Extraordinary Means Review

Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publish Date: May 26, 2015

     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. 
     Extraordinary Means is a darkly funny story about doomed friendships, first love, and the rare miracle of second chances.

     Reading this book was not the funnest thing. My reading "experience" was backwards. Whenever I read a book, I always breeze through the end because it's super boring. But, I felt that the beginning and middle of this book was okay. I enjoyed the scenes every now and then, but there wasn't really a wow factor to it. As the book drew to an end, that's when it was getting good.
     Nonetheless, this book was pretty decent. Pretty decent in my standards equates to a good.
     The story kinda went the same way as any other work of fiction that's about tuberculosis. Works such as, but not limited to, Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas and Moulin Rouge by Pierre La Mure.
     What I found interesting about this book was that the author was-slightly-romanticizing tuberculosis even when she kinda trashed the idea of doing so in her acknowledgments. BUT, it's really slight.
     Okay, enough negativity.
     If you loved/love the Harry Potter Series, you'll love this book. They make jokes pertaining to HP and they reference it A LOT. "Professor Snape was my spirit animal." If you like Hayao Miyazaki, like I do, you will fangirl the hell out for this book. There was also Gatsby references. The author/this book is very well-rounded to. Who can forget the Pride & Prejudice tribute?!

Writing

     The writing was really easy to read. It had a nice flow, but it was lack luster. It had the right amount of figurative language and it was used appropriately. Each page wasn't like a prose. It was actually a book. Nothing distracted the book. The book shined by itself. It did not need fancy embellishment to make it a good book.

     The story is very interesting and original. There were funny parts and parts where the character/author tried to be funny and failed miserably.

     I loved the dual povs in the book. I liked reading both of their thoughts. I liked their different personalities. It was refreshing.

Chracterization

     All of the characters were different and added a different dynamic to the story. RESPECT. BUT, some of them *cough Lane* were super whiny.

     I get that change is difficult and all that, but Lane was just so annoying. I respect him continuing his academics, even when he has a life threatening disease. It's great that he shows hope that way, but everything is great in moderation.

     Sadie is a cool, rebellious, funny girl. Sure, she displays the worst quality in teen fiction-lovesickness, but I excuse her. It's probably the only normal thing she experiences. I feel all deep think love is an experience that can't be taken away from you.