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A review by inkyinsanity
Lucky Few by Kathryn Ormsbee
3.0
This book features a homeschooled main character with type one diabetes. I’m a homeschool graduate with type one diabetes. Take that how you will. I talk about the diabetes portrayal extensively in the second half of this review.
I received an advanced review copy of this book for my birthday (thanks, Mom!). This does not affect my opinion or the integrity of my review.
Story rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The premise of this book is really cute and original. Best friends Stevie and Sanger meet a boy who, after almost dying, has decided to fake his death twenty-three different ways over the summer. (Is that cute or am I nuts? I can’t tell.)
The writing is super fun and engaging. I sped through this book and did not want to put it down. The writing isn’t particularly deep or anything, but it’s really entertaining.
The characters were awesome and all of them were well fleshed out. Stevie, the main character, was fun and likable; Sanger is my precious genius child whom I will protect with my life; Max was probably my least favorite, because he felt like he was supposed to be The Swoony Love Interest when he was only The Cute Love Interest, but he was still fun and wacky and really nice.
I loved the minor characters too! Joel was awesome. I would probably read a book just about him in college. Maribel was super sweet and funny and I wish she had gotten more page time. Stevie’s mom was actually around in the book (kind of a rarity in YA), and she was pretty cool. (Stevie’s dad...not so much.) I also really liked Jessica, even though she didn’t have many parts. They were important parts, and I just liked her a lot—especially at the end.
The romance was slow burn hate-to-like, which I love! It was really adorable, and Stevie and Max balanced each other out really well. But Stevie never let Max come between her and Sanger, which is even better.
The friendship between Stevie and Sanger is what really makes this book shine. Sisters before misters is really important to the girls, and they keep the promise. These two are best friend goals. Seriously. They love each other, they always try to be there for each other, and even though they sometimes make mistakes, they always apologize and make up.
The main theme was strong and important, but I didn’t find it preachy. It’s pretty obvious from the first page that while Stevie hates being judged, she’s always judging people. This hypocrisy was kind of annoying until she realizes what she’s doing, and she does her best to fix it.
There’s also the theme of being scared of death and change, but I thought the judging theme was handled better.
The portrayal of homeschooling in this book is gold. I was homeschooled my entire life until college, and I loved it, but so many people just don’t get it. Stevie spends the first ten pages hilariously debunking the socialization accusation so many people make. (BTW, if you accuse a kid to their face of not being socialized, it’s not the kid who has socialization issues. It’s you.)
A lot of the book is involved with co-op classes. I haven’t taken co-op in years, but I have friends who still go, and the author portrayed the classes really well. Same with the rest of Stevie’s education—it all felt real, and not like homeschoolers were being made fun of. You can definitely tell the author was homeschooled.
The only parts I didn’t like were practically everything to do with Stevie’s diabetes. The only thing I did like about it was that she had it, because this is the first book I have ever read where a character—let alone the main character—has type one diabetes.
Representation of type one diabetes rating: 1 out of 5 stars
First, although Stevie makes a few mentions to her glucose tablets and insulin, she never says she has diabetes, or even a chronic illness, until over a hundred pages into the book. You would think she’s a poster child for physical health. She rarely talks about feeling bad because of fluctuating blood sugars, and I think she talks about bolusing before eating once. She eats several times on page. This does not add up.
Second, when she does finally admit she’s diabetic, she doesn’t explain what it is. She never explains why it’s so irritating to have people tell you, “you can’t be diabetic, you’re not fat!” or, “you’re diabetic, so you can’t eat that.” She never explains why her blood sugar might do things for any reason besides she forgot to give insulin, or forgot to eat. These affect glucose levels, yes, but there are also so many more reasons that they can fluctuate! You expect me to believe Stevie’s stress levels had absolutely nothing to do with her going hyperglycemic? And how would a non-diabetic reader know that?
I really wish the author had given the same importance and portrayal of type one diabetes that she did to homeschooling.
Third, Stevie takes horrible care of herself. She rarely checks her blood sugar, she eats without covering for carbohydrates, she constantly forgets or outright abandons her supplies at home, and she jumps right into action without thinking once about her blood sugar.
There is one moment where she’s barefoot, steps on an earring, and continues running barefoot, literally daring the universe to make her step on another one. Excuse me? Diabetics take longer to heal and get infections easily because we’re immunocompromised. I’m speaking from experience here. This is encouraging REALLY BAD behavior and clueing no one in to how dangerous this is.
Is it really necessary for some of the first representation of type one diabetes in YA fiction to feature someone who couldn’t care less about her health?
Fourth, there’s one scene where Stevie talks about a “phase” she went through when she hated diabetes and wondered why her.
Where do I even start with this?
You start wondering why you when you get sick. You start hating diabetes when you realize it won’t go away. You hate it when you sit on the sidelines of a once-a-year event that you’ve practiced for ages to compete in but now can’t because you’re low. You wonder why you when you have to get up early but stay up until four am unless you don’t want to wake up again. You hate it when you’re hyperglycemic enough to hallucinate and you want to drink a river but water tastes like vomit.
That is not a phase. That’s life.
It doesn’t go away. You mature, you get over it, and when you have a bad day, that hatred and that why-you will come back. You cry, you yell, and you get over it again.
Number Five is kind of a spoiler for the climax. You have been warned. Stevie ends up in the hospital because she didn’t take care of herself, and she comes to a thematically-important realization after almost dying.
1, diabetics almost die pretty dang often. We carefully monitor ourselves to make sure that doesn’t happen, but sometimes it happens anyway. The human body is complex, confusing, and at times unpredictable. Why did she only realize this now?
2, Stevie’s parents start paying extra attention to her diabetes management after this, but I don’t think Stevie does. I’m pretty sure she continues pretending she’s not diabetic and refuses to care for herself without constant supervision. She’s not a child. This is ridiculous and she will end up right back in the hospital again, if she’s lucky.
Overall, I enjoyed it, and it had a terrific view of homeschooling. However, DO NOT read this expecting to learn about type one diabetes or what it’s like to live with it.
Edit: if you’re looking for a YA contemporary romance with good type one diabetes representation, I recommend [b:Let Me List the Ways|35820010|Let Me List the Ways|Sarah White|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1508293459l/35820010._SY75_.jpg|57321526] by Sarah White. It was a little slow for me, but the rep was spot on.
I received an advanced review copy of this book for my birthday (thanks, Mom!). This does not affect my opinion or the integrity of my review.
Story rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The premise of this book is really cute and original. Best friends Stevie and Sanger meet a boy who, after almost dying, has decided to fake his death twenty-three different ways over the summer. (Is that cute or am I nuts? I can’t tell.)
The writing is super fun and engaging. I sped through this book and did not want to put it down. The writing isn’t particularly deep or anything, but it’s really entertaining.
The characters were awesome and all of them were well fleshed out. Stevie, the main character, was fun and likable; Sanger is my precious genius child whom I will protect with my life; Max was probably my least favorite, because he felt like he was supposed to be The Swoony Love Interest when he was only The Cute Love Interest, but he was still fun and wacky and really nice.
I loved the minor characters too! Joel was awesome. I would probably read a book just about him in college. Maribel was super sweet and funny and I wish she had gotten more page time. Stevie’s mom was actually around in the book (kind of a rarity in YA), and she was pretty cool. (Stevie’s dad...not so much.) I also really liked Jessica, even though she didn’t have many parts. They were important parts, and I just liked her a lot—especially at the end.
The romance was slow burn hate-to-like, which I love! It was really adorable, and Stevie and Max balanced each other out really well. But Stevie never let Max come between her and Sanger, which is even better.
The friendship between Stevie and Sanger is what really makes this book shine. Sisters before misters is really important to the girls, and they keep the promise. These two are best friend goals. Seriously. They love each other, they always try to be there for each other, and even though they sometimes make mistakes, they always apologize and make up.
The main theme was strong and important, but I didn’t find it preachy. It’s pretty obvious from the first page that while Stevie hates being judged, she’s always judging people. This hypocrisy was kind of annoying until she realizes what she’s doing, and she does her best to fix it.
There’s also the theme of being scared of death and change, but I thought the judging theme was handled better.
The portrayal of homeschooling in this book is gold. I was homeschooled my entire life until college, and I loved it, but so many people just don’t get it. Stevie spends the first ten pages hilariously debunking the socialization accusation so many people make. (BTW, if you accuse a kid to their face of not being socialized, it’s not the kid who has socialization issues. It’s you.)
A lot of the book is involved with co-op classes. I haven’t taken co-op in years, but I have friends who still go, and the author portrayed the classes really well. Same with the rest of Stevie’s education—it all felt real, and not like homeschoolers were being made fun of. You can definitely tell the author was homeschooled.
The only parts I didn’t like were practically everything to do with Stevie’s diabetes. The only thing I did like about it was that she had it, because this is the first book I have ever read where a character—let alone the main character—has type one diabetes.
Representation of type one diabetes rating: 1 out of 5 stars
First, although Stevie makes a few mentions to her glucose tablets and insulin, she never says she has diabetes, or even a chronic illness, until over a hundred pages into the book. You would think she’s a poster child for physical health. She rarely talks about feeling bad because of fluctuating blood sugars, and I think she talks about bolusing before eating once. She eats several times on page. This does not add up.
Second, when she does finally admit she’s diabetic, she doesn’t explain what it is. She never explains why it’s so irritating to have people tell you, “you can’t be diabetic, you’re not fat!” or, “you’re diabetic, so you can’t eat that.” She never explains why her blood sugar might do things for any reason besides she forgot to give insulin, or forgot to eat. These affect glucose levels, yes, but there are also so many more reasons that they can fluctuate! You expect me to believe Stevie’s stress levels had absolutely nothing to do with her going hyperglycemic? And how would a non-diabetic reader know that?
I really wish the author had given the same importance and portrayal of type one diabetes that she did to homeschooling.
Third, Stevie takes horrible care of herself. She rarely checks her blood sugar, she eats without covering for carbohydrates, she constantly forgets or outright abandons her supplies at home, and she jumps right into action without thinking once about her blood sugar.
There is one moment where she’s barefoot, steps on an earring, and continues running barefoot, literally daring the universe to make her step on another one. Excuse me? Diabetics take longer to heal and get infections easily because we’re immunocompromised. I’m speaking from experience here. This is encouraging REALLY BAD behavior and clueing no one in to how dangerous this is.
Is it really necessary for some of the first representation of type one diabetes in YA fiction to feature someone who couldn’t care less about her health?
Fourth, there’s one scene where Stevie talks about a “phase” she went through when she hated diabetes and wondered why her.
Where do I even start with this?
You start wondering why you when you get sick. You start hating diabetes when you realize it won’t go away. You hate it when you sit on the sidelines of a once-a-year event that you’ve practiced for ages to compete in but now can’t because you’re low. You wonder why you when you have to get up early but stay up until four am unless you don’t want to wake up again. You hate it when you’re hyperglycemic enough to hallucinate and you want to drink a river but water tastes like vomit.
That is not a phase. That’s life.
It doesn’t go away. You mature, you get over it, and when you have a bad day, that hatred and that why-you will come back. You cry, you yell, and you get over it again.
Number Five is kind of a spoiler for the climax. You have been warned. Stevie ends up in the hospital because she didn’t take care of herself, and she comes to a thematically-important realization after almost dying.
1, diabetics almost die pretty dang often. We carefully monitor ourselves to make sure that doesn’t happen, but sometimes it happens anyway. The human body is complex, confusing, and at times unpredictable. Why did she only realize this now?
2, Stevie’s parents start paying extra attention to her diabetes management after this, but I don’t think Stevie does. I’m pretty sure she continues pretending she’s not diabetic and refuses to care for herself without constant supervision. She’s not a child. This is ridiculous and she will end up right back in the hospital again, if she’s lucky.
Overall, I enjoyed it, and it had a terrific view of homeschooling. However, DO NOT read this expecting to learn about type one diabetes or what it’s like to live with it.
Edit: if you’re looking for a YA contemporary romance with good type one diabetes representation, I recommend [b:Let Me List the Ways|35820010|Let Me List the Ways|Sarah White|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1508293459l/35820010._SY75_.jpg|57321526] by Sarah White. It was a little slow for me, but the rep was spot on.