Extraordinary Means by: Robyn Schneider

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary 

Published: May 26, 2015 by: Katherine Tegen Books 

Pages: 336

Rating: 3/5 stars 

*highlight white text to reveal major spoilers* 

Extraordinary Means was the love story of two teens: Lane and Sadie, who are fighting a terminal strain of tuberculosis. When Lane is sent to Lantham House, a hospital/boarding school that isolates people with this disease, he meets Sadie, who teaches him to live life on the edge and invites him into her rebellious group of friends. But as time goes on, the group gets sicker and the couple begins to wonder if they’ll ever get a second chance at life again.

I tried so hard to not compare this to tfios, but I just couldn’t help it :( . A book about teens fighting the same illness can either go really well or miss the mark.  I have to say that this book sadly didn’t meet the expectations I had for it.

I thought that the concept of this book was original and inspiring. Even though it was set in the modern world, I could feel a little dystopia in it because of the deadly illness that is threatening to sweep the nation. I felt for all of the teens in the facility, being sick was such a normal occurrence for them and it was upsetting to see them deteriorate. This book’s main idea wasn’t like anything that I have read before.

I just felt like this book needed more emotion. It wasn’t very captivating, it was actually pretty boring. 90% of the book follows the teens in their daily lives at Lantham, and the rest of it was the deterioration of Sadie, and you guessed it, her death. I saw it coming, and this book was probably one of the most predictable books I’ve ever read. The ending wasn’t emotional at all; I wanted more feeling into it. It kind of felt like everyone got over everything that happened so quickly.

I didn’t feel the connection with Lane and Sadie at all. It took so long for their relationship to develop, and I didn’t really feel like there was anything special about them. There wasn’t a lot of chemistry, and I just feel like all of the characters fell flat.

Overall, I thought that this book’s concept was very unique, but it lacked emotion and chemistry. I wanted more of a bond between the characters.

Have you read Extraordinary Means? What did you think? 

Emily @ Paperback Princess

The Beginning of Everything By: Robyn Schneider

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Tragedy, Comedy, Coming of Age

The Beginning of Everything has easily become one of my favourite books. One of my favourite youtubers, Ingrid Nilsen, recommended this book in one of her videos. She explained it to be funny, and heartwarming, with a good message. When I saw it in the book store, I decided to give it a try. It did not disappoint.

The book follows Ezra, a popular high school senior who tragically gets in a car accident, which shatters his leg. His social life is ruined, as nobody wants to be seen with "the boy with the cane". He finds a new crowd of debate club members, and befriends the new girl, Cassidy. Cassidy is unique and confident, and teaches Ezra to be himself and not to go with the "in crowd". They eventually fall in love, but when another tragedy strikes, Ezra begins to wonder who he really wants to be: the popular golden boy, or himself.

I really enjoyed this book, as it was a different take on tragedy. The book was witty and adorable, and was not at all depressing, despite the theme. This book is a great coming of age novel, because it is about a teen struggling with identity. I think that most teens would be able to relate to this book.

I liked this book because it was different. The book did not have a perfect ending, it had a realistic ending. The books theme's were relatable, and the book had great advice throughout. I also liked how the book was not predictable. There were many "plot twists" which I didn't expect at all. The book was kept interesting.

The author did a great job at capturing the message of this book, which was that everyone will get a personal tragedy, but it's all about how they respond to it. They could complain about it, or do something about it. This could change the outcome. Overall, I would rate this book 9.5 out of 10 stars, for it's beautiful message, and advice.

Bye for Now!

Paperback Princess