A hugely impressive contemporary own voices YA book, Cursed by Karol Ruth Silverstein is an empowering and emotional read that will speak to people of all ages.
Erika, better known as Ricky, is 14 and trying to come to terms with her parent's divorce, but even worse that that she is coming to terms with a diagnosis that will impact every day of her life. It's only been a few months but she's already changed schools and lost all her friends , embarrassed herself and had to deal with unendurable pain and frustration, and just to add insult to injury she is still in middle school despite most kids her age having moved on, because her new school is a three year middle school. Its no wonder that she has decided that school is not for her, and has not gone to class for weeks , but unfortunately despite her best scheming and plotting the truth is bound to come out. In order to graduate with her class and avoid either Summer school or yet another year of middle school, she is going to have to put in a serious amount of work, not just academically, but on herself too.
It is rare to find a YA book focused on a character with chronic pain, and as someone who suffers from a similar condition to Erica ( though I am a *cough* few years older , I can attest to how accurate the description of pain and it's impact on even the smallest aspects of your life, really is . I found myself wincing, not just in empathy but also in recognition. I loved that Erika grew, not so much into a tolerance of her condition, but an acceptance of it., in a positive way, where she found ways to work around it to do the things she wanted to do. Another important feature that I appreciated was her increasing confidence in her ability to advocate for herself, both when dealing with her doctors and with teachers at school.The message of being and advocate for your own health, and the importance of having a medical practitioner who listens to you is one that is really important. It is really refreshing to have a character like RIcky be allowed to be angry and frustrated, so much more realistic that the more stereotypical inspirational character she could have been. Sadly it is also a very realistic book in terms of the challenges she faces in school, and the amount of pushing she and her Dad have to do to get the most basic of accommodations like a key for the school elevator and an understanding that she may need more time to move between classrooms. While the focus of the book is on RIcky, the author has not shortchanged the other characters, and their relationships with RIcky are well crafted and very believable. The most interesting of these were her developing friendship with classmate Ollie, and the grudgingly earned mutual respect between her and her teacher. It's also important to note that while Ricky may dealing with a few more physical issues that most teens, she is also dealing with issues like crushes , bullying and learning what it means to be a good friend, and learning a lot about herself along the way, including the importance of not ignoring the fact that other people have problems too, even when your problems seem so much bigger.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Enjoyed reading this book and learning more about juvenile arthritis through the main character. I think these books are important for kids to read so that they can understand and empathize with others.

I received this arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Due to her illness, Ricky skips school constantly. Her parents are divorced and don’t speak often. After she’s caught, she has to return to school and pass her classes. While her days are difficult, some of her peers make school bearable.

I liked Ricky and Oliver’s friendship. Providing levity and support to Ricky’s stressful life, Olive is probably the most developed character. As a Green Day fan, I liked the references to the band and their songs. I enjoyed the theme of agency throughout the novel. The final chapters were the strongest parts of the book.

In regards to Ricky’s illness, those sections were informative and well described.

Unfortunately, the rest of the book is written poorly. The author uses simplistic language, no description, telling, and countless filter words. The writing distracted me enough to ruin my enjoyment of the book. Perhaps the author sacrificed the quality of the novel’s writing for its conversational tone.

Ricky grows by the end. However, some of her reactions and narration seemed immature and more believable for a 12 year old girl than a highschooler. Two of Ricky’s classmates, Lex and Kendall, have depth but they barely appear. These interesting characters are squandered.

If the writing was better, I would have rated this book higher.

Great read dealing with chronic pain the mental health conditions associated. Ricky's sense of humour throughout was portrayed perfectly.

Disclaimer: Although my mom was my age when she collapsed at her nursing job due to degenerative disc disease, and was never able to return to work, (she has been on Social Security Disability since then for that social anxiety, and depression) she is the major influence behind my choosing Cursed by Karol Ruth Silverstein, to review.


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Thank you to Charlesbridge Teen and NetGalley for an Arc in exchange for an honest review
Now, in her… ahem… I shouldn’t tell my mom’s age, I suppose, (I do have permission to share her story) it has progressed to arthritis, multiple sclerosis and scoliosis. Additionally, she has had half of a lung removed due to lung cancer and most recently (during the hiatus I took from blogging) a pulmonary embolism that has led to her needing a daily nebulizer and Inogen (portable oxygen).

This made it very validating and refreshing when the main character talks about patients knowing more than doctors about their conditions. Ricky discusses often and candidly about her fight and need to advocate for herself until she found doctors who listened to her needs. Basically, until she found the right doctor and what a long and arduous process that can be.

As a daughter, I learned so much about being an advocate for myself in ALL aspects of life watching my mom fight for hers. Until now. Now she needs my brother and I to do what she can no longer do. Had we not watched and learned from her. Had we not put into practice for ourselves, as Ricky did. We could not do.it now for her.

It is these moments that make Cursed so powerful. I can’t say I’ve read many own voice books about teenagers suffering from chronic illness. However, I know now how incredibly important they are because they teach the lessons my mom had to learn on her own, much later in life. And these lessons are essential to a battle they will have to fight every day of their lives.

Yes, it is tiring. Yes, it is frustrating. But build the emotional grit for it now and your emotional and physical well being will thank you in the long run ten-fold. This I know from experience.

Ricky’s day-to-day swing in emotions is authentic and true. Everything I’ve already discussed would make anyone moody, disgruntled and frustrated. It would an adult. Throw in the fact that while no one feels this type of illness is fair? To a teenager it feels like the carpet of a life planned, pulled out from under you. On top of that Ricky is dealing with the demise of her parents marriage.

Silverstein does a fantastic job isolating the daily obstacles Ricky faces. Things most wouldn’t think of unless they suffer from a chronic illness. For example, getting taking a bath, not going to school because of a lack of mandated accommodations. It is a whole new way to live and world to navigate.

Lastly, people often mean well when they want to relate. My mom’s illness originated in her back and often people would kind of chuckle and say oh yeah my back is always killing me. Mom never made a big deal of it in public but in private she felt like people dismissed her as being dramatic.

Ricky’s struggle with those same questions- whether she really wanted authentic attention or she wanted to push back on feeling dismissed hit home.

This is an important read and not just for teenagers suffering from chronic illness. For their parents, for all educators, social workers, counselors, nurses and teenagers in general as we move to having a more inclusive approach to our school system/society dynamics.

Whether mental or physical, you don’t know what people are going through. And if you do? You might know the big picture but not the day in and day out struggles. You might not know just how to support them or what to say. That’s ok.

The best thing you can do is make yourself aware. Ask if they want to talk about what they are going through and how you can help. And most importantly? Don’t just walk away because it is too much. If you think it is too much for you? Imagine how they feel.

Jam-packed with Catastrophes and Victories

Cursed is about a girl called Ricky who has recently been diagnosed with arthritis. She feels like she is cursed and is quite moody and annoyed. She skips school (and takes baths instead) because she struggles to cope with it. When her parents find out that she has been skipping school, she is forced to go to school again. The book is about the crazy catastrophes she encounters at school and whether the arthritis will get better.

The book reminded me a bit of Wonder because both August and Ricky have to go through school feeling different from everyone else. It is like they are going solo and I think that it is a feeling a lot of kids have even if they don't have the same problems that Ricky does. She isn't a nice character at the start of the book and she is jam-packed with problems both inside and outside of school. I enjoyed wondering how things will get better for her.

I liked that when a disaster happens Ricky's mind swirls, whirls and goes into crazy panic and disaster mode. Also when she gets annoyed she exaggerates it so that it's funny. The book is also full of strong, determined and crazy characters, which I loved. People who like reading books where action is always happening will enjoy it too.I would definitely recommend this book to my friends especially those who like books like Wonder, Fish in a Tree and Goldfish Boy. I would give this book 4 stars out of 5.

This is such a refreshing read! It's one of the first books I've read with a main character who has chronic pain, where it's actually a central topic of the book. And seeing as the rep for this is own voices, I really appreciated that.

While I don't have a chronic illness myself, the title "cursed" - being used by the MC to describe her chronically ill body - seems a little iffy. But I did love seeing a disabled character portrayed in a way that's not stereotypical and in a way that centers her as a person, and not as an inspiration or someone to pity for others. She gets to be angry, and she gets to resent how she feels and what she's unable to do.

"I guess it's no big deal to them. It's obviously not suddenly going to be a main topic of conversation [...]. Thank God. But at the same time, I feel a tinge of disappointment, like maybe I want them to care a little. But do I?"

Aspects of the book were very relatable for me, because being autistic, I have some similar experiences. Of course you never want people to make a huge deal about it and treat you differently once they find out, but on the other hand... it also sort of stings when they brush it off like it's nothing. And that happens all the time. You tell someone you're autistic (and I imagine it's the same with a lot of disabilities and chronic illnesses) and maybe you give an example of what you struggle with, and then they'll immediately project it onto themselves and say something like "oh yeah, I get that too!" Which is probably meant to be supportive and accepting, but it feels a lot more like erasure and dismissal.

I also loved some of the on-page discussions, like about how medical professionals aren't always best equipped to deal with chronic pain, and how it should be okay to try to find a doctor who's a good match for you.

Before picking up this book, I actually didn't expect to enjoy it a lot, but I did want to give it a shot. And I'm so pleasantly surprised! There's a lot of character development as well, and not just in the main character, but in her parents as well.

Rep: chronic illness/chronic pain

CWs: (internalized) ableism, bullying, cancer, hospitals, mention of panic attacks

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks NetGalley!

Ricky is a likable character. This book showed the realistic struggles of a chronic illness/pain. The school had to be forced to provide accommodations that most would think would be easy to receive, but the reality is it's incredibly difficult for most to understnad what people with chronic pain go through. I'm glad this book shed some light on that... and how these illnesses can effect your mood and personality.

great book for teenagers and young adults.

I really enjoyed this own voices book about a teen girl with chronic illness. Ricky is a great character, and I especially liked how the book charted Ricky's journey to accept her arthritis and learn to ask for help.

However, what I really loved was how the book pointed out how the school had to be pushed into giving Ricky accommodations, that the medical profession weren't always listening to her, and then gave us examples of how much better Ricky coped once the accommodations and the right medication were in place.

While I definitely think teens (and adults) with chronic illness can relate to Ricky, I think it's even more important for those without chronic illness to read these kinds of stories.

Surprisingly, Cursed was actually really good. The main character is 14 years old, she has arthritis and her parents are divorced. She has a few problems and it sends the message that there are people who might be struggling and you have no idea. Also it isn't just the elderly who get arthritis. The chapters are short which can be good for someone who is busy and doesn't have much time to read.

I initially wasn't exactly sure about this book, but I was pleasantly surprised by it. I found it quite engaging, the writing felt light and easy to read despite the fact that the subject it tackled at times was everything but light and easy to read. I thought the characters were well-developed, they had a nice dynamic, and they were definitely easy to connect to. The plot was interesting, paced well - it kept my attention throughout.
The story was realistic, captivating, and to me it was very relatable. It's just such a hopeful story, but in an unusual way, and it's a must-read for every fan of YA fiction, especially if you suffer from chronic pain.

I love seeing that there are more books out there that are diving into chronic pain and the complications that can bring in a society that. does not understand the realties of it very well.
That being said, I found the voice a little flat and undeveloped. Of course, this is just my personal view. It seems like many other people are loving it, so definitely give it a try if it sounds interesting.

Liked this book a lot. It was really enjoyable and interestin. thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing the arc.

I loved that this is an #ownvoices read! The portrayal of chronic illness in this story is clearly written from a perspective of someone who also battles chronic illnesses, so it added a more realistic perspective to this story.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. At times, I definitely found myself getting emotional during certain scenes that contained challenging topics. What I loved most is that this book was real. It didn't focus on only the fluffy parts of illness, but unwaveringly portrayed the challenges and hardships that can come alongside it.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgally for review purposes.

So anyone who follows my reviews probably knows I'm a little harsh on YA. I keep reading it then get upset when I don't like it, so clearly I'm a glutten for punishment 🤷.

That being said, I really really enjoyed this. From start to finish. Maybe I'm a little biased because being about a girl with chronic illness, I related heavy. I'm also a spoonie and though I'm not out of HS I also was barely there and was told I wouldn't be able to graduate since I missed so much school work.

Other than the heavy relation, the characters also stood out and were easy to remember. They didn't all blur and mix together in a seemingly similar way, and overall I liked them all. Not only that but the voice was strong and actually FELT like things young adults do, say, ect. So many of these books just strike a nerve because the kids always act differently than kids in real life.

The book also stayed relevant with chronic illness life, which as probably anyone with chronic illness knows one of the hardest things is doctors not believing, not listening, or just not caring!!

So if you're also a spoonie you'll be able to relate and feel a connection but if you're not I feel like this would be really eye opening, while also just being a fun read!

Recommend!!

Cursed originally caught my eye because it’s tackles chronic iilness. I feel like there’s aren’t many in mainstream YA fiction so I was excited.

Although I suffer from chronic illness I am not a teenager anymore. Even so, I could relate to aspects of this book, especially the frustration about things you cannot control.

I loved how the author showed that the main characters illness affected every aspect of her life, for example - getting into the bath. She focused on the little details as well as the bigger, more obvious things.

I recognised that angry part in the main character. When things are so far out of your control, it’s hard to breathe, it’s hard to live just knowing and feeling everything going on in your body.

I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to reading more of this authors work!

As a parent of a child who suffers from a chronic illness, I couldn't wait to read this novel. Karol Ruth Silversteing absolutely nails the intensity of emotions when dealing with chronic pain as well as beautifully handles the already awkward time of starting high school. I loved this book and, if I could, would make everyone I know read it.

This #ownvoices novel centers around Erica ‘Ricky’ who has juvenile arthritis. I read this entire book in a few hours as I just couldn’t put it down. I quickly became invested in these characters and would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an amazing read!

This book is suited a little bit towards older children (10+) but I think that it is very important and addresses the concept of a child dealing with a chronic pain illness.

Once the book opens, the main character, Erica, seems a little too much like a younger Holden Caulfield; Skips her fancy school, is estranged from her friends, and is basically a youth in revolt.

However, it turns out the girl is dealing with debilitating early onset arthritis that makes her question her worth as a person, and kind of explains everything.

As the book goes on, her character is developed quite nicely as she discovers that she is not the only one with issues, and she can always ask for help.

It seems like a youth in revolt story but it really delves into what it means to have such an illness as a kid and how to deal with it.

Well what can I say about this book, I loved it! The main character Erica AKA Ricky is amazing with a great sense of humor, and the fact that she narrates the story makes a difficult subject enjoyable and comical. While Ricky is like most other kids she differs in one huge way, she suffers from chronic illness. This was very interesting because I don't know much about this disease so it was interesting to learn what people go through. While this disease would be trouble on its own throw in a parental divorce, bullies, and a lack of friends she seems to have had the whole book thrown at her in one go. I liked how Ricky talked about her illness and how it limited her but she didn't do it in a give me pity sort of way it was just matter of fact. Very well written. I loved Ricky's character from the very first page. Ricky's character is right up there with the greats such as Holden Caufield, and Jack from Emma Donoghue's Room. I also liked how this book showed that just because someone doesn't show something on the outside it doesn't mean that they aren't in pain or struggling with something on the inside. The best part about this book for me was when Ricky met Oliver. They were so cute together and I loved the contrast in their
personalities. Nice job and I'm glad I got to check out this wonderful story.