Pages:
324
Publisher:
S&S
Release
Date: 4th
June 2015
Edition:
UK paperback,
review copy
When
he’s sent to Latham House, a boarding school for sick teens, Lane thinks his
life may 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.
Extraordinary Means is a darkly funny story about true
friendships, ill-fated love and the rare miracle of second chances.
Though Extraordinary Means has some really strong points, I had to admit
that I felt very little about it either way.
Latham House is a place for
teenagers who have contracted a strain of drug-resistant TB. I have to admit
that I was expecting the illness mentioned in the synopsis was going to be
mental or emotional so I was completely taken aback. It was a really unusual
plotline and I was definitely interested as I associate TB with something that
was mostly wiped out, or at least been incurable, for a really long time in the
UK. It has a reputation for killing off celebrated literary figures like Jane
Austen, John Keats, the Bronte’s, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and I could go on!
But I have to admit that this is
where my fascination ended. The goings on at Latham House were very similar to
that of boarding school, but with medical sensors, super-relaxed schedules and
weekly doctor check-ups. It created a microcosm that made the enforced setting
of high school a little more obvious, but it didn’t really do much else for me.
It had so much potential…
I also didn’t really connect with
either Lane or Sadie and I didn’t care enough to get behind their romance. They
both fell a little flat and though they had interesting moments, they were
fleeting and were often overshadowed by supporting characters or a heavy-handed
philosophical reflection.
Extraordinary
Means fell
rather short for me and I fell like the John Green and Rainbow Rowell
comparisons are way off, but I have no doubt that loads of people will fall in
love with Lane and Sadie’s story.
Thanks to S&S for the review
copy.
Sophie
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