calls, and chat groups is really fun and a good depiction of how a lot of people communicate in their daily lives. I thought the story was well written and to that end, I truly cared about both Priya and Brigid..

I know there is controversy over whether O'Neal should have written about a culture she is not part of, but personally knowing families like Priya's I saw them reflected in hers without judgement or in a negative light. Additionally, having a chronic illness myself, I felt a lot of what was said in the group chats and such what my real life is like - especially when you have an invisible disease (no, I can't just take a nap!)

Overall a great book I will be recommending to my young audiences looking for something different but that they can relate to.

This book is built very effectively around the metaphor of lycanthropy for the invisible illness experience and how it intersects with gender (not all the ill people in this book are women but it's definitely a question the text is engaging with). Some aspects of the science are frustrating-- I have an idea about how to treat lycanthropy the characters never think of-- but the characters are well-drawn and lovable even in their flaws. This is a story about friendship that's extremely light on romantic elements, a good addition to the YA/new adult canon

Rating: 4.5/5 unexplained symptoms

Format: ebook. I’d like to thank the author and QuirkBooks for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review!

To sum up:
Priya had a plan. She was going to med school when she got Lyme disease and had to take a leave of absence. Now back with her loving, but slightly overbearing family, Priya dives into the world of her chronic illness support group on discord to try to process how her life has been derailed. There she meets some amazing people, including a sarcastic and witty Bridget. When Bridget disappears from the discord for a few days, Priya gets worried and finds a way to track her down. What she discovers is a Bridget no one would have expected.

What I enjoyed:
This book made my heart happy! I don’t talk about this on social often, but I have also been diagnosed with chronic Lyme. Seeing Priya work through the thoughts I have over and over was SO validating and emotional for me. So many times I found myself nodding in understanding or just silently weeping because of how easily I could connect with this character. Priya is kind, thoughtful, smart and trying her best to be a good friend, things that I also strive to be. She is discouraged by her diagnosis but also grappling with her new reality the best way she can.

I absolutely loved Priya and Bridget’s growing friendship. Their banter reminded me SO MUCH of my friends in high school! I laughed so hard at their conversations and their banter, it made me feel transported to another time. Everyone should be so lucky to have a Bridget (and an amazing chronic illness support group!) in their life. The way the whole group talks about the uncertainty of their symptoms, their struggles with treatment and getting what they need, and how it affects their family is SO complex and truly a wonderful thing to see in YA. We definitely don’t get enough chronic illness rep in YA and this was a really great way to bring in that topic while also adding in a wild, fantastical element with wonderful friendships.

What was meh:
The only thing I struggled with was the discord chat format. Although I started this on ebook, I had a hard time connecting with the characters reading it that way. I checked out the audio from the library however and I LOVED IT. I definitely suggest people give the audio a try if they can’t get into the ebook, the narrator is fantastic!

Overall, I am so happy this book exists. Anyone that has struggled with chronic illness or knows someone going through it should definitely pick this book up!

As a person with chronic illnesses, I was really excited to read this book. It started out really well. I felt like I could relate with the main character and her feelings about having to give up her social life and her college career to move back in with her parents because of her illness.

I really loved that she had an upbeat online friend that helped her stay happy and laugh. I enjoyed reading the messages from the support group they put together with other people with chronic illnesses and how they all supported each other and how funny they were.

With all of that said, I'm sorry to say that I did not finish reading this book because there wasn't enough beyond what I mentioned above to keep me interested. I am still very grateful for this arc.

Thank you, NetGalley and Quirk Books for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed my time with this book! I loved how all the topics were approached and all the little references and internet lingo throughout the book, althought it can be dated in a few years. Still, it made it more relatable and funny!

I requested this book prior to knowing the drama with the author and therefore will not be reading it. Not interested in supporting someone like that. Thank you though!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Quirk Books for the opportunity to read and review this book. This book is one that is considered a horror-comedy story and with the cover drama/racial representation debacle that also happened with this book, I can see the issues and would definitely exercise caution to the people directly affected. I cannot speak on the issues specifically, however there were moments that seemed like(in my personal opinion) the author was trying too hard to bring the poc characters to light and in doing so white washing them. As far as the chronic illness representation and the Lycanthropy discussion along with friendships, I could truly relate to all of the emotions and appreciated the support that the characters brought. There are trigger warnings of gore, dark humor, suicidal ideation, and of course the general elements of turning into a werewolf. However, there were moments that the author tried too hard as far as their writing to make jokes and items land that didn't make sense to me personally. Overall, I think this story can be helpful to a certain extent, but I think it could be harmful as well. Because of these points, I have to give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

This is a very unique take on a persons illness and gives us an insight into how you can have a normal life despite being ill.
In addition, I thought the plot was quite unique and I found myself laughing a little bit at certain parts.

Priya's chronic Lyme disease has put her premed dreams on hold, but her sanity is saved by a virtual support group that meets on Discord. When her support group pal Brigid suddenly goes afk, Priya, driven by urges she doesn't understand, goes to check up on her friend. And what she finds pushes the boundaries of "chronic illness". But given the proper support and care, these friends can deal with any condition. Right? Add in a cute animal control officer and subtract as much social media as possible and let the hijinks ensue. This is a very fresh take on lycanthropy and a deeply fun read.