Goodreads Description:
From the author of The Beginning of Everything: two teens with a deadly disease fall in love on the brink of a cure.
At seventeen, overachieving Lane finds himself at Latham House, a sanatorium for teens suffering from an incurable strain of tuberculosis. Part hospital and part boarding school, Latham is a place of endless rules and confusing rituals, where it's easier to fail breakfast than it is to flunk French.
There, Lane encounters a girl he knew years ago. Instead of the shy loner he remembers, Sadie has transformed. At Latham, she is sarcastic, fearless, and utterly compelling. Her friends, a group of eccentric troublemakers, fascinate Lane, who has never stepped out of bounds his whole life. And as he gradually becomes one of them, Sadie shows him their secrets: how to steal internet, how to sneak into town, and how to disable the med sensors they must wear at all times.
But there are consequences to having secrets, particularly at Latham House. And as Lane and Sadie begin to fall in love and their group begins to fall sicker, their insular world threatens to come crashing down. Told in alternating points of view, Extraordinary Means is a darkly funny story about doomed friendships, first love, and the rare miracle of second chances.
At seventeen, overachieving Lane finds himself at Latham House, a sanatorium for teens suffering from an incurable strain of tuberculosis. Part hospital and part boarding school, Latham is a place of endless rules and confusing rituals, where it's easier to fail breakfast than it is to flunk French.
There, Lane encounters a girl he knew years ago. Instead of the shy loner he remembers, Sadie has transformed. At Latham, she is sarcastic, fearless, and utterly compelling. Her friends, a group of eccentric troublemakers, fascinate Lane, who has never stepped out of bounds his whole life. And as he gradually becomes one of them, Sadie shows him their secrets: how to steal internet, how to sneak into town, and how to disable the med sensors they must wear at all times.
But there are consequences to having secrets, particularly at Latham House. And as Lane and Sadie begin to fall in love and their group begins to fall sicker, their insular world threatens to come crashing down. Told in alternating points of view, Extraordinary Means is a darkly funny story about doomed friendships, first love, and the rare miracle of second chances.
Author: Robyn Schneider
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance, Coming of Age
Format: E-book, Arc
Pages: 336
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK/Australia
Source: ARC was received in exchanged for an honest review from NetGalley
Robyn Schneider's previous book The Beginning of Everything (Review Here) is one of my all time favourite and most influential book, not to mention a book that 'Saved my life' so when I heard that she was coming out with Extraordinary Means I knew I have to have it in my life!
Extraordinary Means is a coming of age story told in alternate POV, follows Lane and Sadie who used to go to the same summer camp when they were younger, reunites years later at Latham House, a boarding school specialized in treating teens with tuberculosis (which both of our MCs have been diagnosed with).
First off I enjoyed the woodsy setting of the school and how its pictured to be like summer camp or a sky lodge. Obviously the students are there to take it easy like they are on a vacation in order to recover.
I love with Robyn Schneider's writing style on how one moment its intelligently written with its the medical talk and the metaphors the next its light hearted, sweet & touching and laugh out loud funny followed by emotions and feels.
From the synopsis and the theme of the book it sounds like a book full of feels and though it was a rollercoaster ride emotions, I laugh and awe with the book more than sit in a corner and let the feels flow as the author is good at balancing the seriousness of the situation with quirky and random events and dialogs.
The plot was fun and well paced out. There was never a dull moment and I devoured the story within a day! I love reading their adventures and shenanigans as it was trilling watching them break the rules around the school. One of my favorites involves Sadie and her friends causing mischievous in their French class which I laugh so hard for a good 10 minutes that I had tears in my eyes!
Though I had fun reading most of the book the 'final act' was where emotions started following. The ending was a well rounded conclusion though it RUIEND ME!!! Bittersweet and heart-breaking that I did cry buckets and was not pretty. Also the last few pages was beautiful, provoking and poetically written that reminded me of the last pages of Robyn Schneider's previous book The Beginning of Everything and any the ending of most of John Green books. Its that kind of ending where I want to read it over and over cause its stuck in my head days after I am done with the story and really makes me think.
I love reading the main characters! They were realistic and relatable characters that I definitely see myself friends with. I found myself attached and cared for them especially Sadie.
That is what eventually once befriend with Sadie and her friends. His character arc was my favourite. He developed, changing himself for the better. He eventually loosen up, got out of his comfort zone and experience what life have in store!
Lane took a couple of chapter for me to warm up to though then again he kind of reminded me of my high school self. Even so I enjoyed his character nerdy yet witty narration.
Sadie's personality is opposite of Lane. Having a terrible past of fitting in at both school and the summer camp, she fits in well at Latham House, transforming from being a shy outcast to a free spirit trouble maker. I adored Sadie from the start! She's sarcastic, sassy, fearless and spontaneous. She also have been at Latham House for the longest of all the characters, neither getting better nor worse. I love reading her crazy ideals and adventures even if it means sneaking around and breaking the rules. The only time I was not a fan of her character was that one time when she did something stupid (not gonna say too much as its a spoiler!) that annoyed me but eventually made up for it.
Their relationship was what made the book for me! I love their bantering and connection which made me smile and giggle with awe at their adorableness but also pulled my heart, making it fall into a million peace's. Lane was freaking sweet and a gentlemen with Sadie which made me swoon even more reading them together
The story is heavy on the romance and is well paced out! The romance started as a love hate relationship which is my favorite kind of romance. It was not one of those that took FOREVER for the ship to sail, so we got a good amount of romantic fluff between them. However when the ship hit a rock... *cries*.
It was also heavy on friendship and I love the diverse cast of side characters. Nick, Charlie and Marina were awesome friends to read about! They are the kind of 'cool nerds', with a lot in common but also have their own distinctive personality and interest. My favorite of the bunch is Nick who have some of the best and laugh out loud hilarious moments in the book.
I freaking love this book and though it does sounds like a TFIOS/LFA mash up (FYI I've read both book and love them and know enough about them for this compare), this is not a rip-off! Robyn Schneider has a distinctive style and narration that when I read her books I instantly know its her writing. From the geeky yet well planned Harry Potter and Doctor Who references to the easy to read and well written and researched medical narrations, the author has a unique and refreshing way of telling a story and I enjoy it!
Both of the author's books are 'medical narration' which is something slowly growing in the YA genre.
Like the The Beginning of Everything, Extraordinary Means is a sweet and touching yet a tragic love story. Its a book about finding hope and strength, second chances even if its a miracle, friendship and first love even when death is around the corner.
Its also a coming of age story about enjoying life to the fullest, taking spontaneous risks and taking things slower as we might missed what that road not taken have in store for us.
I think, laugh and cried with this book, wanting more of this author's awesome stories!
Highly recommend this book especially to the John Green fans patiently waiting for his next book and needs something fill that void along with Rainbow Rowell fans, PotterHeads, Whovians and secret menu Starbucks lovers.
