Abby Jimenez is an author I've been eyeing for the longest time. While I managed my expectations prior to starting this book (especially since romance tends to be hit-or-miss for me), I was pleasantly surprised by how fun and engaging the first few chapters were. However, the story took a drastic turn for the worse when the heavy-handed treatment of ALS came into focus. I was not prepared for (and am still genuinely mortified by) the rampant ableism, trauma porn, and toxic positivity in Life's Too Short.

Vanessa, the main character, self-diagnoses herself with ALS and is convinced that she will die before she's thirty - and this unshakable fear of early death is what propels her to live every moment like it's her last. Although "live each day to its fullest" isn't necessarily a problematic message, the blatant usage of terminal illness and disability as a vehicle to promote the meaningfulness of life is unspeakably uncomfortable and gross. And in line with this, I was sincerely sickened by the way that Adrian, the love interest, was lauded for being in a relationship with a sick/disabled woman because "not everyone would be willing to stick around".

Allow me to end this review with: Life's Too Short is essentially an aged-up, modernized reimagining of The Fault in Our Stars with quirkier writing, heavy-handed trauma dumping, and a quick-fix ending.

Not recommended.
[ trigger/content warnings:

Spoiler

chronic/terminal illness; symptoms of ALS; mental illnesses (including mentions of OCD, hoarding); substance abuse, addiction, and relapse; child abandonment; parental abandonment issues; depictions of grief and loss of family members; ableism (mostly unchallenged); reflections on impending death; depiction of a panic attack; car accident (not graphic); gun shot (not graphic); infidelity (involving a married party)

]