The F--- It List by Julie Halpern

I don't have a bucket list - you know, a list of things you want to accomplish before you 'kick the bucket.' It's not that I've done everything I have ever wanted to. I just don't feel the need to write these things down. Becca, on the other hand, has been making a list for a long time, but now is the time for her to act...

Becca has cancer. The prognosis for recovery is good, but why take chances? Knowing she will be sick and too weak to work on her list, she gives it to her best friend Alex to do some of it for her. 'Bucket list' is too morbid (especially since Alex knows Becca is not going to die), so they call it the F--- It List.

It's unfortunate that Alex went to the first day of school not knowing anything about Becca's condition. They had a falling out (over a guy) and had not spoken all summer. And Alex could have used her best friend since she was dealing with the sudden death of her father.

We follow Alex through her life coping with her father's death, her friend's cancer (and treatment which is sometimes worse than the disease) and Leo, a guy she may be dating but not exactly. The time with Leo makes Alex's life more complicated for many reasons, one in particular is that Alex feels guilty for having fun while Becca has lost her social life, her strength, her appetite and her beautiful hair. Alex loses herself in horror films dreaming of the day when she can make her own.

This story is not about completing items on the list. That occurs, but it does not drive the story as much as Alex's relationships with the people in her life.  Alex and Becca both need each other and it comes through in their conversations. They are funny, honest and sometime harsh.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog and the author's site.