Extraordinary means by Robyn Schneider

Simon & Schuster, 2015. ISBN 9781471115486
(Age: 13+) Recommended. Seventeen year old Lane has been sent to Latham House, a boarding school for sick teens with total drug resistant tuberculosis. His old life is four hundred miles away with his car, his dog and his girlfriend. He can't believe that his life has come to this. When he meets Sadie, a familiar face whom he recognises from summer camp, he realises that life might not be as bad as it first seems. A week of hard studying for college entry and the break up with his girlfriend has made his symptoms become worse. Then one night after talking to Sadie in the gazebo things slowly begin to change. He is accepted into their eccentric group and for the first time he starts to live his life.
A heart-wrenching story about love, bullying, strong relationships and second chances. Fans of John Green, Stephen Chbosky and Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor and Park, will enjoy how Robyn Schneider has presented the characters and the theme of this book. The character's dry sense of humour is appropriately written and makes the other characters' charms more attractive. I loved the simplicity of Sadie's character which made her more real and accessible. Lane's character is more complex, an overachiever and socially awkward at first, but as their relationship grows his personality becomes more relaxed and likable.
This is Schneider's second book and I can't wait to read her other book The beginning of everything. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to young adults and any one above.
Jody Holmes