“ Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses is a funny, heartfelt book with a phenomenal premise.” — New York Times Teen Wolf meets Emergency Contact in this sharply observed, hilarious, and heartwarming debut young adult novel about friendship, chronic illness, and . . . werewolves. Priya worked hard to pursue her premed dreams at Stanford, but the fallout from undiagnosed Lyme disease sends her back to her childhood home in New Jersey during her sophomore year—and leaves her wondering if she’ll ever be able to return to the way things were. Thankfully she has her online pen pal, Brigid, and the rest of the members of “oof ouch my bones,” a virtual support group that meets on Discord to crack jokes and vent about their own chronic illnesses. When Brigid suddenly goes offline, Priya does something out of character: she steals the family car and drives to Pennsylvania to check on Brigid. Priya isn’t sure what to expect, but it isn’t the horrifying creature that's shut in the basement. With Brigid nowhere to be found, Priya begins to puzzle together an impossible but obvious truth: the creature might be a werewolf—and the werewolf might be Brigid. As Brigid's unique condition worsens, their friendship will be deepened and challenged in unexpected ways, forcing them to reckon with their own ideas of what it means to be normal. Gr 7 Up-A college student with Lyme disease and a werewolf become friends through an online support group. Priya was on the pre-med fast-track when she contracted Lyme disease. Now she spends all day laying in bed and scrolling Tumblr while her Indian American family hovers. Her one bright spot is her online friend Brigid and the chronic illness support group that they joined together. When Priya meets Brigid, who is of Irish descent, in real life, she discovers that her friend's "illness" is lycanthropy. This book perfectly captures what it feels like to be chronically ill: How good days and flare-ups feel like they'll last forever, how needing familial help extends your childhood, and even the deep depression you feel when you realize that things may never get better. O'Neal adeptly mixes the magical with the realistic. Priya and Brigid's support group spans a variety of races, sexualities, and gender identities without feeling as if the author is checking off boxes. Although the novel could be enjoyed without knowledge of Tumblr, in a few years the references to in-jokes will be either unintelligible or extremely dated. This is appropriate for middle schoolers, even though the age of the protagonist may resonate more with older teens. VERDICT A must-read for anyone with a chronic illness or who loves someone with a chronic illness. A good choice for YA collections.-Jeri Murphy, C.F. Simmons M.S., Aurora, ILα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. One of POPSUGAR's Best YA Books of April Kids’ Indie Next List Pick A SIBA Read This Next Selection for Spring 2021 A 2022-2023 South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominee “A funny, heartfelt book with a phenomenal premise . . . it manages to represent a lot of identities and intersectionalities: trans and disabled, chronically ill and racial minority, queer and cryptid. At its core, the novel feels like a love letter to the internet communities that connect people; it’s a reminder that friendships, both virtual and in-person, can save lives.”—Maya Van Waganen, New York Times “Emotional, thoughtful, and a true testament to the power of friendship, Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses is a werewolf novel that will make you look at navigating illness, supernatural or not, in a whole new way….O’Neal breaks new ground with this book and accomplishes something truly wonderful.”— Locus Magazine “Your next favorite horror-comedy.”—Syfy “O’Neal persuasively pulls from her own experience with chronic illness to inform her depiction of the topic, using interactions between support group members to layer comedic banter and vulnerability that specifically addresses aspects of disability experiences.”— Publishers Weekly “A heartwarming, quirky take on chronic illness in all its hairy detail.”— Kirkus Reviews “A fresh and original twist on the werewolf legend.” —Booklist “A must-read for anyone with a chronic illness or who loves someone with a chronic illness.” — School Library Journal “Clever, original, entertaining, and all the more impressive when considering that Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses is author Kristen O'Neal's debut as a novelist.”— Midwest Book Review “An electric tour de force of hilarity and humanity. Oof, ouch, my heart! It bleeds for this book.”—Preston Norton, author of Where I End and You Begin “Hilarious in addition to having great chronic pain/illness rep.” —The Horn Book Inc Kristen O’Neal is a freelance writer who has written for sites like Buzzfeed Reader, Christianity Today, Birth.Movies.Death