Published by Harper Collins, Katherine Tegen Books on 2015-06-04
Genres: Dating & Sex, Death & Dying, Diseases, Illnesses & Injuries, Family, Fiction, Friendship, Survival Stories, Young Adult
Pages: 352
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
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.
Robyn Schneider’s Debut The Beginning of Everything was one of my favourite books  2 years ago. I recommended it countless times so needless to say I was quite excited about her new book!
When there is an deadly,horrible disease and kids are send to a “camp” to get better, personalities will change … heck, life will change!
The circumstances and the setting are quite curious and intriguing and felt both historic and dystopian. A non-curable form of Tuberculosis breaks out and infected kids are send to a camp where they can go to school and have health support all day long. It feels horrible sad, that there is nothing to do, other than send the kids away, dealing with this disease on their own and being left alone to fend for themselves. Of course, scientists are working on a cure, but for some kids it will come too late, so the tone in general shifts so many times from hopeful to sad in mere minutes!
Having the change ti define yourself and create a new me!
One a positive side, the kids have her the possibility to define themselves anew. Having been thrown in this camp, sometimes there is nothing left to do other than creating a a new me and see how that goes. The story is told in alternative POV with Sadie who has been at the came for quite a while and already created a new self – and then there is Lane who just arrived! His story makes my heart break and shows the reader the severity of what is happening. He was a straight A student, had a girlfriend and was ready to go to College when he was send away. Initially he tried to keep up his normal life, but has to realize that due to his condition he can’t and then when he befriends Sadie, he slowly beings to change..
Change is what keeps you and what will help you to survive..
Lane’s story was the true heart of this book, seeing him loose so much and then realizing that this might be really a long time (if ever!) until he can get home, seeing him realise that his life might change forever was heartbreaking, honest and raw! Sometimes
And .. even though it might have been obvious with such a setting, it still broke me heart many times over when not every kid survived…..
Bewitched Rating
Bottom Line
Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider was a heartbreaking story about change, adaption and a deadly disease. With brutally honest and raw characters, this story lives from their characters and their development and Robyn created here a quite unique setting for her story!
However, as much as I liked it – I still loved her Debut a little more, I felt more connected with the character…
 
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Just added it to my TBR list. Thanks for review!
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This book sounds so good! I haven’t read any of Robyn Schneider’s books but I’ve only heard positive things 🙂 The blend of a historic and dystopian setting sounds pretty interesting too. Great review!
Zareena @ The Slanted Bookshelf
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Wonderful review, as usual! Very thoughtful and I’m certainly going to check this one out.
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