Extraordinary Means

Reviewed by: Cidney Mayes - Memorial Middle School, South Portland, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: November 17, 2015

Review

A fresh take on teen romance, Extraordinary Means centers on two teenagers who have been sent to Latham House to recover from their drug-resistant tuberculosis. Part hospital and part boarding school, teens are sent to Latham to await the discovery of a miracle drug to cure their tuberculosis. The narrative unfolds through the alternating voices of Sadie and Lane. Lane is in denial of his illness, and is determined not to fall behind his old classmates and maintain his GPA. His determination to continue his AP work, however, quickly compromises his health and he is forced to accept that his is sick. Sadie has been at Latham long enough for her condition to stabilize, but she is neither improving or getting worse. She has a quirky friend group who smuggle in contraband to Latham, and try at all costs to keep some semblance of normalcy in their lives at the risk of getting into trouble. Though Lane and Sadie attended the same summer camp many years ago, the two are hardly friends until Lane proves himself to Sadie's friends and is accepted as part of the group. As Sadie and Lane grow closer to one another and fall in love, news of the miracle drug's creation reaches Latham. The question remains: will it arrive in time to cure them?

There is plenty of humor in Schneider's novel to keep the story from being too overemotional, and the voices of the characters are authentic. Many pop-culture references make this novel current and interesting, at the risk of trying too hard to do so. The author's note at the end of the novel does shine some light on the history of TB, but leaves the reader reflecting on Sadie's philosophy that "living and dying are actually different words for the same thing," instead of the intended message of second chances. For fans who loved John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, and are avid tragic romance readers.

Overall Book Score: excellent