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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
Istyria book blog ~ B's world of enchanted books
4.5 stars
Well... Fiddlesticks. I knew it would end this way. I know I would love this book and these characters and the romance and everything. I knew it would break my heart one way or another. And I still read it. Because I'm a masochist like that. Just... Sigh.
In Extraordinary Means, we meet Lane, who just moved into Latham House. A sanatorium for teens suffering from an incurable strain of tuberculosis. Latham is part hospital and part boarding school, full of endless rules and rituals. There he meets a girl he knew years ago, but Sadie isn't as he remembered. Sadie and her friends fascinate Lane, who never stepped out of bounds once in his life. As he becomes part of the group, they show him their secrets. But secrets aren't free at Latham House. As Lane and Sadie get closer, people around them get sicker.
This is just so very bittersweet. And this proves the problem I had with other books I read recently that just seemed more of the same old story. This one isn't. And I loved it. A lot! Extraordinary Means has a great new story, though very sad at times of course, and fantastic original characters. The writing was excellent and I know I'll be checking out Robyn's other works too. Though that might not be very good for my heart....
The characters and their chemistry are the best part of the book. I loved the friendships and the romance was so very, very sweet. You know how it ends but you still can't help but love them all. Sadie and Lane are all kinds of adorable together. Their friends are awesome and I just loved them to bits. I really did. That ending... My heart was broken, but not completely. It's really bittersweet. Man... my brain is not cooperating.
Extraordinary Means is a bittersweet but cute and amazing story that I highly recommend to fans of contemporary. Though if you're sensitive to books about diseases, I would not read this one. But if you've read the blurb, you already knew that. Now I have to go and process.
This review is also (or -soon- will be) posted on Istyria book blog
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Wouldn’t read this book again, but it’s been on my shelf for years so figured it was time. It was harder to read because it is YA oriented, but I did enjoy the love story and I hated that Robin Schneider did such a good job at making me cry right at the end.
I want to avoid spoilers in my review of this book, but I do need to point out that as with The Beginning of Everything, Extraordinary Means had a lackluster ending that didn't live up to the premise of the rest of the novel, and left me disappointed when I had otherwise been thoroughly invested. Now that's all I'll say on the matter.
Lane is an incoming senior in high school when he's diagnosed with total-drug-resistant TB and sent to a sanatorium for teens in Northern California to convalesce and (80% of the time) recover. The sanatorium, Latham House, is just not what Lane is looking for - its easy-going methods and hands-off approach feels like it's going to put him behind in all of his AP classes, and he's gunning for Stanford. What he discovers, however, is that his high-stress lifestyle is not conducive to recovering from TB.
The approach that does seem to work, however, still isn't the one prescribed by Latham. It's the one Sadie and her friends Nick, Marina and Charlie have developed in their lengthier stays at Latham. Sadie actually knows Lane - they went to summer camp once when they were thirteen, and Sadie hates him. She wants to completely ignore his appearance at Latham in favor of co-running the Latham black market (mostly candy and other non-TB friendly materials), taking fantastical pictures of her friends in the forest, and skipping out on the sad school activities Latham offers.
That is, until Sadie finds out she may have made a mistake about Lane, and their lives crash together.
There's an ethereal quality to the way Schneider writes about the fictional Latham House that I really enjoyed in reading this story. It's like there's a glossy finish over everything, something that makes everything extra bright and extra interesting. The book alternates points of view between Lane and Sadie, and the sharp contrast between their two perspectives was really interesting to read.
I love the group dynamic of Sadie's friends, of their heist-like behavior in the library where they steal internet against the 30-minute-a-week rules. I liked that Sadie wasn't there to "fix" Lane's behavior - that she was never his reality check, that she very much shirked the manic pixie dream girl type that I've become so sick of in YA literature.
The world and characters were really stellar to me.
However.
Well, however -
I'm unimpressed with the overall messages the book tries to get away with. Lane is forced to realize he wasn't really "living" when he was just focusing on getting into a good school, which is a slap in the face to anyone who actually does have to work that hard, who actually needs a good school to have a good future. His realization that frivolity is the answer just seems too naive and unrealistic, even in the face of a potential (80% chance) "life is short" reality.
And Sadie and Lane's relationship, like so many in YA, is borne entirely from circumstance - though they did know each other peripherally before Latham, it's the being thrust together in a sanatarium that makes them suddenly realize they like each other. As usual, there's no good reason for them to be romantically involved, with the exception of raging teenage hormones, but the book posits they have a world-ending love that changes them forever. Maybe I'm being a bit of a naysayer, but many a great relationship in YA fiction is borne of more than proximity.
I liked the world and the characters, but the overall message just didn't sit right with me. Perhaps that's because I'm no longer a teenager, but I don't typically come out of YA lit thinking "I'm too old for this," and for the majority of Extraordinary Means I didn't feel that way. So I'm a little sad that what was otherwise a great book left me feeling so full of disagreements and disbelief.
Schneider's writing is lovely, and I'll probably pick up any of her ensuing novels, but I think I just don't agree with her message.
Lane is an incoming senior in high school when he's diagnosed with total-drug-resistant TB and sent to a sanatorium for teens in Northern California to convalesce and (80% of the time) recover. The sanatorium, Latham House, is just not what Lane is looking for - its easy-going methods and hands-off approach feels like it's going to put him behind in all of his AP classes, and he's gunning for Stanford. What he discovers, however, is that his high-stress lifestyle is not conducive to recovering from TB.
The approach that does seem to work, however, still isn't the one prescribed by Latham. It's the one Sadie and her friends Nick, Marina and Charlie have developed in their lengthier stays at Latham. Sadie actually knows Lane - they went to summer camp once when they were thirteen, and Sadie hates him. She wants to completely ignore his appearance at Latham in favor of co-running the Latham black market (mostly candy and other non-TB friendly materials), taking fantastical pictures of her friends in the forest, and skipping out on the sad school activities Latham offers.
That is, until Sadie finds out she may have made a mistake about Lane, and their lives crash together.
There's an ethereal quality to the way Schneider writes about the fictional Latham House that I really enjoyed in reading this story. It's like there's a glossy finish over everything, something that makes everything extra bright and extra interesting. The book alternates points of view between Lane and Sadie, and the sharp contrast between their two perspectives was really interesting to read.
I love the group dynamic of Sadie's friends, of their heist-like behavior in the library where they steal internet against the 30-minute-a-week rules. I liked that Sadie wasn't there to "fix" Lane's behavior - that she was never his reality check, that she very much shirked the manic pixie dream girl type that I've become so sick of in YA literature.
The world and characters were really stellar to me.
However.
Well, however -
I'm unimpressed with the overall messages the book tries to get away with. Lane is forced to realize he wasn't really "living" when he was just focusing on getting into a good school, which is a slap in the face to anyone who actually does have to work that hard, who actually needs a good school to have a good future. His realization that frivolity is the answer just seems too naive and unrealistic, even in the face of a potential (80% chance) "life is short" reality.
And Sadie and Lane's relationship, like so many in YA, is borne entirely from circumstance - though they did know each other peripherally before Latham, it's the being thrust together in a sanatarium that makes them suddenly realize they like each other. As usual, there's no good reason for them to be romantically involved, with the exception of raging teenage hormones, but the book posits they have a world-ending love that changes them forever. Maybe I'm being a bit of a naysayer, but many a great relationship in YA fiction is borne of more than proximity.
I liked the world and the characters, but the overall message just didn't sit right with me. Perhaps that's because I'm no longer a teenager, but I don't typically come out of YA lit thinking "I'm too old for this," and for the majority of Extraordinary Means I didn't feel that way. So I'm a little sad that what was otherwise a great book left me feeling so full of disagreements and disbelief.
Schneider's writing is lovely, and I'll probably pick up any of her ensuing novels, but I think I just don't agree with her message.
TFIOS but without the jumpscare of shailene Woodley, THANK GOD
Robyn's style is great, crushable book as always
Robyn's style is great, crushable book as always
The Fault in our Extraordinary Means? I'm sorry, but anyone with half a mind can tell the STRONG FIOS vibe this book gives off. That being said, I thought that the constantly switching POV would be annoying/confusing/hard to follow, and it wasn't. It was actually quite refreshing to see the experience of Latham House from two completely different view points.
SPOILER:
However, I think killing off Sadie the way she did/when she did was a really dick/coward move by Schneider. We already lost Charlie so close to the cure - you could have given Michael TB and let Sadie live - or at least make it to the release of the new drug.
All in all, solid afternoon read but I won't be raving about it to anyone any time soon.
SPOILER:
However, I think killing off Sadie the way she did/when she did was a really dick/coward move by Schneider. We already lost Charlie so close to the cure - you could have given Michael TB and let Sadie live - or at least make it to the release of the new drug.
All in all, solid afternoon read but I won't be raving about it to anyone any time soon.
I’ve been wanting to read more books that I added to my TBR three or four years ago, but forgot about, and this was one of those books. After mindlessly adding to my TBR a long time ago, I forgot what it was even about, so I went in blind. All you need to know is that it’s another YA sick fic.
And the book was fine, it just wasn’t extraordinary like the title implies. I’ve read many books like this one, so it didn’t feel original or significant. It was predictable, especially given the little tag line on the cover.
However, it wasn’t bad by any means. This carries an important message of how to live life to the fullest because you never truly know when it will end. The banter and interactions between the characters was charming and funny. Just, like I said, it doesn’t stand out in any way.
☞ 3 stars (liked it)
And the book was fine, it just wasn’t extraordinary like the title implies. I’ve read many books like this one, so it didn’t feel original or significant. It was predictable, especially given the little tag line on the cover.
However, it wasn’t bad by any means. This carries an important message of how to live life to the fullest because you never truly know when it will end. The banter and interactions between the characters was charming and funny. Just, like I said, it doesn’t stand out in any way.
☞ 3 stars (liked it)
Well, I finished this within like 3 hours. Loved the HP references, john green was mentioned and of course so much drama and tragedy! It was awfully amazing ! And now I'm off crying
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Started and finished date - 09.04.25 to 11.04.25.
My rating - Three Stars.
I think is book average, The book wasn't bad but it wasn't good also I think someone young properly like is book more. The writing was okay and the atmosphere was fine. I found paced of plot to be too slow and I feel the plot dragged in some parts. The ending of book was okay. I mixed feeling about the characters and I would like them to be flash out bit more
My rating - Three Stars.
I think is book average, The book wasn't bad but it wasn't good also I think someone young properly like is book more. The writing was okay and the atmosphere was fine. I found paced of plot to be too slow and I feel the plot dragged in some parts. The ending of book was okay. I mixed feeling about the characters and I would like them to be flash out bit more
I like Robyn Schneider's writing style and Extraordinary Means had a great start. It reminded me a lot of Andrew Smith's Winger, which is one of my favorites. The book is about a boy and girl, Lane and Sadie, who have a drug-resistant strand of TB and are sent to a boarding school to protect the population from sickness. There, have a great friend group and they start to find their own happiness away from home. Eventually, the two fall in love. All good stuff. The book falls apart for me, though, in the final quarter. I didn't feel attached enough to the characters to mourn the losses that occur. I wasn't as invested as I should have been. I liked the book, but it didn't make me feel as deeply as I know it was intended.
This story was sweet and funny and serious and totally made me cry. The characters were authentic and relatable, so much like people in my own life, and I connected immediately with Lane and Sadie, thoroughly enjoying their alternating chapters. I found their romance sweet and their swoon left me sightly breathless. It was the kind of story that made living in a sanatorium, with a life-threatening disease, sound like a great way to spend a few months.