Review: Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider

Title: Extraordinary Means
Author: Robyn Schneider
Genre: YA Contemporary / Illness
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: June 4th 2015
Page Number: 336
Rating: 3.5/5

Summary:

When he's sent to Latham House, a boarding school for sick teens, Lane thinks his life may as well be over.
But when he meets Sadie and her friends - a group of eccentric troublemakers - he realises that maybe getting sick is just the beginning. That illness doesn't have to define you, and that falling in love is its own cure.

REVIEW

 

This book started off so good. I was completely hooked by the idea of a boarding school for the ill as it was something that has not been done before, so I was interested in how Robyn was going to make it seem like real life. Most authors would have stuck with the general boarding school clichés, but Robyn shied away from them and made me feel like I was also on "Vacation" at Latham House.

 

Lane and Sadie were great characters. At first Lane was this tense character who cared only for getting better and leaving so he could go back to high school and graduate onto college. But then we saw this change in him after he became friends with Sadie. And it only added to my likeability of his character. He opened up and took what life had to through at him with a pinch of salt.

 

Sadie was a great character from the beginning. Her and her group of friend really had a positive outlook on life, and I loved that because there is always someone out there in the world in a worse off situation than yourself. The things they got up too were just your typical teenager things: annoying the teacher, going off school ground, being weird all together.

 

Things started to slowly sink after page 250. The plot of the story moved slowly and Sadie started to act impulsively. I didn't know why, but she was beginning to act like a 12 year old. I understood the situation she was in, but I felt like the change was too quick. Same with the relationship between Lane and Sadie. At first, it was nice and content. The next it was fiery and passionate (they hadn't even said I love you).

 

Honestly, I knew exactly what was going to happen, same as everyone else. There is no surprise in the novel, because it's like every other book with an illness. And that disappointed me. Why did the book have to have a main character die? It took me back to The Fault in Our Stars, which I also felt the same about. I'd love to see a book about a character beating their illness and going on to live their life.

 

Overall, this book was just average. It's cute, fun and then gets too depressing for you to really care.  

 

 

 

Buy the book (Waterstones) | But the book (Book Depository)



April Book Haul

This month I promised myself I wouldn't buy so many books. However, that did not happen. I found some great deals, so that's a bonus, but still, I need to calm down. Well, after May I will.

All I Know Now by Carrie Hope Fletcher // Waterstones // £6.49

 

All I Know Now is a non-fiction book about teenage life and the mistake Carrie made and how she learned from them. I've only read through Act 1, but I already love it! It's filled with insightful advice and Harry Potter references.

 

 

The Coincidence Series & The Breaking Nova Series by Jessica Sorensen // Book Depository and Amazon // £15

 

Jessica Sorensen writes incredibly dark New Adult books and The Coincidence Series is now different. It follows two main characters who have broken souls, but only seem to feel fixable when they're with each other. I'm currently reading the second book, and am loving it!

 

 

Thoughtless by S.C. Stephens & Crash by Nicole Williams // Book Depository and Amazon // £9

 

Crash is described as a YA novel, but I've heard incredible things about it, and it was so cheap for a US edition. I picked up Thoughtless for £3.14 from Amazon and I cannot wait to read it soon. Apparently it features a person cheating on their partner, so I am a little weary.

 

 

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas & The Last Summer of Us by Maggie Harcourt // Waterstones and Book Depository // £11.50

 

I received both of these books early. I've already read ACOTAR by Sarah J Maas and loved it, so I had to order a finished copy. My friend, Sarah reviewed The Last Summer of Us and loved it. It's about three friends who take a road trip through Wales (Which is where I live).

 

 

Alienated by Melissa Landers // Wordery via Amazon // £5.80

 

Alienated finally came out in Paperback and I couldn't resist it. Apparently it's quite similar to the TV (which is now cancelled) Starcrossed. The main character has to host an Alien, but finds out that he's keeping a secret that could destroy both worlds.

 

 

REVIEW BOOKS

 

 

Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne Blankman & Skin by Ilka Tampke // Headline and Hodder & Stoughton // Sent for a honest review

 

Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke is the sequel to Prisoner of Night and Fog, which was released last year and I loved it! I'm so excited to continue on. I'm not sure what Skin is about since I received it unsolicited. The synopsis sounds...unique.

 

 

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, Awake by Natasha Preston & The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak // Netgalley // E-ARC's

 

I've already read Everything, Everything and I loved it. My review should be up pretty soon. Natasha Preston is actually a friend of mine, so when I saw this up on the site I had to request. It reminds me a little of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, which is such an incredible series! The Heartbreakers sounds like a quick, cheesy read and I wanted to have some of that!

 

 

 

These are all I got this month.

What did you buy?

 

Buy the books (Waterstones) // Buy the books (Book Depository) // Buy the Books (Amazon)

Top 5 Wednesday: Series I Want to Start in 2015

5th - Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins - YA Paranormal

I own the first book and I really like the idea of being tempted to Sin. It's a whole different spin on Paranormal and I've heard nothing but good things about it from my friends. I also happen to adore the covers.


4th - The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - YA Paranormal

Stiefvater takes on Welsh Mythology in this 4 book series and I'm so excited to see what she does with it. The final book comes out sometime this year and I'm hoping to have read the first 3 before the last books release date. I will note that Steifvater changes Owain Glyndwr's name to Glendower, which I find a little offensive.


3rd - Half-Blood by Jennifer L Armentrout - YA Paranormal/Mythology

I've read Obsidian and Onyx by Jennifer L Armentrout and really enjoyed them, so I want to see what her other series are like. I'll also be starting White Hot Kiss this year as well.


2nd - The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa - YA Paranormal/Dystopian

I tried to read this book last year and really loved what I read. I was engrossed for those first 90 pages...until my fingers started to swell up. However, I'm so tempted to read them this year that nothing will stop me. I need to start somewhere with Vampires and I think this is my best option. I'll also be starting Talon and The Iron King by Julie Kagawa this year.


1st - Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers - YA Historical/Fantasy

This trilogy follows three different characters and each character has their own book. If you don't know what they're about then buckle up because you're in for a surprise. The series follows 3 girls who are trained to be assassins by....Nuns. Yes, Nuns! I started to read the sample of this on iBooks and liked what I read.


What series do you plan on starting this year?
Let me know in the comments.

 

 

Tag created by GingerReadsLainey

Top 5 Wednesday: Favourite Re-Reads

Top 5 Wednesday was set up by Lainey over at GingerReadsLainey. Every week you have a new topic and you pick your top 5 choices for each topic. This is done in Vlogs, but I think it will be great for Bloggers to do as well. Today's topic is our Favourite books to re-read. I don't know if it's books you like to re-read over Christmas or just favourite books to re-read, so I'm going with the one that makes sense to me.

 

So, there are actually only two books that I re-read because I use them for writing inspiration. Beautiful Disaster is the book that got me wanting to write New Adult Fiction and going back to it inspires me with my male characters, because I sometimes write them a little too feminine. Pushing the Limits is used for the emotions and relationship. Katie McGarry knows how to punch someone in the gut with feelings!

 

These are 3 books that I am hoping to re-read in the year of 2015. the Divergent trilogy because the Insurgent movie comes out in March, Angelfall and World After so I can prepare for the third and final book, and Prisoner of Night and Fog because I was in a high reading slump when I read it.

 

 

What books have to re-read the most? Which ones do you plan on re-reading?