A YA, Sick-Lit Haiku Review: Extraordinary Means…

It’s been a little while, but it is I, Mad Martha, back with another haiku review for a new release YA title, Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider.  I was lucky enough to snag a copy of this one for review from the publisher via Netgalley.  Asthma inhalers at the ready? Then let us embark on a gentle stroll through the word of Totally Drug Resistant Tuberculosis. BYO paper mask.

Here’s the blurb from Goodreads:

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.

Oh the feels! True love’s

first kiss interrupted by

coughing fit. Awkies…

Astute observers may notice that I’ve been a bit cheeky with my haiku today, but we’ll get to that in a moment.

Suffice to say, I’ve got mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I really enjoyed parts of it and I appreciated the original concept of placing the characters in a tuberculosis sanatorium. This made a nice change from the groups of teens hospitalised at psychiatric facilities that I usually read about. And that cover is just beautiful, isn’t it?! On the other hand, I should point out I haven’t read that book by John Green that is a massive bestseller (and I don’t intend to), or indeed any other of the recently released “sick-lit” YA titles, so you won’t find any comparisons with those in this review. This is, I think, probably a good thing because I have a shrewd suspicion that this book may easily be slotted into the “just another sick-lit YA title” shelf and quickly forgotten.

So let’s start with the positives. First, originality. It’s not immediately apparent from the first few chapters, but the characters in this novel are quarantined at a tuberculosis sanatorium and boarding school. Essentially, they have all contracted Totally Drug Resistant TB (which is a total bummer) and have been sent to Latham House to take a rest cure. Unfortunately for some, not all will make it out alive; such is the aggressive nature of TDR-TB. I really enjoyed the weird atmosphere that was created here by having a group of naturally exuberant, passionate and generally active teens hobbled by rest, good nutrition and gentle exercise. Obviously enough, a good part of the story revolves around the main characters attempting to inject some fun into their lives in spite of their illness.

I was drawn into the story quickly through the use of alternating points of view between Lane and Sadie and the relatively short chapters. I’ve always been a fan of multiple-point-of-view novels and this one had an engaging style. In fact, I think this is what kept me happy for about half of the book.

By about halfway through, it was pretty obvious to me where the ending was going and that is the main thing that limited my enjoyment of the book. While the first half of the book felt fresh and interesting, by the halfway point I had a pretty good inkling that for at least some of the main characters, the ride to the finish would contain some exciting highs, followed by tragic lows and then a short, philosophical musing on the meaning of life and death.

And I was right.

I know others have really loved this book and lauded its characters and plot and narrative arc and all the rest, but for me it started well and then ended in a rather pedestrian fashion. The medical twist towards the end did liven things up a little, but it also confirmed my suspicions about what was going to happen in the end. The characters seemed too two-dimensional for me to garner any deep connection and I generally tire of faux-existential musings forced into books just to increase “the feels!”

I have come to the conclusion that this is one book that really is aimed at the YA set and as a jaded adult, I couldn’t come on board with the hopeful yearnings of young love in the way that the author wanted me to. Particularly when the characters manage a romp into a neighbouring town, to frolic and spread their deadly contagion amongst the unsuspecting townsfolk. Not cool, peeps.

So you can see now why my haiku is a bit cheeky.  I’m not the ideal reader for this book, which is a shame, but I think it will be enjoyed by its target audience. If you are a young person, or you know one who can’t go past a good romance/friendship/coming-of-age/deadly illness dalliance then this would definitely be worth a look.

Cheerio my dears,

Mad Martha