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Catch & Release

3.19 of 5 stars 3.19 · rating details · 134 ratings · 41 reviews

I should have died quick. But I didn't. I'm a miracle of modern medicine, only the medicine doesn't get much credit, I notice. People say I'm lucky, or I'm blessed, and then they turn away.

I'm not the only miracle. There's Odd too.

Polly Furnas had The Plan for the future. Get married to Bridger Morgan, for one. College, career, babies. Etc. All the important choices were m...more

Hardcover, 216 pages

Published February 1st 2012 by Lerner Publishing Group/ Carolrhoda Books

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2012 JANUARY YA Releases

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January 2012

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Mar 21, 2013 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

High school senior Polly Furnas' life was in order: excellent grades, the perfect boyfriend, parents that adored her. It all fit into The Plan: go to college with Bridger Morgan, (AKA perfect boyfriend), become a teacher, get married to Bridger and live happily ever after. That was life before the MRSA outbreak that threatened her town, the drug-resistant flesh eating bacteria of which only two people survived: Polly, Case #6 and Odd Estes case #3. Now Polly must attempt to adapt to life after M...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ok so this book is a great journey and rediscovery book... Although I have some issues with wording and some typos I think this is an awesome book to have on a gloomy October night.

This story starts off a little slow with a school disaster that only affects the lives of seven people three football stars, a senior girl (Polly a main character), a junior (Odd, the other main character), the lunch lady, and a baby. After this disaster the main characters begin an interesting road trip that opens t...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Lisa Ferneau-Haynes rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: bfya-2013

I love the way this author puts her words together, every word means something and isn't just on the page to take up space. Great characters, perfect pacing...

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Apr 28, 2012 Ashley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

This book hooks you and will not let you go until you see Polly and Odd down the road.

The star here is the voice of the narrator, Polly. Polly after a brush with death via flesh-eating bacteria. Polly who no longer has The Plan. She is raw, cynical, and stalled in a place that's scary and looks very different with only one eye.

Because she's been robbed of The Plan, Polly has also been freed from The Plan. Freed to think thoughts that would have been off limits to the Polly who was nice because s...more

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Feb 16, 2012 Mandy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Polly Furnas had a plan. Graduate highschool. Marry her sweetheart. Go to college, and have children. MSRA was not in the plan. Neither was spending weeks in the hospital and loosing her eye. Somehow, out of everyone in her hometown who survived the infection, she survived, along with a fellow highschooler, Odd. Now she has a choice. She can lie around wallowing in self-pity or take Odd's offer for a fishing trip. She can choose to fight to live or slowly die inside her new body. Plans change.

Bl...more

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Feb 11, 2012 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

On a road trip toward Portland, a fishing expedition, teens Polly Furnas and Odd Estes, connected by their survival from a flesh-eating disease, but missing an eye and a leg, respectively, come to terms with their new conditions.
Polly's first-person narrative, a present-tense flashback, is angry and self-pitying at first, full of her fears about moving around in a world without depth perception and her rage at her former boyfriend Bridger who has decamped. We see Odd's adjustment through her fla...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Mark rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: characters-with-disabilities, death-and-dying, coming-of-age, relationships, survival, young-adult-literature, illness, road-trip

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. "I miss my eye.

Not as much as I did at first, but I still miss it, especially when it comes to situations like this, when distance and closeness matter. I can't play ping-pong. I can't catch a set of keys if you wing them at me. Those are things that Polly-That-Was could do. Not me. I can't depend on the world, but other than that, I'm doing fine. I'm moving my story down the road. Slowly, slowly, like an old man in a hat, I'm moving my story down the road."

Polly Furnas is eighteen, and she and...more "I miss my eye.

Not as much as I did at first, but I still miss it, especially when it comes to situations like this, when distance and closeness matter. I can't play ping-pong. I can't catch a set of keys if you wing them at me. Those are things that Polly-That-Was could do. Not me. I can't depend on the world, but other than that, I'm doing fine. I'm moving my story down the road. Slowly, slowly, like an old man in a hat, I'm moving my story down the road."

Polly Furnas is eighteen, and she and her classmate Odd Estes, are the only survivors of a fast-moving and deadly flesh-eating virus that killed five other people in their small, rural Montana town. There is no clear medical reason for why Polly and Odd survived while the others didn't, but the MRSA (Methicillan-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) has left Polly with a badly scarred face and no left eye, while Odd has the lower part of one leg. Before the virus, Polly had a boyfriend, plans to go to college, and some semblance of a future ahead of her; now, she stays at home, attempts to avoid and placate her worrysome mother, and tries to come to grips with the ways her life has changed. In most respects, she's failing to do so.

When Odd shows up at her doorstep, and asks Polly to go fishing with him, she assumes it'll just be a quick trip, something to take both their minds off of their conditions. She and Odd have never been close, but their shared good luck/misfortune has tied them together in some strange fashion. Once they leave for the river, it's clear that the two of them are dealing with their conditions in very different ways; Polly is much more sullen, depressed, and is unsure how to deal with her appearance. Odd, who comes from a much different background than Polly, appears to deal much more positively with the loss of his leg, but as the trip extends longer, it becomes clear that Odd has secrets of his own.

While I gave this book 5 stars, if you're looking for a strong plot, this ain't your novel. There really isn't one to speak of, but the voices of the characters were so strong and compelling (particularly Polly's - wonderfully snarky and honest), that I didn't mind at all. The fishing trip that the two originally set off on becomes more of a camping/road trip, with occasional stop-overs so Polly and Odd can drink, smoke pot, and interact with locals. Eventually, the trip develops another purpose; to deal with Polly's ex-boyfriend in Portland. The characters are extremely isolated, and by the end of the book, they're still pretty much in their own bubbles, but they've come to learn more about each other. I appreciated that there was no romance forced down the reader's throat here, simply because the two are stuck in the same car, and share the same devastating background with the MRSA. In fact, it's obvious that they still don't particularly like each other by the end of the novel. Both are incredibly complicated, and it's hard to imagine either one being in a successful relationship. But the brief moments of kindness they share are magnified, because of their misfortune. As the narrator, we learn more about Polly, but after the two separate near the end of the novel, and Polly reads Odd's letters to his grandmother, much more opens up about his character, in surprising ways. This is a powerful book about young people faced with a world not of their choosing, and how they deal with their lives the best they can. (less)

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Nov 21, 2011 Kelley York rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc

This was...an interesting book. Not interesting-bad or interesting-good, necessarily. Just...head-tilting interesting.

Cover: 3/5 I'm not a fan of the cover. I like the fish hooks, but the font is really not at all eye-catching and it looks messy. And, while the hooks are neat, I think it gives the book a far more ominous feel than it really has.

Characters: 4/5 I really adored Polly and Odd. Their interaction was interesting and realistic, and I enjoy watching them connect in this strange way. Ro...more

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Aug 07, 2012 Susan P rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: committee, ya-fiction

Polly used to have a great life. She was pretty and popular and had a great boyfriend and was about to graduate from high school and go off to college. And hopefully someday marry that great boyfriend. Then she contracted a flesh eating bacteria that ate away part of her face and one of her eyes. She missed graduation while she was in the hospital, and that so-called great boyfriend dumped her via snail mail. And now her life pretty much sucks. Then one day Odd comes to see if she wants to go fi...more

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Mar 13, 2012 Angela rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have to be honest: the premise of this book is among the strangest I’ve read in a long while, which is rather impressive if you knew some of the books I’ve read and generally enjoyed. I say that because the catalyst to this entire story is this: A high school girl and a few other unfortunate souls contract MRSA. Don’t know what MRSA is? Well, it’s the flesh-eating disease. And poor Polly’s face was mauled rather terribly by it.

The writing moves easily, even when depicting some rather gruesome...more I have to be honest: the premise of this book is among the strangest I’ve read in a long while, which is rather impressive if you knew some of the books I’ve read and generally enjoyed. I say that because the catalyst to this entire story is this: A high school girl and a few other unfortunate souls contract MRSA. Don’t know what MRSA is? Well, it’s the flesh-eating disease. And poor Polly’s face was mauled rather terribly by it.

The writing moves easily, even when depicting some rather gruesome detail (i.e. Polly’s scarring), but it took me a while to understand where the novel was going, as well as what its intent was. The story itself follows Polly as she and an acquaintance, aptly named Odd, go on a fishing trip. They are not romantically inclined, not really, but maybe they are. They are imperfect and human, and through their story, Woolston showcases the human condition when faced with overwhelming odds. Do you collapse inward? Do you blame the world for the things you’re fighting? How can you express yourself when no one will listen? What kind of future can you make for yourself when every plan you made is shattered and tossed aside in a moment’s time?

My favorite parts of this story are the quiet ways that Woolston showed but did not tell. Whether she was referring to the maybe/maybe not strains of romance developing between Polly and Odd or the nearly silent revelations Polly has regarding her lot in life and how she wants to view both herself and her future, it’s smartly done. And, I really loved the way that Polly’s growth was steady but almost imperceptible, unless you were paying close attention.

So, why only 3 stars, you ask, instead of a more shining rating?

Quite simple, really: It took me a very long time to become invested in either of these characters. Polly required significantly less time than Odd, but still, it was well after the halfway point of the novel that I felt any kinship with her, which made the book difficult to enjoy, as she’s the narrator. However, particularly with regard to the last handful of chapters, by the end of this book, I was happy with the resolution and character growth, and felt confident that both Polly and Odd would enjoy their futures, both in the small ways they will likely interact and apart.

Interesting read, interesting characters, and at the end of the day, an interesting premise.

3.5 stars.(less)

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Jan 16, 2012 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-bitten

Aside from the fact that I would be perfectly content living in a bubble as I now see little squiggly germy death on every door handle, I hate it when I'm at a loss for words on a book. Like stomp my feet, hold my breath until the words come hate. Considering that'd be counter-productive I won't do it. But it doesn't make me happy.

There is nothing bad about CATCH & RELEASE. Not a thing. Except it might make you a disciplined germaphobe to an extreme. But aside from that, there's nothing even...more Aside from the fact that I would be perfectly content living in a bubble as I now see little squiggly germy death on every door handle, I hate it when I'm at a loss for words on a book. Like stomp my feet, hold my breath until the words come hate. Considering that'd be counter-productive I won't do it. But it doesn't make me happy.

There is nothing bad about CATCH & RELEASE. Not a thing. Except it might make you a disciplined germaphobe to an extreme. But aside from that, there's nothing even remotely wrong about it. The voice is perfect. And I mean perfect. Woolston has captured Polly's voice so amazingly that that's all I can say about it. It's amazing. Reading Polly's words you get a sense of the person that she used to be before MRSA. There's a hint of it still lingering but it's all dripping in bitterness and disdain because of what she's lost. There were times where I was getting frustrated with how she was thinking and reacting to things but you catch yourself. Instead of spiraling the thought about her being an overreacting drama queen, the words hitch in your brain and you can't help but ask yourself, 'if you lost a third of your face, including one of your eyes, how would you feel?' It would be hard enough for an adult to cope with something like that but a teenager? At the beginning of the book Polly's consigned herself to her couch for the rest of her life. Her life is over. By the end she's been, well, released, and you watch her transform from someone who hides, who throws in the cards, who wants revenge, to someone that just releases all of that anger and hatred and bitterness and starts over. And you can feel how monumental that step was.

I was less than thrilled with Odd but his reactions to things become clearer at the end of the story so I won't ruin that one. But it's funny with Odd because the story is in Polly's voice so you see him as she sees him and at times he can be a dick. But then you get to see Polly through Odd's eyes and it's when you can get out of her head and see from another angle how she was acting and how it was perceived by others that maybe it was a little over the top. Considering this was viewed by another MRSA survivor that lost his leg, he could relate to her pain and as such is in a position to tell her to get over it, in his own unique way.

The dirt and grime and grit that they slough through on their trip is something palpable. Especially when Polly gets her period. I'll leave you to that. But you get a sense that as they travel along, they're picking up more and more crap but leaving just as much of it behind. They're both coming to terms with what's happened to them but they're doing it in the only way they each know how. As the road before them becomes less and less visible, they each take their own paths and any fear that's there manifests and then fizzles as one steps up to help the other. You can't help but watch the steps up they take, some of the tumbles that result, but the ultimate moving on that they're both doing.

Before this runs the risk of de-evolving into a nonsensical meandering of a review I'll end it here. I'll conclude with the offering of awesomeness to that which is CATCH & RELEASE. While I loved it, I wasn't in love it with, hence "just" a four rating. It is truly awesome but it didn't quite hit me in my cockle region to rank it higher. But it's more than just your average contemporary novel about teens coming to terms with themselves and finding their place in life. These teens had something monstrous happen to them and as a result were effectively pushed out of society to deal with it on their own. Which they did. And they're forcing their way back in. You can't help but feel moved as you read it. And just a little squicked out. I'll be honest. I micromanage my papercuts now.(less)

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Sep 26, 2012 Anne rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, psc-reviews, realistic-fiction, young-adult

Polly and Odd are survivors of a MRSA outbreak. They weren't really friends before, but now they are considered outcasts by everyone else who think they may still be contagious. In addition, they have some physical deformities as a result of the illness, which also sets them apart. One day Odd invites Polly to go fishing. Her mom urges her to go, even though Polly would rather not. Turns out, Odd has some other plans in mind and they end up on a crazy road trip involving fish, an old Cadillac, m...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Tracey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, teen

teen fiction; recovery from trauma/roadtrip (girl). A flesh eating strain of bacteria leaves a 17-year-old girl with one eye and a grotesquely scarred face--her remaining friend is a former football player who lost a leg to the same illness. The only thing they have in common (besides surviving the thing that killed 5 others) is an interest in fishing, and though they travel together from Wyoming to Oregon, the two never quite see eye to eye about anything else. Polly's acid wit perfectly comple...more

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May 06, 2012 Neile rated it 4 of 5 stars

After recovering from a near-death encounter with a drug-resistant infection which killed several other people, Polly escapes the confines of her life by driving off with Odd Estes, the other survivor of the infection. Polly has facial scars and lost an eye and is having trouble figuring out who she is now, and Odd now has a robot foot. At first not intending to go for more than a night or two they end up roaming around Montana, and then west towards Polly's ex, who dropped her while she was sic...more

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Jan 29, 2012 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fiction, read-in-2012

Woolston's writing is so fresh and always subtle enough to leave a huge impact at the end. I'm going to walk around thinking about this one for a while.

On the surface, it's a story of how MRSA (any disease, really) impacts people. Deeper, though, it's a story of how people impact people.

One of the things I love about this book is how much science is infused into the story. It's not a science book, but it uses science to ground the narrative and the characters. The only knowledge I ever had abo...more

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Jan 31, 2012 E. Anderson rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm essentially blown away by Blythe Woolston's latest novel, CATCH & RELEASE. Never has a book about a flesh-eating disease been so oddly romantic, so compelling. And perhaps you, readers, are thinking, "but I don't know of any other novels about a flesh-eating disease." But that's the thing. It doesn't matter. This book is the zenith of flesh-eating disease books.

Polly, a recent survivor of a lethal drug-resistant infection which killed most of its other victims, certainly never imagined h...more

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Nov 14, 2011 Tez rated it 4 of 5 stars

MRSA (what does that stand for?) is a contagion - bacteria enters the body via a cut and kills what it comes across. For Polly Furnas, it entered via a bleeding blemish, taking out her cheek and an eye. MRSA also took Odd Estes's leg, which has since been replaced with a robot leg. And these people were the lucky ones.

Polly and Odd met in hospital, and now they embark on a fishing road trip. On a diet of junk food, coffee, alcohol, and medical marijuana, each teen comes to terms with their disab...more

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Aug 07, 2012 Serina rated it 1 of 5 stars

ugh. all this story was about a road trip.

it had a good theme with the girl being damaged goods and the boy who sticks with her dispite. likable characters coping with things never returning to way things were.

but boring. i read more than halfway thru before i reliezed nothing was going to happen. and it didn't! there was no confrination with her ex boyfriend who dropped her when she got disfigured. or her mom who smoothered her. or his older abusive brother. or his grandmother who forgot who...more

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May 17, 2012 Ashly Roman rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-novels

Very interesting writing style if you can call it that. The book seemed all over the place. When you thought something exciting was going to happen, nothing came of it. It was pretty boring.

I have to say that the topic of two teens having MRSA is something that you do not find in Teen Lit. I don't know any books off hand that touch this subject in adult novels either. I think that if developed more, this book could of been action packed.

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Jun 12, 2012 Medeia Sharif rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Polly is angry and hurt. She wanted a normal life with her high school boyfriend, Bridger, but that relationship is over. What changed things was a flesh-eating disease that destroyed her eye, scarred her, and altered the look of her face. Other youths in town had died because of the disease, but she’s alive. When she goes on a fishing trip with Odd, who lost his foot to the disease, it’s a time to reflect on her life and circumstances. Just as with the fish she catches and releases, there are t...more

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Oct 24, 2011 Gina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

This was am enjoyable read because the characters made me really uncomfortable. The main character had lost her eye to a flesh eating bacteria and is lucky to be alive. I loved the idea that life is a game of catch and release much like fishing. we all make choices on what we hold on to and what's worth releasing. Great read, but I think it may be over most teens heads our maybe I read took much into it.

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Jul 22, 2012 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, mock-printz-2013

Despite an overabundance of fishing metaphors (good but sometimes overwhelming) and a somewhat depressing topic, this was actually a pretty good road trip book. I'm glad we ended up seeing both sides of the story; I'm also glad that we don't finish with all of the answers. Made it even more realistic.

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Jul 26, 2012 Teresa Scherping rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

I went back and forth between four and five stars on this one. Excellent writing. Doesn't really wrap up the story neatly, but the fact that it doesn't feels more authentic. Polly and Odd felt like real people to me.

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Jul 06, 2012 Jesse Franzen rated it 2 of 5 stars

I love the descriptions of the scenes and quips tossed throughout the story. The character seemed distant and hard to really understand fully, and put that with nearly nothing of a plot, and the book was OK. Would have loved it if the story had a bit more of an arc.

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May 26, 2012 Alicia Douglas rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars. I liked the story. The characters were likable and not, and it was strange at times. I dig strange. I just like my ends tied up a bit more neatly. Still a good read!

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Feb 13, 2012 Louisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bizarre-medical-problems, ya, road-trippin, i-love-awkward-teenagers-in-fiction

Quite possibly the strangest YA novel I've read in quite a while. Like "A River Runs Through It" with snarky, angry MRSA-surviving teens. It's not an easy book to get through but a really beautiful one nonetheless.

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May 01, 2012 Elissa Hoole rated it 5 of 5 stars

loved this book in that way that makes me want to copy down quotes and put them on my wall. also sort of a little bit insanely jealous I didn't write it. but way glad I read it.

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Apr 08, 2012 Emma_jane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

I loved Woolston's debut, Freak Observer, and Catch & Release read just about as easily, but with much less connection to the character, Polly. I just didn't feel her angst like I did Loa's.

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Aug 25, 2012 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

Good coming of age novel about a teen boy and girl who get hit with MSRA and become disfigured as they're graduating from high school.

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Mar 21, 2013 Leila Roy rated it 5 of 5 stars

http://bookshelvesofdoom.blogs.com/bo...

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“A monster always has a vulnerability” — 3 people liked it

“Love is all tangled up with worry, but you can't cast out into the world until the line is untangled.” — 3 people liked it

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