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taylorepperson's review against another edition
3.0
First, the cover is gorgeous!!
I received Brave Enough from the publisher via NetGalley. I’m working on a longer review that I’ll post on my blog (and here) soon. But I thought the story was cute and overall there was a good, hopeful message throughout! If you’re looking for a quick contemporary read, this is a good one.
I received Brave Enough from the publisher via NetGalley. I’m working on a longer review that I’ll post on my blog (and here) soon. But I thought the story was cute and overall there was a good, hopeful message throughout! If you’re looking for a quick contemporary read, this is a good one.
mybestfriendsarefictional's review against another edition
4.0
This contemporary YA debut novel is thought-provoking, emotional and touches on many issues that others don't dare. It was almost refreshing to see the real, raw emotion that both Cason and Davis showed at times. We can't be strong all of the time and I rooted for them both.
I really felt like I connected with both of the protagonists, Cason is fantastic. She doesn't really have a filter which I liked and is very strong. Davis is a great character, kind and selfless and his dark past made me really feel for him. You could tell that he was struggling at times which was heart-breaking to read.
The secondary characters were great. I loved Mari and Heather especially; for their no kid gloves attitude towards Cason - they knew what she needed and weren't afraid to go about it; their almost motherly tenderness for Davis was heart warming to read too.
The story wove together wonderfully and there were a few times where I gasped out loud at what was happening; and I liked that I didn't find it predictable. I was second guessing myself at times throughout the book.
I really felt like I connected with both of the protagonists, Cason is fantastic. She doesn't really have a filter which I liked and is very strong. Davis is a great character, kind and selfless and his dark past made me really feel for him. You could tell that he was struggling at times which was heart-breaking to read.
The secondary characters were great. I loved Mari and Heather especially; for their no kid gloves attitude towards Cason - they knew what she needed and weren't afraid to go about it; their almost motherly tenderness for Davis was heart warming to read too.
The story wove together wonderfully and there were a few times where I gasped out loud at what was happening; and I liked that I didn't find it predictable. I was second guessing myself at times throughout the book.
emimbs's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Look at this cover y’all! This is the second book I picked solely because of its outer beauty and because it was “available now” on @libby.app. Like the first this one also turned out to be just as beautiful inside as it is outside. I could really relate to parts of this #youngadultbook. I used to dance so I loved that aspect of it. I am a nurse so the parts about cancer treatments was interesting but also very sad. My life has been touched by addictions on various levels so that part was heart wrenching and inspiring. It’s also inspiring to know the writer drew form her own experience as a child who went through cancer.
There were a couple issues with it being an audiobook and me traveling while listening. A few of the chapters ended a bit abruptly so I was worried I missed something. I did indeed miss a small detail early on that I thought would be unimportant but it was mentioned several times later. Since I was driving and had no idea where the detail first surfaced then I missed the fullness of it. Thankfully it didn’t take away from the story it was just an incidental but I suspect I would have laughed a bit more had I known all the details. This is definitely a #mustread but be aware there are some major triggers.
There were a couple issues with it being an audiobook and me traveling while listening. A few of the chapters ended a bit abruptly so I was worried I missed something. I did indeed miss a small detail early on that I thought would be unimportant but it was mentioned several times later. Since I was driving and had no idea where the detail first surfaced then I missed the fullness of it. Thankfully it didn’t take away from the story it was just an incidental but I suspect I would have laughed a bit more had I known all the details. This is definitely a #mustread but be aware there are some major triggers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Addiction, Chronic illness, Child death, Death, and Drug abuse
zoereadsx's review against another edition
4.0
Brave Enough deals with such heavy topics, and still it was a quick and cute read. Definitely check it out!
mmathi's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
epilieaspiechick's review against another edition
4.0
My full review can be found on the Epilie Aspie Chick blog!
Thank you to Flux for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I would like to preface this review with the fact that I have never had cancer, so I cannot say i have any clue what its like. I've watched an aunt die of brain cancer, family friends, but that's the closest its touched my life. So when this book came across my desk, I was intrigued by the premise knowing that the subject would touch many lives along with having the opportunity to better see what its like being in a cancer kid's shoes.
Cason was born to be a ballerina. With a mother as her artistic director and her natural talent, there is nothing that can stop her from reaching her dreams of working for the American Ballet Theater. However, when a pain in her left leg turns into something far more serious - a hidden strain suddenly becomes bone cancer and her life becomes changed forever. All her ballet dreams are permanently ripped away as all those skills that made her better than anyone are taken from her body piece by piece. Even her own mom Natalie is in total denial of the truth in the beginning, refusing to admit just how sick her daughter truly is.
Davis survived cancer, but he barely survived the aftermath. Becoming a drug addict in the aftermath - he struggles everyday to keep clean and repair the life he's let fall apart. This is made even harder by the ex-girlfriend who continues to harass him for her next high that he got her hooked on and the dealer that continues to attempt to get him addicted once again. Everything is a balancing act that seems to be a struggle well known until he meets a new cancer patient named Cason.
Cason and Davis from the outside don't make sense, but once you're a cancer patient things change. Although everyone wants to see you as special, the book makes a point of stating you're really nothing more than fighting for your next day of living. These two fighting for their next day learn to fight together and depend on each other as their separate, fragile worlds fall apart and they cannot handle it on their own. Cason learns to let others in when she has been so used to only living in her ballerina world while Davis finally sees that he isn't the one to blame for every terrible thing and through action, learns to move forward.
Thank you to Flux for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I would like to preface this review with the fact that I have never had cancer, so I cannot say i have any clue what its like. I've watched an aunt die of brain cancer, family friends, but that's the closest its touched my life. So when this book came across my desk, I was intrigued by the premise knowing that the subject would touch many lives along with having the opportunity to better see what its like being in a cancer kid's shoes.
Cason was born to be a ballerina. With a mother as her artistic director and her natural talent, there is nothing that can stop her from reaching her dreams of working for the American Ballet Theater. However, when a pain in her left leg turns into something far more serious - a hidden strain suddenly becomes bone cancer and her life becomes changed forever. All her ballet dreams are permanently ripped away as all those skills that made her better than anyone are taken from her body piece by piece. Even her own mom Natalie is in total denial of the truth in the beginning, refusing to admit just how sick her daughter truly is.
Davis survived cancer, but he barely survived the aftermath. Becoming a drug addict in the aftermath - he struggles everyday to keep clean and repair the life he's let fall apart. This is made even harder by the ex-girlfriend who continues to harass him for her next high that he got her hooked on and the dealer that continues to attempt to get him addicted once again. Everything is a balancing act that seems to be a struggle well known until he meets a new cancer patient named Cason.
Cason and Davis from the outside don't make sense, but once you're a cancer patient things change. Although everyone wants to see you as special, the book makes a point of stating you're really nothing more than fighting for your next day of living. These two fighting for their next day learn to fight together and depend on each other as their separate, fragile worlds fall apart and they cannot handle it on their own. Cason learns to let others in when she has been so used to only living in her ballerina world while Davis finally sees that he isn't the one to blame for every terrible thing and through action, learns to move forward.
anomalyreads's review against another edition
3.0
*3.5 Stars
I received an eARC of this book via NetGalley for an honest review.
This book was a lot more emotional and hard-hitting than I thought it would be. I did not expect to have the feelings that I did, either. That being said, as much as I wanted to love this book, there were some things that needed to be improved upon that I can’t ignore.
The Main Characters: Cason and Davis. I felt way more connected to Davis than I did to Cason, but I still did not feel like I knew either of them really well by the end of the book. Cason is a dancer and she loves it so much. She dreams to perform and dance. I can relate to that. But, even dancers are more than just dancers. That was the biggest issue. For Cason, all I knew of her was that she was a dancer that has cancer. For Davis, he was a cancer survivor and a drug addict. That’s it. They both needed to be developed more.
The Writing: The writing style was really easy to read. At times, I felt like things were worded oddly (which I know sometimes happens so it wasn’t a huge issue). The biggest issue was the time jumps. I found myself having to
The Plot: I can’t really say there was one. The book was about two people who struggle through cancer and addiction and the repercussions of those things, but I don’t know if there was a climax. I know other people have said this too, but I feel like 50% of the way through the book, it could have been over. Though the emotion and representation of Cason and Davis’s struggle was there, this was not a plot driven book at all.
Other Points: There was a line that Davis said in the beginning of the book about how he wanted to focus on the books and college so he didn’t have to think about Cason being admitted to the clinic. It made me wonder if he had seen her around before and liked her? That wasn’t ever addressed. I wish the progression of Cason and Davis’s relationship was not as fast as it was and had a little bit more depth to it. I think the time jumps played a part in this. Another thing that I found off was the fact that Cason and Davis seemed to rarely discuss Davis’s addiction. It felt like Davis was always the support system for Cason and barely ever vice versa. There needed to be more overlap between their story’s. They needed to connect more.
I loved the representation in this book. I have had some experience with cancer (though definitely not as extreme) but I feel like it was done really well. It is an own-voices novel with the author being a as well. I don’t have any experience with drug addiction, but again, I do like how it was shown. I also love the friends: Mari, Jase, and Noah. They were great additions to the story and only wished they were in it a little more.
Overall, I really liked this book and the message that it sent.
I received an eARC of this book via NetGalley for an honest review.
This book was a lot more emotional and hard-hitting than I thought it would be. I did not expect to have the feelings that I did, either. That being said, as much as I wanted to love this book, there were some things that needed to be improved upon that I can’t ignore.
The Main Characters: Cason and Davis. I felt way more connected to Davis than I did to Cason, but I still did not feel like I knew either of them really well by the end of the book. Cason is a dancer and she loves it so much. She dreams to perform and dance. I can relate to that. But, even dancers are more than just dancers. That was the biggest issue. For Cason, all I knew of her was that she was a dancer that has cancer. For Davis, he was a cancer survivor and a drug addict. That’s it. They both needed to be developed more.
The Writing: The writing style was really easy to read. At times, I felt like things were worded oddly (which I know sometimes happens so it wasn’t a huge issue). The biggest issue was the time jumps. I found myself having to
The Plot: I can’t really say there was one. The book was about two people who struggle through cancer and addiction and the repercussions of those things, but I don’t know if there was a climax. I know other people have said this too, but I feel like 50% of the way through the book, it could have been over. Though the emotion and representation of Cason and Davis’s struggle was there, this was not a plot driven book at all.
Other Points: There was a line that Davis said in the beginning of the book about how he wanted to focus on the books and college so he didn’t have to think about Cason being admitted to the clinic. It made me wonder if he had seen her around before and liked her? That wasn’t ever addressed. I wish the progression of Cason and Davis’s relationship was not as fast as it was and had a little bit more depth to it. I think the time jumps played a part in this. Another thing that I found off was the fact that Cason and Davis seemed to rarely discuss Davis’s addiction. It felt like Davis was always the support system for Cason and barely ever vice versa. There needed to be more overlap between their story’s. They needed to connect more.
I loved the representation in this book. I have had some experience with cancer (though definitely not as extreme) but I feel like it was done really well. It is an own-voices novel with the author being a
Spoiler
child cancer survivor and amputeeOverall, I really liked this book and the message that it sent.
sylviasreads's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars for content but 4 stars for representation - there should be more novels like this!
ink__and__page's review against another edition
5.0
Tackling topics of surviving childhood cancer, living with disabilities, finding a new way forward, leaning on those who understand what that cancer journey is like....there are so many important themes in this book. There is also a main character overcoming drug addiction. We get to see the impact these two main characters' pasts has on them as they try to continue their path forward, often stumbling and supporting each other at different points of their journey to recovery. Such a heart wrenching, heartfelt and beautiful story. While the topics can be heavy if in isolation, I didn't feel like this story was super depressing to read (which I sometimes feel when reading heavier topics in books). This felt like a fighting back, sometimes getting kicked down, but ultimately conquering the fears and doubts to find a new normal and accept the struggles along the way to find that new normal.
I love that this story was written by someone who wanted to see more people like her in books. In the Author's Note she writes, "When I was a teenager and reading every book I could get my hands on, I was desperate for a girl who looked like me. For a girl who had cancer and lived. And it was really hard to come by. So, I wrote one."
THIS is why it's important to tell our stories and diversify our reading and writing. Representation matters. Disabilities matter. Sharing stories about others who are different than us increases our empathy and understanding of others and reminds us that deep down, we're all more similar than we are different. Just human beings trying to get through the tumultuous ups and downs of life and find a place to belong. Loved this story!
I love that this story was written by someone who wanted to see more people like her in books. In the Author's Note she writes, "When I was a teenager and reading every book I could get my hands on, I was desperate for a girl who looked like me. For a girl who had cancer and lived. And it was really hard to come by. So, I wrote one."
THIS is why it's important to tell our stories and diversify our reading and writing. Representation matters. Disabilities matter. Sharing stories about others who are different than us increases our empathy and understanding of others and reminds us that deep down, we're all more similar than we are different. Just human beings trying to get through the tumultuous ups and downs of life and find a place to belong. Loved this story!
mo_moana_k's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked this book. It had some really good scenes I related to. The things about not having to explain your disability to people, I get that. Thank you for not writing a book about sick people who only exist to inspire healthy people. This book was real. There were some grammatical errors but they were easy to get over. This book was definitely a page turner, I couldn’t wait to see what happened next!