This is a touching young adult story about serious issues. It's a relatable story with loveable characters. A lot of teens will find this story engaging.

When Josephine's mother arrives home with some terrible news, it is about the last thing Josephine feels prepared to handle. She's already got school and homework and a plethora of other things that activate her constant stream of anxiety. She just wants to keep everything to herself so no looks at her like a freak. Unfortunately for her, sometimes the things we want to deal with the least are the ones that we need to deal with the most.

This book felt like a believable portrayal of a young person struggling with the things Josephine is facing. She worries she's terrible because the terrible thing isn't the only thing she thinks about. In the midst of a crisis she still worries about boys and friends and school and that is 100% normal. I think this would be a great book for a kid dealing with a parental crisis because it doesn't invalidate any of their feelings or any of the ways those feelings are acted upon. Rather it lets Josephine have4 agency over her feelings and gives her the opportunity to work through them.

The only thing that disappointed me was that a handful of issues were left unresolved at the end of the book- I want to know more!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

When twelve-year-old Josephine finds out her mom has breast cancer, she doesn't want to talk about because talking about it will make it real, and she doesn't want to be known as the girl whose mom has cancer. However, Josephine's twin brother Chance dyes his hair pink, so now the whole school knows. Josephine also feels guilty that she thinks about her crush on Diego and the upcoming boy-girl party at Autumn's house instead of focusing all her thoughts on her mom. Does that make her a horrible person for thinking about these things that are surely not as important as her mom's health?

Andrea Pyros does an excellent job of writing from the viewpoint of a twelve-year-old girl. This is an endearing story suitable for late elementary and middle school students. I think a lot of girls will be able to relate to Josephine. My only complaint about the book would be that the ending seemed a little abrupt.

This book was everything I was expecting and more.

There was a thing or two I found problematic, nothing that changed how i felt about the book.

I absolutely fell in love with the MC's, they were super lovable and perfectly written!

4/5 stars !!!

A sweet, nice story about a young girl dealing with her mother's cancer diagnosis. I'm a little confused about the ages; they read young to me, but the characters are stated to be twelve and their first boy/girl party is a major theme. I couldn't shelve this in the twelves section, though, it's too easy. Not a big deal, though.

* Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an arc, in exchange for an honest review. *

This was my first time to read a middle grade novel since I was in middle school. So, my opinions may not be the best given, I am not familiar with genre anymore. But, the synopsis pulled me for some of my own personal reasons, so I requested it.

This story follows 12 year-old Josephine, who has a twin brother, divorced parents, and is a little bit of an introvert. I really appreciated getting to see an introvert in a MG novel, since I was also one. The story starts off with Jose and Chance's mother informing them that she had found a lump in her breast and it was cancerous, and the novel mentions divorced parents but I was expecting it to be a more recent event. This pulled me, my own parents divorced when I was 14 and shortly after, my mom had found a lump and had to be tested for cancer (in my own story, the test came back negative). But, I remember that I had to watch my mother tell him and talk about the plan if something were to happened, which I didn't know how to react and it wasn't something that I felt able to express at school or be able to process through books. So, that was a nice thing to find in a book, I could have used at the time. The moments when Jose, her mom, and her brother would talk about it, always had me tearing up. It's a very real and scary situation.

However, there were a few things I did not like. The vocabulary at times sounded a little older than I was expecting and I wasn't always rooting for Josephine, but I did love her twin brother, Chance. Josephine was often whiny, and would be jealous of her best friend, Makayla, but then she would be upset when her friend pulled away when Jose had done it first. She began a lot of her own issues with her friend group and being unnecessarily angry or rude to her mom or brother.

I liked her brother, Chance more, and there was this sweet moment when he paid to get his hair dyed pink to honor his mother, the sweet little baby. Josephine eventually has some growth towards the end of the story and also dyes her hair pink, which was a really sweet moment with her brother and mom. I also really enjoyed that her crush is a Latino boy named Diego Martinez, and small details like the closeness of their mom and their dad's sister even after the divorce.

Overall, the vocab/voice threw me off, but some side characters and the eventually growth was very nice.

7 out of 10.

I want to thank Netgalley for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book.
I’ll be honest at the start it felt very young but as I kept reading an amazing story unraveled.
This book is very important for younger reader because it tackles issues like Divorce and Cancer.
I found Josephine very relatable her guilt played a huge part in this story.
She felt like she shouldn’t be enjoying life because her mother was ill.
I know personally how hard it is when a loved one close to you is I’ll do this story was a very personal one for me.
Overall I really enjoyed it and gave it 4 stars.

I guess I should say "Baaa", because I feel like a black sheep on this one. I enjoyed this book and often wanted to give Josephine a hug, because she tugged at my heartstrings.

Josephine was a quiet, young woman, who's life got a little tilted, when she found out that her mother had breast cancer. She was a twin, and her brother, Chance, was always standing out, while Josephine tried to blend in. In a show of support for their mother and others dealing with breast cancer, Chance dyed his hair pink. This, of course, drew a lot of attention, and then the secret was out that Josephine's mother was ill, and the pitying looks began.

I really valued Josephine's growth during this story. At first, she was angry when the news of her mother's illness got out, but then she saw how her friends did not pity her, but rather, wanted to show her support. They wanted to be there for her, in much the same way that she realized she wanted to be there for her mom and her brother.

Josephine was also a worrier. She liked predictability, stability, and knowing what to expect. Her mother's illness, impending surgery, and the normal day-to-day worries of a 7th grader got to be a bit of a burden for Jo. I am pretty sure 12-year-old me may have made some some emotionally driven missteps in this situation as well. The important part was that Josephine realized she made mistakes, she atoned for her mistakes, and she learned from them. She never stopped valuing her friends and family at any point, and she did finally realize that being honest with them was of the utmost importance.

I also liked the way Josephine's struggle with her guilt played into the story. She often felt like she shouldn't be enjoying things or doing fun stuff, while her mother was ill. I found it relatable. It is often difficult to enjoy things, when you know a loved one is suffering, and it was that inner turmoil, which really endeared Jo to me.

Overall: I thought Pyros did a great job incorporating issues of divorce, cancer, anxiety, friends, and family while keeping the story on the lighter side and still having some impact.

Thank you, NetGalley for the preview of this digital ARC.

Recently, I have been reading some excellent middle-grade books, thanks to Netgalley and "Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas" by Andrea Pyros was no different.

Josephine and her twin, Chance find out that their mother has cancer. This book follows Josephine as she deals with this news, while at the same time finding her way through middle school relationship dramas.

I would recommend it to everyone.

I really tried to like this but I sadly couldn't get past it. I did finish it although it was hard. I think this had to do with me not being in the mood for this specific type of book.

*I received this ebook as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas by Andrea Pyros is about twelve-year-old Josephine and her brother, Chance. Though they're twins, they are extremely different people; Josephine is shy and likes to stay in the background, while Chance is popular and confident. Josephine is already having to deal with crushes, friend drama, and the fallout of her parents' divorce when their mom announces that she has breast cancer, and will be having surgery right before the party that Josephine has been looking forward to. Josephine would prefer to stay out of the spotlight and not tell anyone - even her friends - about this, but then Chance dyes his hair pink to support his mom and soon the whole school knows.

All I can really say is that this book was okay. I enjoyed the fact that this story exists, as I think it's important to have books that deal with things that real people have to as well, and there are definitely kids out there who can relate to this book. I related to Josephine's desire for privacy - I'm sure that if I had received news like that, I would pretty much have the same reaction, as it isn't anyone's business what is going on in her family's personal life, and though I think Chance had good intentions, his actions were extremely inconsiderate to Josephine's feelings, especially when he knew her opinion. No one in the book seemed to understand Josephine's feelings on privacy, showing just how hard it can be to be an introvert and private individual in today's world of sharing everything. However, I don't think that's the message of the book, because in the end, Chance ends up convincing Josephine to change her mind, which I did not appreciate, though it did have some cool effects on the end of the plot.

However, most of the characters were annoying - are all middle schoolers this obnoxious and self-obsessed? - and the writing stye was just average, with nothing special to define it, It was kind of fun to read but it didn't have a gripping plot or characters.

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Josephine is dealing with middle school, friend issues, and her parents' divorce, and doesn't feel that she handles things as well as her twin brother, Chance, who is very popular. In fact, when the popular Autumn is planning a big, fancy boy-girl party, Josephine hopes that she will get invited if she can facilitate a relationship between Autumn and her brother. TO make things even more awkward, Josephine has a crush on her brother's best friend, and asking him to the party will be hard! On top of all this ordinary middle school angst, the twin's mother drops this news-- she has breast cancer, and will need surgery right before the party. Their father will come from two hours away to stay with them, and then their aunt will come while their mother is recuperating. This is scary, and Josephine does NOT want anyone at school to know about it. She doesn't want to have everyone look at her as "the girl whose mom has cancer". Chance has no such scruples, and dyes his hair pink to benefit breast cancer research. Even after he gets in trouble for it at school, he encourages his teammates to raise money to have the entire team's hair done. This, of course, lets everyone know about her family's situation, and Josephine is not happy. She's worried about her mom, but also about the party, and as the two events near, she finds it harder and harder to keep things together. How can she live her life but also show her mother how much she cares?
Strengths: Personally, I think that Josephine has the right idea. No one needs to know her family's story. Well, the teachers should, but they should not tell anyone else and not mention it to her, just be aware in case she needs support. The twin tension is a nice touch, as is the rather irresponsible noncustodial father. The details of the mother's treatment are informative, and the worry the children feel is realistic. The friend and romance drama is especially well done, and "drama" is certainly something for which I get a LOT of requests.
Weaknesses: The school suspending Chance about the hair dye even after the mother goes to the principal's office and tells them about her cancer doesn't seem right to me. Also, Josephine's desire to keep things private is frowned upon, and I think she is entitled to her privacy.
What I really think: Like Sonnenblick's Falling Over Sideways, this does a great job at showing how family events can impact students' lives, and how normal concerns about school and friends don't fade away in the face of larger issues, just become more complicated. Definitely purchasing, but not a fan of the cover.

In Pink hair and other terrible ideas, we follow Josephine, a twelve year old girl with a twin brother and divorced parents. Jose and Chance (the twin brother!) live with their mother and visit their dad once in a while. On an extraordinary day, their mother tells her kids that she has an anouncement; she has breastcancer.

This is a disaster! Her mother will probably be fine, but Josephine is still worried. Sweet Jose, who calls herself “a silent worrier”, is scared. What if something happens to her mom? What will her best friend Makayla say? And on top of everything, she just got invited to the party of the year, and there will be BOYS!

I enjoyed reading this book so much; i love myself a middle grade once in awhile! Before i knew i finished the whole book. This is of course a great sign! I love how we get representation of cancer, anxiety, dress code shaming,… It deals with so many themes at the same time and still the book is very enjoyable!

I didnt enjoy this as much as i hoped due to the fact i had to read it on my laptop so was broken up. The story flowed easily and was enjoyable to read but it didnt fully pull me in. May have been due to it being an MG.

A sweet, nice story about a young girl dealing with her mother's cancer diagnosis. I'm a little confused about the ages; they read young to me, but the characters are stated to be twelve and their first boy/girl party is a major theme. I couldn't shelve this in the twelves section, though, it's too easy. Not a big deal, though.

It dealt well with two common reactions to this kind of news; talking it out with others, or hiding for fear of making it real, which makes it a good story to help children deal with things. A good read and a useful read.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s based at tweens and is the story of Josephine, cancer and her fears and phobias. I think it would be an excellent book to purchase for a child having to go through a patent with cancer. The cancer is wound into the main character’s life and although it’s on her mind almost constantly, she’s other tween fears and phobias to contend with. It’s not without twists and turns, with a few surprises in the mix, but is told without being condescending in any way..

Pyros, Andrea. Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas. Capstone, 2019.

Josephine is the less popular of the twins, and she's already reeling from her parents' divorce and trying to navigate the halls of middle school when her mom tells her that she's been diagnosed with breast cancer. Josephine doesn't want to stand out at school, so she tries not to tell anyone, but then her brother, in a show of support, dyes his hair bright pink, and Josephine finds she cannot hide any longer.

This was a great idea for a book, but it ended super abruptly. There were lots of threads of the story that were picked up and then dropped. It reads more like a book for middle grade students (3rd-4th grade), but the main characters are twelve and have crushes and go to boy/girl parties, etc. etc, which makes it hard to place this book in the library.

I wasn't sure why the idea of the principal complaining about Josephine's brother's pink hair was placed in the story when it wasn't fleshed out more later on. The whole football team could have gotten their hair dyed, or Josephine's friends could have done it, or many people from the school or something. It seemed like a major plot point, but then it disappeared, along with most of the details of the mom's cancer and treatments, recovery, etc. The dad wasn't very well rounded, either; readers are told that he is fairly irresponsible and childish, but that's all we get.

I think this book would have benefited with more length to tie up the loose ends of the story or with editing to take away the unnecessary subplots (the dad being a giant child, the boy/girl party not actually involving any risque activity, the outlawing pink hair at the school thing, etc. etc.). I like the idea of this book, but it failed on the execution.

Recommended for: middle grade and tweens
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

I would like to thank both NetGalley and Capstone Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read ’Pink Hair and other terrible Ideas by Amanda Pyros’ in exchange for an honest none biased review.

This is a quick read book. Based on twins Josie and Chance whos mum is diagnosed with breast cancer. It certainly deals with the subject of cancer in an excellent way that children / young adults would understand.

This book is excellent for young adults at the level of detail and understanding is at the right level.

Boy crushes! Friend drama! Annoying twin brother! Cancer?! Author Andrea Pyros has an incredible gift of speaking the language of your typical tween. You can hear that voice in her newest book, Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas. Josephine and her twin brother, Chance, have just learned that their mother has Stage 2 breast cancer. While Chance reacts with asking their mom a million questions and trying to understand the disease, Josephine turns inward for fear that saying the word “cancer” out loud will be their mom’s death sentence.

Josephine refuses to tell anyone, even her best friend Makayla, about her mom being sick. After all, she hates being the center of attention. Having a sick mom is a big deal, but so is the fact that Josephine and Chance have been invited to the biggest 7th grade party of the year! Josephine struggles with keeping her mom’s cancer a secret from her friends, especially when there’s a big party to plan for. But when Chance dyes his hair bright pink in support of their mother, Josephine is mortified. Now EVERYONE knows the big secret!

Surprisingly, I enjoyed this book! At first I thought that Josephine was just being a bratty tween, but as you get to know her, you begin to understand her. It was like peeking into a 7th grade girl’s head! The book is well written in the language that many tweens will relate to and the subject of cancer is also written in a modest manner. This will be a great read for grades 4-7 or ages 9-13.

Thank you to NetGalley and Capstone for providing me with this e-arc!

It deals with many subjects very nicely.
I would definitely say we can all relate to this on some point or another.
I don't usually read Middle grader books but I loved this one and I'm glad I did.
I recommend it.