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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
This was so disappointing. Nothing made sense, I couldn't tell the difference between the two perspectives, and the only gay character is treated like garbage and hen killed off. Nope.
Not bad. I did enjoy this book, but what I picked up expecting to be a deep emotional novel about love, death, and disease turned out to be a much lighter read. Knowing the author's background with infectious diseases and biology, she has the technical knowledge to have focused more on the TB and been more in-depth, but she chose not to. Too much fluff and filler and dumbing down, and not enough giving teens the intelligence they deserve. This book could have been phenomenal but instead felt watered down
“And the thing about trying to cheat death is that, in the end, you still lose.”
I have to admit, the "sick-lit" genre is kind of a guilty pleasure of mine. I just really enjoy it and I won't run away from that. So when I went (e)book shopping a few months ago, I just had to pick this up. I mean, look at that gorgeous cover!
But I think reading this during the COVID-19 pandemic wasn't a very smart idea. It made this book feel so much more... real. Yes, this is about TB instead, but that's a lung disease too. As a mood reader, I struggled with picking this book up at times, which explains why it took me nearly two months to finish it.
“Being temporary doesn't make something matter any less, because the point isn't for how long, the point is that it happened.”
The plot is simple. It starts with Lane arriving at Latham House, a 'boarding school' for sick kids. Everyone at this place was diagnosed with the same drug resistant strain of tuberculosis. There, he meets Sadie and her group of friends and they start hanging out. Probably not a spoiler for anyone who is familiar with sick-lit, but Lane and Sadie fall in love.
What this book does right:
This story is told from a dual perspective, and I didn't struggle with it for once. The characters are different enough, despite both being sick teens with TB. They felt quite real and fleshed out, and the ending definitely made me feel emotional, ranging from happiness to anger to sadness.
What it could have done better:
One big flaw: I don't think the author understood how dangerously contagious TB is. Healthy people being around the sick teens wearing nothing more than a surgical mask? Oh please, this is open TB we're talking about. If someone at the front of the train with open TB were to cough, and you were at the back, you'd be at risk of catching it. A surgical mask is NOT strong enough.
Overall rating:
While I enjoyed this book, the flaw concerning how TB is treated is not one I can ignore. It also didn't feel like anything too special. I felt like I've read the same story with The Fault in Our Stars or Five Feet Apart. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it, so I think a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars is fair.
I have to admit, the "sick-lit" genre is kind of a guilty pleasure of mine. I just really enjoy it and I won't run away from that. So when I went (e)book shopping a few months ago, I just had to pick this up. I mean, look at that gorgeous cover!
But I think reading this during the COVID-19 pandemic wasn't a very smart idea. It made this book feel so much more... real. Yes, this is about TB instead, but that's a lung disease too. As a mood reader, I struggled with picking this book up at times, which explains why it took me nearly two months to finish it.
“Being temporary doesn't make something matter any less, because the point isn't for how long, the point is that it happened.”
The plot is simple. It starts with Lane arriving at Latham House, a 'boarding school' for sick kids. Everyone at this place was diagnosed with the same drug resistant strain of tuberculosis. There, he meets Sadie and her group of friends and they start hanging out. Probably not a spoiler for anyone who is familiar with sick-lit, but Lane and Sadie fall in love.
What this book does right:
This story is told from a dual perspective, and I didn't struggle with it for once. The characters are different enough, despite both being sick teens with TB. They felt quite real and fleshed out, and the ending definitely made me feel emotional, ranging from happiness to anger to sadness.
What it could have done better:
One big flaw: I don't think the author understood how dangerously contagious TB is. Healthy people being around the sick teens wearing nothing more than a surgical mask? Oh please, this is open TB we're talking about. If someone at the front of the train with open TB were to cough, and you were at the back, you'd be at risk of catching it. A surgical mask is NOT strong enough.
Overall rating:
While I enjoyed this book, the flaw concerning how TB is treated is not one I can ignore. It also didn't feel like anything too special. I felt like I've read the same story with The Fault in Our Stars or Five Feet Apart. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it, so I think a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars is fair.
Oh the feels! Had a hard time putting this one down. It was sweet. It was funny. It was sad. It was captivating. Most of all, it reminds us of to remove all the noise and remember what is most important.
This book is very, very captivating. It's well written, often funny, and moving. I will say that in the end in broke my heart and in a way that didn't really seem necessary--like, heartbreak for heartbreak's sake.
I loved this book. So different from what I normally read, but Schneider hasn't let me down yet with what she's written so I shouldn't be surprised.
Remarkably cleverly written book about teenage love, life threatening diseases, and being true to one's self.