Schneider, Robyn. Extraordinary MeansMay 26th 2015 by Katherine Tegen Books
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline
Lane should be enjoying his senior year, but instead, he is sent away to a sanitorium because he has tuberculosis. While there, he meets Sadie, a girl he knew years ago, but who has changed from the shy girl he knew. The two develop a relationship while Lane is learning to walk on the wild side, as much as he can in a medically supervised boarding school. In the end, tragedy occurs, and Lane realizes that he has to live while he is able to.
Strengths: Tuberculosis is still an issue, so it was interesting to see a book set in modern times featuring the disease. However. Need MORE depressing books for your high school? Have students who just can't move on past The Fault in Our Stars and want romantic books where people die? This would be perfect. If this is the final cover, it would even display well with TFIOS.
Weaknesses: Tuberculosis is really not curable, (unless things have changed since I read Invincible Microbes) so inventing a strain that is totally drug resistant seems kind of pointless. There are f-bombs near the end. I can't get Wilson's Queenie to circulate, didn't even buy Hayles' Breathing Room, so I'll pass on this one.
What I really think: Had this been less YA (slow and whiny) and had shown a more upbeat picture of a boy with tuberculosis, I would actually have enjoyed it. I don't think that books are romantic at all when one of the romantic interests die. It's just sad, and I don't need more sad.
I thought TB was curable, except that the treatment takes so long that people only do half of it, and that's why we now have drug-resistant TB? Antibiotic resistant TB is definitely a Big Deal.
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