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Extraordinary Means
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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. ...more
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. ...more
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The Fault in Our Alaskas
Oct 25, 2015
Aj the Ravenous Reader
rated it
really liked it
Recommended to Aj the Ravenous Reader by:
Masooma
I read this book as a birthday gift to one of the best people on Goodreads- Masooma, who is celebrating her birthday today and who clearly loved this book. (Click her name for the most beautiful review on the book.) Let’s give her a happy birthday rap y’all!
♪ It’s your birthday, Awesome Masooma-ha!
It’s time to celebre-he-ate
Let’s wish her a happy birthde-hey,let’s wish her a happy birthde-hey!
Clap our hands in the air! (2x)
Stomp our feet on the ground! (2x)
The wheels on the bus go round a ...more
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
“There’s a difference between being dead and dying.”
Due to a severe case of old lady brain, I’m not 100% positive how this ended up on my Kindle, but I think it was from the library’s recommendation software which proves either (1) I’m not as disgusting a pervert as I figured the library thought me to be or (2) I logged in with someone else’s account by accident. Whatever the reason, I ended up with Extraordinary Means and bumped i ...more
“There’s a difference between being dead and dying.”
Due to a severe case of old lady brain, I’m not 100% positive how this ended up on my Kindle, but I think it was from the library’s recommendation software which proves either (1) I’m not as disgusting a pervert as I figured the library thought me to be or (2) I logged in with someone else’s account by accident. Whatever the reason, I ended up with Extraordinary Means and bumped i ...more
May 27, 2015
Hailey (Hailey in Bookland)
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
contemporary,
owned
It was just okay. I felt like it'd been done before and not because the plot was very similar to TFIOS, that set aside, it featured a lot of typical "quirky yet cool group" tropes.
...more
ugh. UGH.
This book had such an interesting premise (teens with a drug resistant form of TB in a boarding school aiming to help them recover) and it's exactly the kind of thing I enjoy and yet it fell so flat.
The whole book was littered with pop-culture references that made my skin crawl. Things like 'professor snape was my spirit animal' and 'shots fired in the drink fandom'. Every time one of them came up it felt like it was trying to hard to be ~cool~ and ~relatable~ and every time it happe ...more
This book had such an interesting premise (teens with a drug resistant form of TB in a boarding school aiming to help them recover) and it's exactly the kind of thing I enjoy and yet it fell so flat.
The whole book was littered with pop-culture references that made my skin crawl. Things like 'professor snape was my spirit animal' and 'shots fired in the drink fandom'. Every time one of them came up it felt like it was trying to hard to be ~cool~ and ~relatable~ and every time it happe ...more
My ECG throughout the book:
One moment: steady, floating along the rhythm of the novel
The other moment: drumming to the thrill of adventures of broken rules and forbidden things
Another moment: hoping like a sandwich short of a picnic
Yet another moment: detonated like an atomic bomb in pain and grief
And the final moment: *sigh*
I guess my ECG explains fully how I felt throughout the novel. Robyn Schneider made sure she shoved a twister full of emotions. I felt all the emotions at once- pain, grie ...more
One moment: steady, floating along the rhythm of the novel
The other moment: drumming to the thrill of adventures of broken rules and forbidden things
Another moment: hoping like a sandwich short of a picnic
Yet another moment: detonated like an atomic bomb in pain and grief
And the final moment: *sigh*
I guess my ECG explains fully how I felt throughout the novel. Robyn Schneider made sure she shoved a twister full of emotions. I felt all the emotions at once- pain, grie ...more
So far it's 2 for 2 for this author. I read and fell in love with The Beginning of Everything last year, and even having high hopes for this one I was not one bit disappointed.
This time we're taken to Latham House, a place where the sick are sent to try and get better. A place that is pretty much like a very morbid summer camp. Told in alternating point of views, we first meet Lane who's on the road to achieving his goal of going to an Ivy League school. He's a straight A student who'd rather s ...more
This time we're taken to Latham House, a place where the sick are sent to try and get better. A place that is pretty much like a very morbid summer camp. Told in alternating point of views, we first meet Lane who's on the road to achieving his goal of going to an Ivy League school. He's a straight A student who'd rather s ...more
WAH
Nov 22, 2014
Sarah Elizabeth
rated it
liked it
Shelves:
netgalley-edelweiss,
r2r-read,
read-2015,
romance,
as,
multiple-pov,
contemporary,
young-adult,
death
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
“My first night at Latham house, I lay awake in my narrow, gabled room in cottage 6 wondering how many people had died in it. And I didn’t just wonder this casually, either. I did the math. I figured the probability. And I came up with a number: eight. But then, I had always been terrible at math.”
This was quite a sad story about a group of kids with Total-Drug-Resistant ...more
“My first night at Latham house, I lay awake in my narrow, gabled room in cottage 6 wondering how many people had died in it. And I didn’t just wonder this casually, either. I did the math. I figured the probability. And I came up with a number: eight. But then, I had always been terrible at math.”
This was quite a sad story about a group of kids with Total-Drug-Resistant ...more
Intriguing, perceptive and another enlightening coming of age story.
Lane was about to begin his senior year with his whole life ahead of him. He had his friends, girlfriend and dream of going to Stanford to look forward too. Until he is diagnosed with TDR-turburculosis. He is sent to a sanatorium that has an 80% rate of survival. His world is tipped upside down as he struggles with his past, present and future. Not knowing how much time he has left live or what his future holds, Lane embarks on ...more
Lane was about to begin his senior year with his whole life ahead of him. He had his friends, girlfriend and dream of going to Stanford to look forward too. Until he is diagnosed with TDR-turburculosis. He is sent to a sanatorium that has an 80% rate of survival. His world is tipped upside down as he struggles with his past, present and future. Not knowing how much time he has left live or what his future holds, Lane embarks on ...more
**changed my rating from a 4 to a 3 after sitting on it for a few days. I've had more time to think about the issues I had with it and after discussing it with April, I've realized that they bugged me more than I first realized. Okay original review starts....now!:
Currently crying in public. I'M NOT OKAY :(
This book snuck up on me and hit me right in the feels. I did have some issues with it, but over all, it was so, so enjoyable. I definitely recommend for fans of John Green or Stephanie Perkin ...more
Currently crying in public. I'M NOT OKAY :(
This book snuck up on me and hit me right in the feels. I did have some issues with it, but over all, it was so, so enjoyable. I definitely recommend for fans of John Green or Stephanie Perkin ...more
“Miracles were just second chances if you really thought about it--second chances when all hope was lost.”
----Kaya McLaren, an American author
Robyn Schneider, an American author, pens her new novel, Extraordinary Means that traces the story of two terminally ill teenagers, living in a part-hospital-part-boarding-school type of facility and how they fall in love despite of the incurable disease.
Apart from two teenagers suffering from terminal illness and falling in love with each other, there ...more
----Kaya McLaren, an American author
Robyn Schneider, an American author, pens her new novel, Extraordinary Means that traces the story of two terminally ill teenagers, living in a part-hospital-part-boarding-school type of facility and how they fall in love despite of the incurable disease.
Apart from two teenagers suffering from terminal illness and falling in love with each other, there ...more
5 Words: Love, friendship, hope, illness, amazing.
I am a mess. All tears and broken heart. Oh god, this book.
This is one of those books where you only have to glance at the back cover to know that it'll be a festival of broken hearts and tear shed. And it totally delivers.
The idea of the fictional TDR-TB is just so believable that it wasn't until the authors note at the end that I realised that it was all just fiction. It's terrifying, it could be real. It could so, so easily be real.
I received ...more
I am a mess. All tears and broken heart. Oh god, this book.
This is one of those books where you only have to glance at the back cover to know that it'll be a festival of broken hearts and tear shed. And it totally delivers.
The idea of the fictional TDR-TB is just so believable that it wasn't until the authors note at the end that I realised that it was all just fiction. It's terrifying, it could be real. It could so, so easily be real.
I received ...more
3.5 stars
Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider is a well-written contemporary young adult novel that will surely find its place in the hearts of many. It’s a deliberate tear-jerker perfect for those who are chasing a few moments of catharsis.
When a book is repeatedly described as the love child of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, the reader pretty much knows what to expect going in. What’s more, an experienced reader can safely predict the beginning, the middle and the end. The s ...more
Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider is a well-written contemporary young adult novel that will surely find its place in the hearts of many. It’s a deliberate tear-jerker perfect for those who are chasing a few moments of catharsis.
When a book is repeatedly described as the love child of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, the reader pretty much knows what to expect going in. What’s more, an experienced reader can safely predict the beginning, the middle and the end. The s ...more
What an extraordinary story!^^
This is a story of a 17 year old young male adult named LANE,who seems to have a perfect life with a great future ahead of him,with high grades,and with a girlfriend whose pretty and smart until he was diagnosed with an incurable Tuberculosis,and was sent to LATHAM HOUSE,a boarding school and sanatorium for this kind of disease.
There in Latham,he was reunited with SADIE,the girl he knew from summer camp 4 yeas ago.A girl who is carefree and who leads a selective gro ...more
This is a story of a 17 year old young male adult named LANE,who seems to have a perfect life with a great future ahead of him,with high grades,and with a girlfriend whose pretty and smart until he was diagnosed with an incurable Tuberculosis,and was sent to LATHAM HOUSE,a boarding school and sanatorium for this kind of disease.
There in Latham,he was reunited with SADIE,the girl he knew from summer camp 4 yeas ago.A girl who is carefree and who leads a selective gro ...more
The Fault in Our Stars meets The Perks of being a Wallflower....yet not as good as either of those titles.
More in depth review on my BookTube channel -
https://youtu.be/CEU-cRY8ddM
Despite its title, there is nothing extraordinary about this book. However, it was quite an enjoyable read.
Although it features MANY tropes, and it can get quite cheesy....I still liked it and I ALMOST cried at the end.
I’m not a book cryer so ALMOST making me cry is an accomplishment. I’ll talk more about this soon on ...more
More in depth review on my BookTube channel -
https://youtu.be/CEU-cRY8ddM
Despite its title, there is nothing extraordinary about this book. However, it was quite an enjoyable read.
Although it features MANY tropes, and it can get quite cheesy....I still liked it and I ALMOST cried at the end.
I’m not a book cryer so ALMOST making me cry is an accomplishment. I’ll talk more about this soon on ...more
Can't find the words to describe how great this book were. Wonderfully written and such an amazing story.
I cried four times. ...more
I cried four times. ...more
Extraordinary Means is, basically, like Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain for the YA crowd. I have read Mann's behemoth of a book while studying literature (few years ago, different continent, whole different life), and it's one of the books that imprinted itself on my memory. I still remember the vividly described, enchanting setting and intelligent, sharp, insightful prose. (Really, you should read The Magic Mountain if you get a chance, it's a work of utter brilliance and erudition).
That bein ...more
That bein ...more
Review coming soon...
AWWW MAN THAT WAS SAD!!! But I loved it.
I was instantly attracted to the illness part of this book, which sounded really interesting and futuristic to me (even though I know it isn't). It's scary, but I like to think about living such a sad life and being in this world, as similar as it is to ours, except for the illness. The sadness of these kids' destiny hit me really hard, with all the similarities to summer camp that their quarantine camp has. Comparing to opposite things like that makes th ...more
I was instantly attracted to the illness part of this book, which sounded really interesting and futuristic to me (even though I know it isn't). It's scary, but I like to think about living such a sad life and being in this world, as similar as it is to ours, except for the illness. The sadness of these kids' destiny hit me really hard, with all the similarities to summer camp that their quarantine camp has. Comparing to opposite things like that makes th ...more
This review appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!
This is a sad book. Not because of the writing, but because of the subject matter. One kid with tuberculosis is sad enough, but you’ve got a whole facility filled when them in Extraordinary Means. This is not the type of book you’d pick up if you’re feeling down, but for those who can accept it, it offers an interesting concept for kids who just want to find themselves.
With total drug resistant TB, these kids have been quara ...more
This is a sad book. Not because of the writing, but because of the subject matter. One kid with tuberculosis is sad enough, but you’ve got a whole facility filled when them in Extraordinary Means. This is not the type of book you’d pick up if you’re feeling down, but for those who can accept it, it offers an interesting concept for kids who just want to find themselves.
With total drug resistant TB, these kids have been quara ...more
Also reviewed on Sophie Reads YA
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This is no way impacted in my view.
From the synopsis, it is recommended to those who enjoy John Green or Stephen Chbosky, and I could definitely see the connection with Green, not with Chbosky, which was good for me, as I really couldn't stand The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
This book was nothing like I was expecting, though, to be honest, I don't know much about it when I requested it. This was a ...more
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This is no way impacted in my view.
From the synopsis, it is recommended to those who enjoy John Green or Stephen Chbosky, and I could definitely see the connection with Green, not with Chbosky, which was good for me, as I really couldn't stand The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
This book was nothing like I was expecting, though, to be honest, I don't know much about it when I requested it. This was a ...more
Mar 27, 2015
Justine (bookwormaniac)
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
books-that-broke-my-heart-2015
Yes, yes, and yes. Robyn Schneider kicked some asses again. Both Lane and Sadie have a good impact on the story. However, Lane, as a boy, doesn't really sound like a guy in some parts of the story. There are some parts that are quite unbelievable for a guy to do or say. Nevertheless, believe or not, when I was reading this book, I felt like I was on a train slowly closing in to another train. Then finally, boom! Train-wreck it is.
"But that's the thing about odds. Roll a die twice, and you expect...more
This is my first of Robyn Schneider's books and I really wasn't disappointed. It reminded me of Looking for Alaska but with the added element of having an incurable disease from The Fault in Our Stars. Don't get me wrong, though, Extraordinary Means is not a copycat and has its own, separate, world to immerse yourself in.
The story begins with Lane's point of view. He is a straight A student who spends his life studying to keep his GPA up and working his way towards admission at an Ivy League col ...more
The story begins with Lane's point of view. He is a straight A student who spends his life studying to keep his GPA up and working his way towards admission at an Ivy League col ...more
Also posted at The Quirky Reader
Extraordinary Means is nothing new I’ve read in YA literature. ...more
“There’s a specific energy to different moments, and once you lose it, it can’t be recaptured. You’ve got to record it, or you’ve got nothing.”If The Beginning of Everything was the appetizer to my favorite meal then this book is the main course. I’ve always known that Robyn Schneider’s going to be one of those authors that, once you see their book in a bookstore, you’ll grab it without hesitation.
Extraordinary Means is nothing new I’ve read in YA literature. ...more
Reminded me a little too much of a John green book. Wish the romance would have been a little more in depth. Criticisms aside,this book made me cry like a baby in the end so I obviously must have been more into than I thought.
May 29, 2015
thebookbitch
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2015
3.5 Stars
This book started off so brilliantly, but after the first 250 pages things started to slowly fall down hill. Why does someone always have to die? It's stupid! I understand that TB can kill you, but it's too predictable for anyone to enjoy the book.
...more
This book started off so brilliantly, but after the first 250 pages things started to slowly fall down hill. Why does someone always have to die? It's stupid! I understand that TB can kill you, but it's too predictable for anyone to enjoy the book.
...more
ALRIGHT HERE WE GO Y'ALL THIS IS GOING TO BE AN ANGRY AND SEMI-COHERENT REVIEW RIDDLED WITH GIFS AND SPOILERS (which will be marked you can read this even if you're planning on reading this book--but honestly do you not value my opinion at all?!)
ugh!!! i had such high hopes for this book!
but, no. just like the love between two archetype'd robyn schneider characters, my beliefs were scorned. it was just the beginning of everything: maybe we'll die how sad is that let's be pretentious we're so you ...more
ugh!!! i had such high hopes for this book!
but, no. just like the love between two archetype'd robyn schneider characters, my beliefs were scorned. it was just the beginning of everything: maybe we'll die how sad is that let's be pretentious we're so you ...more
“It's strange how can lose things that are still right there. How a barrier can go up at any moment, trapping you on the other side, keeping you from what you want. How the things that hurt the most are things we once had.”
I {heart} this book so much. Maybe it resonated with me more because not too long ago, my very best friend had a sister who was diagnosed with TB and I was with her when she feverly awaited her results to see if she possibly was a carrier to this disease as well. Keeping in m ...more
ORIGINAL REVIEW
The Ugly Duckling!
- A beautiful story behind the ugly setting.
This is one of the best heartbreaking stories I’ve ever read. You should be prepared before reading a book, to control your emotions. You will never know when something is going to destroy you.
I know I’ll cry myself when I started this. After watching the book trailer, I jumped straight into this book hoping to have a good cry. Yeah, it’s crazy. Most of the people hate tragedies and cry worthy books. But, I love traged ...more
The Ugly Duckling!
- A beautiful story behind the ugly setting.
This is one of the best heartbreaking stories I’ve ever read. You should be prepared before reading a book, to control your emotions. You will never know when something is going to destroy you.
I know I’ll cry myself when I started this. After watching the book trailer, I jumped straight into this book hoping to have a good cry. Yeah, it’s crazy. Most of the people hate tragedies and cry worthy books. But, I love traged ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What's the Name o...: SOLVED. YA Pandemic Dystopia - Teenagers contract super-tuberculosis and sanatoriums are repurposed and modernized as makeshift boarding schools. Spoilers ahead. [s] | 3 | 11 | Aug 04, 2021 02:32AM | |
| Young Adult Conte...: #10 Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider | 15 | 29 | Mar 12, 2016 03:51PM | |
| YA Buddy Readers'...: Extraordinary Means by Robin Schneider - Restarting February 8th 2016 | 26 | 47 | Feb 10, 2016 11:48PM | |
| Dream book | 1 | 17 | Nov 01, 2015 06:01PM | |
| Crazy for Young A...: Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider → Start Date: June 18th, 2015 | 26 | 29 | Jul 10, 2015 08:35PM |
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Robyn Schneider grew up in Southern California, where she spent her childhood reading fantasy novels and searching for secret passages. She’s a graduate of Columbia University, where she studied creative writing, and the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, where she earned a Masters of Bioethics. Robyn is the bestselling author of The Beginning of Everything, Extraordinary Mean
...more
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“Being temporary doesn't make something matter any less, because the point isn't for how long, the point is that it happened.”
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“That's all you can do in this world, no matter how strong the current beats against you, or how heavy your burden, or how tragic your love story. You keep going.”
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