At first glance, it may appear that Mr. Parkin is attempting to tell the reader to ignore the laws and values of society, to just do his or her own thing. However, that is not true. Rather, Mr. Parkin is attempting to help the reader free him/herself from all the obligations and to allow one to enjoy everything has to offer. In essence, life is too short to stress about anything at all. Say "F*** it" (and truly mean it) and that stress disappears. It is not a giving up but a relaxation of one's expectations of one's job, society, and of life. Unfortunately, what starts out as tongue-in-cheek good fun takes a turn for the serious when Mr.Parkin starts exploring the idea of chi and forms. As soon as he moves on to this idea of movement and releasing chi, the book loses some of its charms. It is such a juxtaposition that it undoes any of the learnings from the previous first-half of the novel. I personally enjoyed the irreverence and humor of the first half of the book and felt a bit like Mr. Parkin began to take himself too seriously. He has some great ideas and provides plenty of food for thought, and I personally wish he would have left the forms and chi discussion alone. Not only did I deeply despise the main character, Alex ( and actually every character after that ), but just the whole plot and way the book was written was very messy. You would think it's an adventurous and friendship filled read, but in reality, it's about a selfish brat who barely cares about her dying friend. Having said that, I feel like readers should be warned that the writing here could use the touch of a good editor. The book is written in a very stream-of-consciousness style, almost a mad dash of "hey-I-just-figured-out-this-whole-secret-to-happiness" writing that leaps all over the place. The chapters provide some loose organization, but overall the writing just isn't very tight - even though it is deep, clever, and amusing at times. I almost can't help but feel that this writing style was a conscious decision - even the foreword lampshades the fact that a true "f--- it" philosophy follower can best express their dedication to the philosophy by churning out a slap-dash foreword! (Quite amusing actually.) So I almost feel churlish pointing it out at all, except that I'm concerned that some readers may be put off slightly by the looseness of the writing, no matter how much I might agree with the fundamental philosophy contained herein. I suspect, though, that this will be a personal preference that depends on the reader. So, find out how to say F**k It to all your problems and concerns. Say F**k It to all the 'shoulds' in your life and finally do what you want to do, no matter what other people think.

One of the defining elements of The F-It List was Alex and Becca's relationship. It isn't every day you come across best friends like these two. Sure, they've done some pretty horrible things to one another, but, honestly, what best friends don't find themselves in those situations? Becca, in a moment of misguided weakness, sleeps with Alex's boyfriend... the day of Alex's father's funeral. In response, Alex refuses to speak to or see Becca for the entire summer following the funeral and betrayal. But, the first day of the new school year, Alex goes in search of Becca... because they're best friends and people make mistakes sometimes and deserve to be forgiven. Best friends are sometimes selfish and sometimes entirely self-sacrificing: Alex and Becca have been both, they understand and accept one another, and they're stronger because of it. Gripping, terrifying and hilarious - John Niven is our Hunter S. Thompson.' ADAM KAY, author of This Is Going to HurtWe get to one star and we're sunk. There's a decent idea in there, but it is badly presented and rushed. And how on earth did he manage to spin this out to more than one book? Alex was a complicated character, she was still dealing with the loss of her dad and now her best friend had been diagnosed with cancer. She didn’t really know what to do. Alex was also one of those characters who because she was afraid, she wouldn’t allow herself to get close to anyone else. Some readers may find this characteristic in Alex annoying especially when they meet the lovely Leo, who seemed perfect for Alex. But when you get under Alex’s layers that she keeps so she won’t get hurt, you understand why she does this in the first place. At times there is a lot of faffing about and time lost between Alex and Leo, but the realisations that Alex comes to and the character which emerges in the end I think was worth some of the heartbreak. The book just comes across as sincerely tone-deaf; sure, the above strategies work in certain scenarios. But there are never provisions made for 'sometimes these scenarios are incorrect'. Sometimes the thing you are scared of is a legitimate fear, so telling yourself 'nothing is going to happen' is just plainly false. Sometimes illnesses require medical treatment. That's a proven fact. And some illnesses don't get better at all. And anybody who thinks 'just go on benefits' is a solution to not having money has clearly never dealt with the DWP, and has been avoiding all the stories about claimants who have been left to die due to unapproved claims. I truly appreciated that Halpern never made Alex's issues seem less than Becca's. Instead, the two girls were a united front. They were each fighting battles, sometimes together and sometimes separate, but neither was more or less important. The one aspect of Alex that I did like was that she is pretty much a walking encyclopedia of horror movie knowledge. I also have a love of all things spooky and macabre, so props to the author for including the references that she did.

Are you scared of, like, anything? Well, what's the worst that could happen? Nothing can actually harm you, and once you ultimately realise that, you will never be scared of anything. And I am afraid the effect on me was another "f**k it" moment. I came across huge screeds of the book which were far too boring and badly written that I was skipping over them. I was saying "f**k it" - my time is too valuable for this. This year, dare to say F*** It... I did it. I relaxed, let go, told the truth, did what made me happy and accepted everyone... I don't feel like a martyr and I had real fun.' - Suzy Greaves, Red Magazine We're down to two stars and still sinking. Then you get to the end of the book and the author tries to sell you something. Actually, he tries to sell you lots of things. Apparently he's written other books on the same theme. He will cheerfully sell you time in his retreat in Italy. And recommend his friends' books. And ... it all feels rather grubby. If this book was a breakfast food it would be a Bavarian cream filled donut. It’s enjoyable but not particularly substantive. You may approach it expecting it to be a jelly filled donut, but it ends up being different. Delicious and convenient, an easy on the palate food item, but not a full meal. It does give you joy however, and that brings along with it some sense of perspective and self reflection. As long as you only have one from time to time it can be a beneficial start to a Sunday.Let me just say, if it wasn't for reading wth a friend, I don't think I could have finished this book in the next 3 months. Sure it was an ok read, but definitely not something you look forward to after along painful day of school or work. Production began in 2018 by Awesomeness Films. [2] It was Michael Duggan's directorial debut though he had been writing and producing in the industry for several years.