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Sisters in Sanity
Have you ever had the out-of-control dream? The one where you know you're not crazy, but no one around you—not your parents, not your teachers, not even the authorities—will listen to you? For sixteen-year-old Brit Hemphill, the out-of-control dream comes true when her dad enrolls her at Red Rock, a bogus treatment center that claims to cure rebellious teen girls. At Red Rock, Brit is forced into therapy, and her only hope of getting her life back is in the hands of an underqualified staff of counselors. Brit's dad thinks Red Rock can save her, but the truth is it's doing more harm than good. No girl could survive Red Rock alone—but at a treatment center where you earn privileges for ratting out your peers, it's hard to know who you can trust. For Brit, everything changes when she meets V, Bebe, Martha, and Cassie, four girls who keep her from going over the edge. Together they'll hold on to their sanity and their sisterhood while trying to keep their Red Rock reality from becoming a full-on nightmare.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published August 16, 2007
78 people are currently reading
5802 people want to read
About the author
Gayle Forman
43 books25.1k followersAward-winning author and journalist Gayle Forman has written several bestselling novels for young adults, including the Just One Series, I Was Here, Where She Went and the #1 New York Times bestseller If I Stay, which has been translated into more than 40 languages and in 2014 was adapted into a major motion picture.
Gayle published Leave Me, her first novel starring adults in 2016 and her latest novel, I Have Lost My Way, comes out in March of 2018.
Gayle lives with her husband and daughters in Brooklyn.
Gayle published Leave Me, her first novel starring adults in 2016 and her latest novel, I Have Lost My Way, comes out in March of 2018.
Gayle lives with her husband and daughters in Brooklyn.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 436 reviews
March 30, 2012
Here's a book to read if you want to be seriously pissed off. But no, I shouldn't say that, because Sisters in Sanity is actually an excellent read and I'm wanting to sell it to you. So, instead I should say: this is a book to read if you like stories that leave a lasting impression. Or if you want to be introduced to an array of memorable characters. Or if you're sick of books with whiny heroines that base every thought and action around their (probably supernatural) boyfriends. And if you would like to read a book about girls coming together, forming a sisterhood, and ultimately triumphing over the bad guys. Girls who are fat, thin, straight, gay, bi, virgins, or sexually promiscuous; because Gayle Forman has created a literary platform where these differences are not a hindrance to the girls' friendship, but actually what brought them together in the first place.
This book has so many levels to it. On the surface it is about the mistreatment of young women who have shown any hint of individuality and have been thrown into a rehabilitation centre because of it. They are psychologically tortured each day by unqualified shrinks and, in extreme cases, physically harmed through malnourishment and dehydration. Brit is sent here because she stays out late playing in her rock band, and because she has coloured streaks in her hair. She is not a bad kid, she's a talented musician, but her father and stepmother wrongly interpret this as rebellion and even the first signs of mental illness(!). This whole part of the novel made me furious, made me want to strangle nearly every adult in the book.
But this stuff would just be infuriating and shocking if it wasn't for all the other messages in this book. I loved this idea that the girls made each other strong by banding together and supporting one another and I loved how each of them was as interesting and unique as the next. But even more so, I really enjoyed the questions about authority and whether it is always right to follow those in charge. Pulling examples from when heads of state have made the wrong decisions, Gayle Forman demonstrates how adults don't always get it right. She reiterated in her afterword at the end what the novel was all about, mentioning how teenagers with eating disorders or who are gay do not need to be punished but helped, nurtured and understood. This is a wonderful, thought-provoking and occasionally heart-warming story.
There are a few reasons why this book didn't get five stars. For one, the ending was not satisfying enough, certain people were forgiven all too quickly and I thought very little was learnt from the experience in that respect. Also, I had too many questions spinning around in my head and it's entirely possible that I missed something but: why didn't previous graduates of Red Rock report what was going on? Why didn't Brit even attempt to tell her father what was happening when he visited? It might not have worked but she didn't even try. And why didn't Brit attempt to leave with the band when she had the opportunity? She could have reported what was happening to someone but it just didn't seem to occur to her.
These last few things played on my mind too much to award the full five stars, but this really is a book that should be read by everyone - especially those who love a good dose of girl power in what they read.
April 12, 2011
I knew of Gayle Forman from her book If I Stay, which I wrote a gushing review of a few months back. A few of us decided to read this lesser-known work of hers together this week. I was excited to read the book because of the author and because I was reading it with friends…but not so excited about the subject matter. I assumed that this was rather well-worn territory, what with Girl Interrupted and all. Also, I wasn’t in the mood for a depressing book. Sisters in Sanity surprised me in a good way, and I definitely recommend it to those who are interested in YA books related to mental health issues/treatment.
Brit Hemphill lives with her father and her stepmonster. Her mother isn’t in the picture and I don’t want to spoil where she is so I’ll leave it at that. Her parents owned a coffeehouse in Portland during her formative years so she rubbed elbows with all sorts of famous musicians and took up the guitar, teaching herself how to play for the most part. Because of her mother’s absence and her father’s relationship (and subsequent child), Brit spends as much time out of the house as possible, mostly playing and touring with her band. When her father and stepmother make her go on a family vacation to the Grand Canyon, Brit is angry she’ll miss a gig but obliges. Only she isn’t going to the Grand Canyon—her dad is dropping her off at a juvenile rehabilitation center because she is “out of control.”
Anger. That’s the emotion I felt for most of the book, not sadness. I was livid with Brit’s father. Absolutely wanted (and still want) to punch that man in the face. How could he do that to his child?
I was expecting the novel to follow the Girl, Interrupted storyline and, for the most part, it did. I was pleasantly surprised, however, at the supporting cast of characters (who were far more balanced than those with Susanna Kaysen) and the relationship between Brit and Jed, her bandmate. His letters and the description of the time they spent together were both lovely and I loved the story behind the firefly references.
The writing flowed really well and all three of us that read it finished it in a day. (as far as I know) I did feel that the ending wrapped things up just a bit too perfectly, then again I am a fan of leaving things hanging—well, if it is realistic.
3.5 stars.
Brit Hemphill lives with her father and her stepmonster. Her mother isn’t in the picture and I don’t want to spoil where she is so I’ll leave it at that. Her parents owned a coffeehouse in Portland during her formative years so she rubbed elbows with all sorts of famous musicians and took up the guitar, teaching herself how to play for the most part. Because of her mother’s absence and her father’s relationship (and subsequent child), Brit spends as much time out of the house as possible, mostly playing and touring with her band. When her father and stepmother make her go on a family vacation to the Grand Canyon, Brit is angry she’ll miss a gig but obliges. Only she isn’t going to the Grand Canyon—her dad is dropping her off at a juvenile rehabilitation center because she is “out of control.”
Anger. That’s the emotion I felt for most of the book, not sadness. I was livid with Brit’s father. Absolutely wanted (and still want) to punch that man in the face. How could he do that to his child?
I was expecting the novel to follow the Girl, Interrupted storyline and, for the most part, it did. I was pleasantly surprised, however, at the supporting cast of characters (who were far more balanced than those with Susanna Kaysen) and the relationship between Brit and Jed, her bandmate. His letters and the description of the time they spent together were both lovely and I loved the story behind the firefly references.
The writing flowed really well and all three of us that read it finished it in a day. (as far as I know) I did feel that the ending wrapped things up just a bit too perfectly, then again I am a fan of leaving things hanging—well, if it is realistic.
3.5 stars.
August 16, 2011
This book literally enraged me.
I understand that being a parent can be difficult. I understand children can get out of control or need special help and sometimes tough love. But surely there is a better way to deal with a gay girl or a girl who has put on extra 30 pounds than to warehouse her at a boot camp whose "treatments" include days-long isolation and humiliation "therapy" performed by individuals with no education or training?
Brit gets admitted to the same boot camp by her father for dyeing her hair, playing in a band and disliking her stepmother. Clearly she needs some corrective therapy for this out-of-control behavior, right? Only what can such a place achieve if its methods are aimed at breaking down personalities and making the girls complacent and obedient? Luckily for Brit, she meets friends just like her who provide her with the support the camp's adult staff can not give.
For such a short novel, Sisters in Sanity offers an array of remarkably memorable characters and relationships and it certainly packs a punch. (I myself wanted to punch quite a few adults in this story.) The ending is too neat to be satisfying. Too many people receive forgiveness they do not deserve or do not work towards. But the narrative is strong nevertheless.
I understand that being a parent can be difficult. I understand children can get out of control or need special help and sometimes tough love. But surely there is a better way to deal with a gay girl or a girl who has put on extra 30 pounds than to warehouse her at a boot camp whose "treatments" include days-long isolation and humiliation "therapy" performed by individuals with no education or training?
Brit gets admitted to the same boot camp by her father for dyeing her hair, playing in a band and disliking her stepmother. Clearly she needs some corrective therapy for this out-of-control behavior, right? Only what can such a place achieve if its methods are aimed at breaking down personalities and making the girls complacent and obedient? Luckily for Brit, she meets friends just like her who provide her with the support the camp's adult staff can not give.
For such a short novel, Sisters in Sanity offers an array of remarkably memorable characters and relationships and it certainly packs a punch. (I myself wanted to punch quite a few adults in this story.) The ending is too neat to be satisfying. Too many people receive forgiveness they do not deserve or do not work towards. But the narrative is strong nevertheless.
April 11, 2011
Sisters in Sanity is one of those occasional books that just causes a clusterf*ck of emotions in me that I can’t justify giving it anything less than 5 stars. I just can’t. There’s nothing that destroys my defenses more than a kid that’s unjustly treated for the capital offense of simply being a teenager. Gayle Forman once again pulled at my heartstrings with this raw, powerful story filled with characters that felt nothing less than real to me. Perfectly done!
In this book, sixteen year old Brit is carted off to a behavior modification boot camp by her father and stepmonster. Her offenses are as follows: She is capable of losing her temper, argues with adults, deliberately annoys people with her sarcasm, blames others for her mistakes and is somewhat resentful. The technical term for that is ODD – oppositional defiance disorder... Hmmm, let me think… Holy Bedrock! That was me when I was a teen. Thank gawd my parents chose the route of being parents rather than carting me off to some boot camp for mild misbehavior and minor transgressions. Luckily for Brit, she bands together with a group of girls that not only become friends, but also each other’s support system where the under-qualified clinical staff fails. Brit and her friends work together to bring down the failed system of Red Rock and expose it for what the institution really is.
This book really pissed me off and it seems to be that kind of story that includes parents that have no right being parents because they abandon their role and surround themselves with ignorance thus failing in their primary responsibility of protecting their kid. Now don’t get me wrong, the father thought he was “helping” his daughter, I get that. But who in their right mind shoves their kid in an institution without checking some credentials, doing a background check on the people in charge and simply researching the net for possible red flags? We live in a time and place where information is at our finger tips. I was so mad to read that this is actually possible, this situation really does happen. How?!? Seriously, these are just kids and to know that they are mistreated, abused and misguided in the very institution whose charter is to help trouble teens seriously grates my nerves.
((Deep sigh)) Back to the story, I found myself not wanting Brit to go back to her father, I wanted some fairy tale ending where she runs off with Jed and denies her father the right to see her grow up to be a great person that I felt she was from the beginning of the story. She’s honest with her emotions to those who truly care, but she guards them from those that are trying to destroy her, she’s snarky, loyal and flawed... everything that blends that perfect character IMO, so to read her struggles really tossed and turned my emotions.
I loved Jed in this story and I wish we could have had a bit more of him. The cryptic letters he wrote to Britt while she was institutionalized were so beautiful in their “hidden message” sort of way, and from now on a firefly will always means so much more to me. :)
Overall, if you’re a fan of Forman’s ability to move you and tug at your heart, if you like her ability to express herself in song, if you adore the characters she so flawlessly creates, you’ll definitely enjoy Sisters in Sanity. I’m grateful to my Street Corner Bookers for calling this one to my attention because I almost missed out on a gem of a book. I loved it!
Song Choice: Pink – F*ckin' Perfect
In this book, sixteen year old Brit is carted off to a behavior modification boot camp by her father and stepmonster. Her offenses are as follows: She is capable of losing her temper, argues with adults, deliberately annoys people with her sarcasm, blames others for her mistakes and is somewhat resentful. The technical term for that is ODD – oppositional defiance disorder... Hmmm, let me think… Holy Bedrock! That was me when I was a teen. Thank gawd my parents chose the route of being parents rather than carting me off to some boot camp for mild misbehavior and minor transgressions. Luckily for Brit, she bands together with a group of girls that not only become friends, but also each other’s support system where the under-qualified clinical staff fails. Brit and her friends work together to bring down the failed system of Red Rock and expose it for what the institution really is.
This book really pissed me off and it seems to be that kind of story that includes parents that have no right being parents because they abandon their role and surround themselves with ignorance thus failing in their primary responsibility of protecting their kid. Now don’t get me wrong, the father thought he was “helping” his daughter, I get that. But who in their right mind shoves their kid in an institution without checking some credentials, doing a background check on the people in charge and simply researching the net for possible red flags? We live in a time and place where information is at our finger tips. I was so mad to read that this is actually possible, this situation really does happen. How?!? Seriously, these are just kids and to know that they are mistreated, abused and misguided in the very institution whose charter is to help trouble teens seriously grates my nerves.
((Deep sigh)) Back to the story, I found myself not wanting Brit to go back to her father, I wanted some fairy tale ending where she runs off with Jed and denies her father the right to see her grow up to be a great person that I felt she was from the beginning of the story. She’s honest with her emotions to those who truly care, but she guards them from those that are trying to destroy her, she’s snarky, loyal and flawed... everything that blends that perfect character IMO, so to read her struggles really tossed and turned my emotions.
I loved Jed in this story and I wish we could have had a bit more of him. The cryptic letters he wrote to Britt while she was institutionalized were so beautiful in their “hidden message” sort of way, and from now on a firefly will always means so much more to me. :)
Overall, if you’re a fan of Forman’s ability to move you and tug at your heart, if you like her ability to express herself in song, if you adore the characters she so flawlessly creates, you’ll definitely enjoy Sisters in Sanity. I’m grateful to my Street Corner Bookers for calling this one to my attention because I almost missed out on a gem of a book. I loved it!
Song Choice: Pink – F*ckin' Perfect
October 29, 2019
Seviyorum bu yazarı. Özellikle birbirine benzemeyen, klişe olmayan kurgularını. Arka kapak tanıtım yazıları beni çekmese de, okumaya başladığımda son sayfaya kadar elimden bırakamayacağımı biliyorum.
March 8, 2017
Mooi boek! Heftig, maar ook krachtig in de manier waarop de thema's worden uitgewerkt. De sterke Forman-stijl is hier al goed aanwezig! Uitgebreide recensie: http://thebookreview.nl/recensies/con...
April 20, 2009
Having read two Gayle Forman titles now I can attest to them being a very quick read. Whether this is attributed to being awesome or being shorter than some YA novels or being extremely well paced or a combination of the three, I don't know. Having loved If I Stay so much I was a little scared to read Sisters in Sanity, how could it compare?
I shouldn't have worried.
Forman has again demonstrated her wonderful skills in characterisation, crafting a group of girls that are as different as night and day. Each girl is clearly depicted without ever being cliched or contrived. They are strong, flawed and generous with one another which results in the relationship that unites them in the toughest of circumstances. I loved seeing a group of teen girls accept one another without judgement, supporting one another. They aren't cookie cutter perfect, they wouldn't be in Red Rock if they were. Yet the events of the book depend on the reader's conviction that these five are united. There's no doubting that with the fantastically honest, revealing and sometimes humorous interplay between them. It's easy to find yourself involved deeply in their plight.
Brit, V, Bebe, Cassie, and Martha have found themselves in this hell hole as a result of being deemed challenging, promiscuous, bi-curious and overweight. All have been diagnosed as ODD (Oppositionist Defiance Disorder) by an unqualified hack, a diagnosis that could encompass all teenagers with ease. Even more shocking is that the events of these books have been inspired by real life circumstances, teens being kidnapped and placed in the confines of radical boot camps or behaviour modification centres.
Our protagonist, Brit, is struggling with her mother's desertion, her father's remarriage to the Stepmonster and a burgeoning interest in being a guitarist. She doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't fornicate but with her pink streaked hair, tattoos and piercings, she is deemed to be anti-social. From the first chapter I felt this character's pain and I was with her every step of the way in her attempts to withhold from the staff, remember Jed, cope with her father's cowardice and fight to retain the essence of herself.
This is a moving tale of sisterhood, trust, hope and self-belief. Forman has a talent in balancing a story, never allowing it to become overwhelming dire while embracing the humour in the most unlikely of situations. There is also the through line of music, like If I Stay, Brit is a musician with a love interest that plays in a band. Songwriting and her new friends become Brit's salvation in a situation that sees no end.
It's no secret that I have a huge literary crush on Gayle Forman. Sisters in Sanity is written in the same style that grabbed many of us in her sophomoric effort, If I Stay. With Sisters in Sanity coming out today in paperback I would highly recommend that you buy yourself a copy.
I shouldn't have worried.
Forman has again demonstrated her wonderful skills in characterisation, crafting a group of girls that are as different as night and day. Each girl is clearly depicted without ever being cliched or contrived. They are strong, flawed and generous with one another which results in the relationship that unites them in the toughest of circumstances. I loved seeing a group of teen girls accept one another without judgement, supporting one another. They aren't cookie cutter perfect, they wouldn't be in Red Rock if they were. Yet the events of the book depend on the reader's conviction that these five are united. There's no doubting that with the fantastically honest, revealing and sometimes humorous interplay between them. It's easy to find yourself involved deeply in their plight.
Brit, V, Bebe, Cassie, and Martha have found themselves in this hell hole as a result of being deemed challenging, promiscuous, bi-curious and overweight. All have been diagnosed as ODD (Oppositionist Defiance Disorder) by an unqualified hack, a diagnosis that could encompass all teenagers with ease. Even more shocking is that the events of these books have been inspired by real life circumstances, teens being kidnapped and placed in the confines of radical boot camps or behaviour modification centres.
Our protagonist, Brit, is struggling with her mother's desertion, her father's remarriage to the Stepmonster and a burgeoning interest in being a guitarist. She doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't fornicate but with her pink streaked hair, tattoos and piercings, she is deemed to be anti-social. From the first chapter I felt this character's pain and I was with her every step of the way in her attempts to withhold from the staff, remember Jed, cope with her father's cowardice and fight to retain the essence of herself.
This is a moving tale of sisterhood, trust, hope and self-belief. Forman has a talent in balancing a story, never allowing it to become overwhelming dire while embracing the humour in the most unlikely of situations. There is also the through line of music, like If I Stay, Brit is a musician with a love interest that plays in a band. Songwriting and her new friends become Brit's salvation in a situation that sees no end.
It's no secret that I have a huge literary crush on Gayle Forman. Sisters in Sanity is written in the same style that grabbed many of us in her sophomoric effort, If I Stay. With Sisters in Sanity coming out today in paperback I would highly recommend that you buy yourself a copy.
March 13, 2018
Sisters in Sanity is one of the first books that I read in English (it's also one of the first e-books I've read). This was my second time reading it, and the two things I remembered about it from the first time reading still stand: this book is an emotional roller-coaster, and this book is infuriating.
The friendships that the girls have are inspiring, the characters are amazing, and it's written in a very readable tone. BUT, is this really how the real world works? It's easier for me to believe that Red Rock is a camp, rather than a rehab of sorts (I'm blanking on how it was referred to in the book, and I'm a little lazy to go back and look it up). Also, Brit doesn't have ODD, I'm almost certain of it. That is the most infuriating part of the story, that most of these girls are here because their parents didn't know how to be parents.
Anyway. I'd bring down the rating, but I'm really emotionally invested in the characters.
The friendships that the girls have are inspiring, the characters are amazing, and it's written in a very readable tone. BUT, is this really how the real world works? It's easier for me to believe that Red Rock is a camp, rather than a rehab of sorts (I'm blanking on how it was referred to in the book, and I'm a little lazy to go back and look it up). Also, Brit doesn't have ODD, I'm almost certain of it. That is the most infuriating part of the story, that most of these girls are here because their parents didn't know how to be parents.
Anyway. I'd bring down the rating, but I'm really emotionally invested in the characters.
August 16, 2021
QUE LIVRO RUIM
February 16, 2010
The fact I didn't like this book was a surprise. I had expected it to deserve four or five stars, maybe three at the least. I got it from the library because so many different people loved it. But nope, I didn't. Sorry, everyone.
I really have a hard time with books that portray all the adults as one-dimensional bad guys. You know, the ones where the teenagers barely have teen angst and they're just rising heroes? This was one of those books.
The protagonist was just too indignant, the grown-ups so weak. Her stepmom and dad basically think she's just a bad girl because she's in a band. She's obviously a "good girl" though because she doesn't do drugs, drink, smoke, whatever. The stepmom, who Brit calls Stepmonster, is always thinking about her own little kid. Her schizophrenic mother (who Brit never really makes peace with) is absent, wandering around somewhere in Washington. Her dad never really gets to know her but is obviously secretly afraid that she will go schizo as well. The only person who's really a character in the beginning is Brit, a guy in her band who she secretly loves.
But then her life takes a twist when her dad has her committed to Red Rock, a phony treatment center for troubled girls. As she goes along she realizes that Red Rock is fake on SO many levels. Girls get insults flung at them in "therapy", personal correspondence is searched and even withheld, part of the treatment is hauling bricks from one side of a yard to the other.
But luckily for Brit, she finds a group of girls who haven't given in to the Stockholm Syndrome, who just want to get out like she does. As Sisters in Sanity continues, Brit finds true friends in these girls, friends whose parents are just as messed-up as hers. Unfortunately Gayle Forman never really let me get to know V, Cassie, Bebe, Martha. I didn't think they were much more than the poster girls of their diagnoses.
Also, I'm sure that places like Red Rock exist and the power they have is scary, it just didn't seem realistic. The people in charge seemed like faceless antagonists. They're just bad people because...they just are.
So this is a rare one-star review. With truly underdeveloped characters, several stereotypes, an unrealistic, hastily wrapped-up ending, and smearing the adults in the story, this was just not a good book. I did enjoy it someowhat at times but it wasn't worth the time I spent just for the little sections that were somewhat funny or romantic or cute.
I really have a hard time with books that portray all the adults as one-dimensional bad guys. You know, the ones where the teenagers barely have teen angst and they're just rising heroes? This was one of those books.
The protagonist was just too indignant, the grown-ups so weak. Her stepmom and dad basically think she's just a bad girl because she's in a band. She's obviously a "good girl" though because she doesn't do drugs, drink, smoke, whatever. The stepmom, who Brit calls Stepmonster, is always thinking about her own little kid. Her schizophrenic mother (who Brit never really makes peace with) is absent, wandering around somewhere in Washington. Her dad never really gets to know her but is obviously secretly afraid that she will go schizo as well. The only person who's really a character in the beginning is Brit, a guy in her band who she secretly loves.
But then her life takes a twist when her dad has her committed to Red Rock, a phony treatment center for troubled girls. As she goes along she realizes that Red Rock is fake on SO many levels. Girls get insults flung at them in "therapy", personal correspondence is searched and even withheld, part of the treatment is hauling bricks from one side of a yard to the other.
But luckily for Brit, she finds a group of girls who haven't given in to the Stockholm Syndrome, who just want to get out like she does. As Sisters in Sanity continues, Brit finds true friends in these girls, friends whose parents are just as messed-up as hers. Unfortunately Gayle Forman never really let me get to know V, Cassie, Bebe, Martha. I didn't think they were much more than the poster girls of their diagnoses.
Also, I'm sure that places like Red Rock exist and the power they have is scary, it just didn't seem realistic. The people in charge seemed like faceless antagonists. They're just bad people because...they just are.
So this is a rare one-star review. With truly underdeveloped characters, several stereotypes, an unrealistic, hastily wrapped-up ending, and smearing the adults in the story, this was just not a good book. I did enjoy it someowhat at times but it wasn't worth the time I spent just for the little sections that were somewhat funny or romantic or cute.
December 25, 2017
In een opwelling besloot ik om in dit boek te beginnen. Dit boek was ik een tijdje terug tegen gekomen op kobo plus en bovendien is het een standalone. Aangezien ik hoooop met kerst nog wat leuke boeken te krijgen, wilde ik een boek oppakken wat ik mogelijk best snel uit zou kunnen lezen en dat is gelukt!
Brit wordt naar de red rock academy gestuurd. Ze wordt gezien als een heftige puber die zich niet aan de regels houdt en daar zullen ze op de academy wel even korte metten mee maken. Eens zien of dat gaat lukken..
Ik verwachtte eigenlijk niet heel veel van dit boek. Hoewel de boeken van Gayle zeker populair zijn, had ik nog weinig gehoord over dit boek, terwijl dit wel haar debuut is. Automatisch had ik dus bedacht dat dit een minder boek zou zijn, maar niets is minder waar!
Ik was eigenlijk best onder de indruk van dit boek. Brit vond ik een tof karakter, net als Martha, BB en V. Enkel Cassie vond ik iets minder indrukwekkend. Ik hou van boeken over kostscholen. Dat blijf ik toch een bijzonder soort boeken vinden. De kleine groepjes die gevormd worden, het samenspannen, het roddelen, de mysteries, heerlijk!
Het is geen dik boek, maar er staan prachtige boodschappen in. Ik vond het boek echt beter dan ‘if I stay’, terwijl dat een populairdere boek is dan dit. Of misschien is juist dat gene wat ik er zo mooi aan vind: Een nog relatief onbekend boek, wat uiteindelijk mooi blijkt te zijn!
Brit wordt naar de red rock academy gestuurd. Ze wordt gezien als een heftige puber die zich niet aan de regels houdt en daar zullen ze op de academy wel even korte metten mee maken. Eens zien of dat gaat lukken..
Ik verwachtte eigenlijk niet heel veel van dit boek. Hoewel de boeken van Gayle zeker populair zijn, had ik nog weinig gehoord over dit boek, terwijl dit wel haar debuut is. Automatisch had ik dus bedacht dat dit een minder boek zou zijn, maar niets is minder waar!
Ik was eigenlijk best onder de indruk van dit boek. Brit vond ik een tof karakter, net als Martha, BB en V. Enkel Cassie vond ik iets minder indrukwekkend. Ik hou van boeken over kostscholen. Dat blijf ik toch een bijzonder soort boeken vinden. De kleine groepjes die gevormd worden, het samenspannen, het roddelen, de mysteries, heerlijk!
Het is geen dik boek, maar er staan prachtige boodschappen in. Ik vond het boek echt beter dan ‘if I stay’, terwijl dat een populairdere boek is dan dit. Of misschien is juist dat gene wat ik er zo mooi aan vind: Een nog relatief onbekend boek, wat uiteindelijk mooi blijkt te zijn!
June 12, 2013
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"We'd like to think that craziness and sanity are on opposite ends of an ocean, but really they're more like neighboring islands. . ."
Sisters in Sanity gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling, like drinking mocha cappuccino in a fine afternoon. Or the feeling I get when I brushed past a secondhand bookstore. Or listening to the musical rendition of One Direction's One way or another while cruising around the music aisle in a music store. LOL
One way or another I'm gonna win ya.
I'm gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya. . .
I don't know ya but I'm stuck in this song. But the original version is much better, though. All hail, Blondie!!
xxxxxxxx
Anyway highway, I just loved this book for not only it had me laughing, it also urged me to do a little soul-searching on my part, and I realized everyone's got a streak of rebellion in them. I felt giddy with Jed and Brit's exchanged mails, their witty banter, and of course, Clod's rock and roll moves that I let out a dreamy sigh and wonder where the hell my Jed is. I have this penchant for stories with musical blah in them it makes me feel good and fuzzy inside. I'm more of a headbanger myself. What. I'm just saying.
Brit, V, Bebe, Martha and Cassie have so much to offer that people who are close to them sorely missed it. Their friendship is one in a million, the kind of relationship you won't trade for a single soul. These girls have been misunderstood by many that it makes me want to hug each of them and together, splurge on whatever comfort food we could find in the fridge, like cold pizza.
Yeah?
It's a story of five teenage girls who are determined to take and mark their place in the real world. Anticipate a story that will unfold right in front of your eyes, a story that has plenty of chameleon wit, teenage angst, and girl power, it's sweet and tender from start to finish. Gayle dabbled a bit of romance in the story, I'm still okay with that. It sent my heart a flutter.
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Have you ever felt the urge, the faintest pull to rebel against your parents? Because I do and it doesn't mean I love them less. We often take rebellion as a bad form, a contagious disease we are not in control of. These girls need attention, no, rescue must be more apt because attention doesn't always get things done. They crave for it that sometimes people mistook it as a form of rebellion, if truth be told they just wanted for people to understand, and appreciate them for who they are and not for what they are. People can be cruel, mean and condescending son of a blee blob sometimes but that's just how the real world works. That's why I love music and books more than real people. You've just got to be tough. You will encounter a bunch of androids along the way but, girl, you gotta hold your head high, walk that walk and just do your thing. Let the whole world be damned.
Soundtrack of the day: Do My Thing by Estelle (feat.Janelle Monae)
"We'd like to think that craziness and sanity are on opposite ends of an ocean, but really they're more like neighboring islands. . ."
Sisters in Sanity gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling, like drinking mocha cappuccino in a fine afternoon. Or the feeling I get when I brushed past a secondhand bookstore. Or listening to the musical rendition of One Direction's One way or another while cruising around the music aisle in a music store. LOL
One way or another I'm gonna win ya.
I'm gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya. . .
I don't know ya but I'm stuck in this song. But the original version is much better, though. All hail, Blondie!!
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Anyway highway, I just loved this book for not only it had me laughing, it also urged me to do a little soul-searching on my part, and I realized everyone's got a streak of rebellion in them. I felt giddy with Jed and Brit's exchanged mails, their witty banter, and of course, Clod's rock and roll moves that I let out a dreamy sigh and wonder where the hell my Jed is. I have this penchant for stories with musical blah in them it makes me feel good and fuzzy inside. I'm more of a headbanger myself. What. I'm just saying.
Brit, V, Bebe, Martha and Cassie have so much to offer that people who are close to them sorely missed it. Their friendship is one in a million, the kind of relationship you won't trade for a single soul. These girls have been misunderstood by many that it makes me want to hug each of them and together, splurge on whatever comfort food we could find in the fridge, like cold pizza.
Yeah?
It's a story of five teenage girls who are determined to take and mark their place in the real world. Anticipate a story that will unfold right in front of your eyes, a story that has plenty of chameleon wit, teenage angst, and girl power, it's sweet and tender from start to finish. Gayle dabbled a bit of romance in the story, I'm still okay with that. It sent my heart a flutter.
xxxxxxxx
Have you ever felt the urge, the faintest pull to rebel against your parents? Because I do and it doesn't mean I love them less. We often take rebellion as a bad form, a contagious disease we are not in control of. These girls need attention, no, rescue must be more apt because attention doesn't always get things done. They crave for it that sometimes people mistook it as a form of rebellion, if truth be told they just wanted for people to understand, and appreciate them for who they are and not for what they are. People can be cruel, mean and condescending son of a blee blob sometimes but that's just how the real world works. That's why I love music and books more than real people. You've just got to be tough. You will encounter a bunch of androids along the way but, girl, you gotta hold your head high, walk that walk and just do your thing. Let the whole world be damned.
Soundtrack of the day: Do My Thing by Estelle (feat.Janelle Monae)
September 17, 2020
Wow. That was so unexpected, I really thought this was going to be a snooze fest. Boy was I wrong, I felt a sort of feeling of the opening inside of me. Like, someone had unlocked something deep within my soul and now I'm overcome with an emotion I can't quite place.
Let me give you a quick rundown on what happens without spoilers.
Our MC Brit's life is good, she loves her band but hates her stepmother. She's fine though she can live, then she gets shipped off to this horrid treatment center where they diagnose her with something that she doesn't have just so she stays there. Her life goes from eh to hell. `She meets other girls who share similar problems, their parents shipped them off to some treatment center for who they were, not for an actual illness. Soon the sisters in sanity gotta keep each other close, or they'll really go insane.
This book got me mad, like really mad. But not at the author or the characters, I got made at everyone else . Personally, I love books that get me mad, anger is such a divine emotion and I love feeling it if there's a valid reason. Anyways, I love all of the sisters and who they are, just as I loved this book. Ciao!
Let me give you a quick rundown on what happens without spoilers.
Our MC Brit's life is good, she loves her band but hates her stepmother. She's fine though she can live, then she gets shipped off to this horrid treatment center where they diagnose her with something that she doesn't have just so she stays there. Her life goes from eh to hell. `She meets other girls who share similar problems, their parents shipped them off to some treatment center for who they were, not for an actual illness. Soon the sisters in sanity gotta keep each other close, or they'll really go insane.
This book got me mad, like really mad. But not at the author or the characters, I got made at everyone else . Personally, I love books that get me mad, anger is such a divine emotion and I love feeling it if there's a valid reason. Anyways, I love all of the sisters and who they are, just as I loved this book. Ciao!
November 8, 2019
Mutlaka okunması gereken kitaplardan
December 5, 2014
If you've read If I Stay or Just One Day, believe me, you'll have hard time accepting that Sisters in Sanity is also crafted by Gayle Forman. I didn't even realize it's hers until I read this:
"I stared out the window in between sneaking glances at Jed—mainly at the side of his neck. I had such an urge to lick it, imagining the taste, salty with dried sweat."
Forman and her sweat fetish. The way she sees boys' sweat is like me looking at a mint-flavored candy cane. I just can't wait to lick it! Ugh. Plus a parent who fails parenting? A stepparent who hails from hell? I thought I was reading Rainbow Rowell (okay, I've read only Eleanor & Park, but I'm still not over how frustrating the reading experience was).
Gosh, I have endless complaints about this book. It deals with serious matters, like mental illness and standing up to adults, but the way it's delivered.. I thought I would go to the path of in-sanity (got it? In sanity, insanity?) myself. It's unfathomable how these girls put up with Red Rock shit for months, even years. And why the damn hell didn't Brit try to get help (like making phonecalls/ visits to people who would listen, since she couldn't do it freely in RR) when she got the chance to escape the first time, instead of being stupid enough to wear RR uniform and get on stage and kiss her bf like there's no tomorrow (you could spend the rest of your life doing that after you check out from RR. CHILL, TEENAGE HORMONE). Or why didn't she ask the band to help her get to her grandma's, who would definitely stand by her. And I'm surprised no one was smart enough to play by the rules so she could get out of there in no time and then sue the place. The bottom line is, there were so many ways to run away/ get help/ destroy the boot camp but those teens were just too dumb to do anything.
Brit and Jed? Don't expect me to rant here, because there's nothing to rant about. The romance is pretty much nonexistent.
And that father of Brit's *sigh*. If he really cared and seriously thought his daughter needed help, he should at least check a handful of treatment centers before making a decision. And how could he trust her daughter to such a fishy place? Didn't he want to have a tour, making sure it was decent? Get to know the doctors/therapists who were going to treat her daughter (so he'd find out there wasn't any)? It's maddening. If I were Brit, I wouldn't forgive him for having the heart to send me to that hellhole. Even if he meant well, he was reckless beyond belief. Anyway, the plot would've made much more sense if the stepmom had been the one who planned it.
"I stared out the window in between sneaking glances at Jed—mainly at the side of his neck. I had such an urge to lick it, imagining the taste, salty with dried sweat."
Forman and her sweat fetish. The way she sees boys' sweat is like me looking at a mint-flavored candy cane. I just can't wait to lick it! Ugh. Plus a parent who fails parenting? A stepparent who hails from hell? I thought I was reading Rainbow Rowell (okay, I've read only Eleanor & Park, but I'm still not over how frustrating the reading experience was).
Gosh, I have endless complaints about this book. It deals with serious matters, like mental illness and standing up to adults, but the way it's delivered.. I thought I would go to the path of in-sanity (got it? In sanity, insanity?) myself. It's unfathomable how these girls put up with Red Rock shit for months, even years. And why the damn hell didn't Brit try to get help (like making phonecalls/ visits to people who would listen, since she couldn't do it freely in RR) when she got the chance to escape the first time, instead of being stupid enough to wear RR uniform and get on stage and kiss her bf like there's no tomorrow (you could spend the rest of your life doing that after you check out from RR. CHILL, TEENAGE HORMONE). Or why didn't she ask the band to help her get to her grandma's, who would definitely stand by her. And I'm surprised no one was smart enough to play by the rules so she could get out of there in no time and then sue the place. The bottom line is, there were so many ways to run away/ get help/ destroy the boot camp but those teens were just too dumb to do anything.
Brit and Jed? Don't expect me to rant here, because there's nothing to rant about. The romance is pretty much nonexistent.
And that father of Brit's *sigh*. If he really cared and seriously thought his daughter needed help, he should at least check a handful of treatment centers before making a decision. And how could he trust her daughter to such a fishy place? Didn't he want to have a tour, making sure it was decent? Get to know the doctors/therapists who were going to treat her daughter (so he'd find out there wasn't any)? It's maddening. If I were Brit, I wouldn't forgive him for having the heart to send me to that hellhole. Even if he meant well, he was reckless beyond belief. Anyway, the plot would've made much more sense if the stepmom had been the one who planned it.
July 26, 2017
-Geen spoilers-
3.5
Dit boek was prachtig, desondanks de harde wereld van Red Rock waar de meiden zich in bevinden, nemen ze het voor elkaar op. Ze geven elkaar rugdekking.
Ik heb er ontzettend van genoten. Gayle Forman is één van mijn favoriete schrijfsters geworden. Ze kan personages zo levensecht voorstellen en ze kan ieder onderwerp aan, zelf gevoelige kwesties als Red Rock. Ik ben er zeker van dat dit niet het laatste verhaal is dat ik van haar zal lezen :).
3.5
Dit boek was prachtig, desondanks de harde wereld van Red Rock waar de meiden zich in bevinden, nemen ze het voor elkaar op. Ze geven elkaar rugdekking.
Ik heb er ontzettend van genoten. Gayle Forman is één van mijn favoriete schrijfsters geworden. Ze kan personages zo levensecht voorstellen en ze kan ieder onderwerp aan, zelf gevoelige kwesties als Red Rock. Ik ben er zeker van dat dit niet het laatste verhaal is dat ik van haar zal lezen :).
December 29, 2017
Deze had ik al een tijdje tussen mijn ebooks staan om te lezen met kobo plus. Steeds twijfelde ik of het wel wat zou zijn. Ik ben blij dat ik het eindelijk gelezen heb.
Het is best heftig wat die meiden door moeten maken en ik kan alleen maar hopen dat het in het echt niet zo heftig is.
Dit was echt zo’n verhaal waarin ik steeds verder wilde lezen. Ik wilde weten hoe het met ze ging. Door de vrij korte hoofdstukken was het ook makkelijk om tussendoor steeds wat te lezen.
Het is best heftig wat die meiden door moeten maken en ik kan alleen maar hopen dat het in het echt niet zo heftig is.
Dit was echt zo’n verhaal waarin ik steeds verder wilde lezen. Ik wilde weten hoe het met ze ging. Door de vrij korte hoofdstukken was het ook makkelijk om tussendoor steeds wat te lezen.
February 21, 2022
eu achei ok. a premissa é boa, mas o desenrolar é meio massante. quem for persistente vai conseguir chegar até o final kk
July 19, 2017
Ну как-то карательная психиатрия со времен Кизи стала удивительно беззубой
Плюс -убогие психологические обоснования
Плюс -убогие психологические обоснования
November 24, 2017
review to come
May 25, 2015
Words can't describe how much I absolutely LOVED this book! I'm actually disappointed that I didn't read this book earlier because this is by far my favorite Gayle Foreman book.
I just love reading books about girl empowerment, stories about rebels fighting against the wrong doers, fighting for justice and all that stuffs and esp if they are girls. I missed reading these kind of books. I used to be a sucker for them when I first started reading books. It strangely felt nostalgic. It's like I was suddenly transported to that time when I got so excited reading 'The Gallagher girls' series.
I loved how the friendship between the girls were portrayed. Sometimes it got emotional, sometimes laugh-your-butt-off funny and sometimes bitchy as well but at the end of the day they were sisters, sisters fight and make up all the time. Brit is such a strong female lead character. I loved her sarcasms and her bravery.
"I’ll tell you my plan: The end of Red Rock. For everyone. We’re going to shut this place down."
Bebe, the bitchy one and who usually starts the fight but still is awesome.
“One day the tables will be turned, dears—all these old farts will be needing our help,” Bebe said. “We’ll let them rot while we get pedicures.”
V, kind of like the wise leader of the group.
“That’s all we can do, Brit. Take steps. Take enough of them and suddenly, you’re somewhere.
And Cassie and Martha, I don't have any note worthy quotes by them but I loved them too. Also, the villains in the story, oh they made me so mad.. I wish by the end of the book Clayton would get a slap in the face or Sheriff would get a kick in the nuts but oh well.
In your darkest hour
When the fight's made you weary
When you think you've lost your power
When you can't see clearly
When you're ready to surrender
Give in to the black
look over your shoulder
I've got your back.”
(I really liked the lyrics to Brit's song and like in Where She Went, wished it was made into an actual song. )
I just love reading books about girl empowerment, stories about rebels fighting against the wrong doers, fighting for justice and all that stuffs and esp if they are girls. I missed reading these kind of books. I used to be a sucker for them when I first started reading books. It strangely felt nostalgic. It's like I was suddenly transported to that time when I got so excited reading 'The Gallagher girls' series.
I loved how the friendship between the girls were portrayed. Sometimes it got emotional, sometimes laugh-your-butt-off funny and sometimes bitchy as well but at the end of the day they were sisters, sisters fight and make up all the time. Brit is such a strong female lead character. I loved her sarcasms and her bravery.
"I’ll tell you my plan: The end of Red Rock. For everyone. We’re going to shut this place down."
Bebe, the bitchy one and who usually starts the fight but still is awesome.
“One day the tables will be turned, dears—all these old farts will be needing our help,” Bebe said. “We’ll let them rot while we get pedicures.”
V, kind of like the wise leader of the group.
“That’s all we can do, Brit. Take steps. Take enough of them and suddenly, you’re somewhere.
And Cassie and Martha, I don't have any note worthy quotes by them but I loved them too. Also, the villains in the story, oh they made me so mad.. I wish by the end of the book Clayton would get a slap in the face or Sheriff would get a kick in the nuts but oh well.
In your darkest hour
When the fight's made you weary
When you think you've lost your power
When you can't see clearly
When you're ready to surrender
Give in to the black
look over your shoulder
I've got your back.”
(I really liked the lyrics to Brit's song and like in Where She Went, wished it was made into an actual song. )
September 27, 2014
3.5/5 Sisters in Sanity es la primera novela de Gayle Forman. Su escritura es entretenida y como siempre nos muestra sentimientos. En este relato resalta algo más peculiar y real. Note que al ser su primera novela hay una diferencia marcada en el personaje principal, el cual encuentro incompleto, pero admito que me entretuve como asi te ofrece un mensaje al final.
En el mismo hay dosis de romance, una familia con problemas y tal vez una taza de crecimiento de carácter individual. Pero es la amistad lo que es importante, la misma transcurre entre V, Martha, Cassie, BeBe y Brit. Las mismas se conocen en un centro de rehabilitacion para chicas, son jovenes tan diferentes que tal vez en otra realidad nunca llegaran hacer amigas. Pero juntas como estaban en este Centro o Red Rock como se llama, emerge una hermandad que las ayuda a permanecer, respetarse y aceptarse como son en este momento de sus vidas.
Como individuos, cada chica tiene su propia razón de estar en Red Rock. Definitivamente hubo un montón de temas delicados, que me hizo enojarme y a veces sentirme incomoda, pero segun he oido en este tipo de Centros o localidades pasan cosas que al final no entiendes o no comprendes que puedan suceder.
Brit es la narradora principal del libro. A esta la enviaron a Red Rock por ser desagradable, agresiva y "actuar fuera de lugar". Pienso que es un comportamiento perfectamente normal para edad (16 anos) y la situación familiar que esta viviendo y que nos explican en los primeros capitulos, lo que si encontré fue una gran incomprensión de parte del padre y tal vez un poco de manipulación de la madrastra.
Aun así, hay un lado bueno en esta novela nos muestra un equilibrio entre el bien y el mal, que tal vez en momentos oscuros de nuestras vidas, pueden aparecer cosas buenas, como la amistad que nos ayuda a enfrentar nuestros demonios tanto exteriores como internos.
En el mismo hay dosis de romance, una familia con problemas y tal vez una taza de crecimiento de carácter individual. Pero es la amistad lo que es importante, la misma transcurre entre V, Martha, Cassie, BeBe y Brit. Las mismas se conocen en un centro de rehabilitacion para chicas, son jovenes tan diferentes que tal vez en otra realidad nunca llegaran hacer amigas. Pero juntas como estaban en este Centro o Red Rock como se llama, emerge una hermandad que las ayuda a permanecer, respetarse y aceptarse como son en este momento de sus vidas.
Como individuos, cada chica tiene su propia razón de estar en Red Rock. Definitivamente hubo un montón de temas delicados, que me hizo enojarme y a veces sentirme incomoda, pero segun he oido en este tipo de Centros o localidades pasan cosas que al final no entiendes o no comprendes que puedan suceder.
Brit es la narradora principal del libro. A esta la enviaron a Red Rock por ser desagradable, agresiva y "actuar fuera de lugar". Pienso que es un comportamiento perfectamente normal para edad (16 anos) y la situación familiar que esta viviendo y que nos explican en los primeros capitulos, lo que si encontré fue una gran incomprensión de parte del padre y tal vez un poco de manipulación de la madrastra.
Aun así, hay un lado bueno en esta novela nos muestra un equilibrio entre el bien y el mal, que tal vez en momentos oscuros de nuestras vidas, pueden aparecer cosas buenas, como la amistad que nos ayuda a enfrentar nuestros demonios tanto exteriores como internos.
October 14, 2015
Grade: D-
Brit's father says they're going on vacation, but instead drops her off at Red Rock, a therapeutic boarding school run more like a prison than a school. Verbal abuse is the cornerstone of the "therapy", but Brit manages to make friends. Soon she discovers Red Rock may have secrets of its own. Dangerous secrets.
I'm a child psychologist and very picky with inaccurate mental health/therapy stories. SISTERS IN SANITY is the literary equivalent of an overwrought Lifetime TV movie. The formula: victim, injustice, empowerment, happy ending. Gayle Forman couldn't have done five minutes of research on licensing, treatment centers and insurance reimbursement. Insurances pay at most 28 days, usually much less, thanks to HMOs. Treatment facilities, even bad ones don't have patients/students running the halls at night with pass keys, sneaking in to offices to steal files.
Gayle Forman is a decent writer, much better than she's shown in SISTERS IN SANITY. She can create great, multi dimensional characters. Brit was likable enough, she had a few layers, but most weren't unique or special. I felt like I've seen her character in other books. Her mother's mental illness was a good addition to the plot, unfortunately Forman didn't capture the true essence of a schizophrenic. Instead, it seemed like she read some symptom list and took them literally.
THEMES: mental illness, friendship, family, bands, psych hospitals
Skip SISTERS IN SANITY unless you don't care about inaccurate portrayals of mental illness.
Brit's father says they're going on vacation, but instead drops her off at Red Rock, a therapeutic boarding school run more like a prison than a school. Verbal abuse is the cornerstone of the "therapy", but Brit manages to make friends. Soon she discovers Red Rock may have secrets of its own. Dangerous secrets.
I'm a child psychologist and very picky with inaccurate mental health/therapy stories. SISTERS IN SANITY is the literary equivalent of an overwrought Lifetime TV movie. The formula: victim, injustice, empowerment, happy ending. Gayle Forman couldn't have done five minutes of research on licensing, treatment centers and insurance reimbursement. Insurances pay at most 28 days, usually much less, thanks to HMOs. Treatment facilities, even bad ones don't have patients/students running the halls at night with pass keys, sneaking in to offices to steal files.
Gayle Forman is a decent writer, much better than she's shown in SISTERS IN SANITY. She can create great, multi dimensional characters. Brit was likable enough, she had a few layers, but most weren't unique or special. I felt like I've seen her character in other books. Her mother's mental illness was a good addition to the plot, unfortunately Forman didn't capture the true essence of a schizophrenic. Instead, it seemed like she read some symptom list and took them literally.
THEMES: mental illness, friendship, family, bands, psych hospitals
Skip SISTERS IN SANITY unless you don't care about inaccurate portrayals of mental illness.
January 15, 2011
Gayle Forman a voulu écrire sur le sujet des camps de redressement après avoir publié un article pour la magzine Seventeen (célèbre magazine américain) où elle avait rencontré de nombreux jeunes.
L'histoire débute avec Brit adolescente qui n'accepte pas l'autorité de son père et notamment de sa belle-même, le monstre comme elle l'appelle. Cependant au fil de l'histoire on comprend plus le comportement de Brit, sa mère artiste est devenue au fil des années schizophrène et les a quitté. Le père de Brit a à cette époque refusé de voir la vérité en face et n'a pas voulu la faire interner. La rébellion de sa fille réveille de mauvais souvenirs et le pousse à croire qu'elle finira comme sa mère, il prend alors les mesures nécessaires et l'envoit à la Red Rock academy. Mais si le nom et les brochures de ce camp semblent tout à fait acceptables,les apparences sont parfois trompeuses.
Durant son séjour Brit fait la rencontre de 4 autres jeunes filles, qui deviendront ses amies. Et tout le roman se passe autour de cet amitié sans failles, chacune prête à tout pour s'en sortir malgré les difficultés. Elles sont toutes attachantes à leur manière et le lecteur n'a qu'une envie qu'elles sortent de cet endroit.
Pour Brit, cet amitié se révèlera essentielle et lui ouvrira les yeux.
Gayle Forman manie là encore avec justesse les émotions qui trouble le lecteur.Jusqu'au bout l'on doute, voilà un roman fort en amitié!
L'histoire débute avec Brit adolescente qui n'accepte pas l'autorité de son père et notamment de sa belle-même, le monstre comme elle l'appelle. Cependant au fil de l'histoire on comprend plus le comportement de Brit, sa mère artiste est devenue au fil des années schizophrène et les a quitté. Le père de Brit a à cette époque refusé de voir la vérité en face et n'a pas voulu la faire interner. La rébellion de sa fille réveille de mauvais souvenirs et le pousse à croire qu'elle finira comme sa mère, il prend alors les mesures nécessaires et l'envoit à la Red Rock academy. Mais si le nom et les brochures de ce camp semblent tout à fait acceptables,les apparences sont parfois trompeuses.
Durant son séjour Brit fait la rencontre de 4 autres jeunes filles, qui deviendront ses amies. Et tout le roman se passe autour de cet amitié sans failles, chacune prête à tout pour s'en sortir malgré les difficultés. Elles sont toutes attachantes à leur manière et le lecteur n'a qu'une envie qu'elles sortent de cet endroit.
Pour Brit, cet amitié se révèlera essentielle et lui ouvrira les yeux.
Gayle Forman manie là encore avec justesse les émotions qui trouble le lecteur.Jusqu'au bout l'on doute, voilà un roman fort en amitié!
November 25, 2018
Brit is tricked by her father into thinking she is going on a terrible family vacation where she has to endure her new "stepmonster", but instead is dropped off at Red Rock- a sham treatment center that claims to cure rebellious girls. Treated like a prisoner, Brit and her new misfit friends attempt to keep their sanity, and to bring down Red Rock once and for all.
This had a good premise, and was a quick read. However, I couldn't help but feel the story was too shallow, and didn't go to the depths it kept flirting with. You have a lot of ideas going on: rebelling against questionable authority, empowerment, friendship, what makes someone "rebellious"etc, but it just touches on all of those, and never really quite tugged at you on any of those points. The characters are definitely all memorable- but for all the talk of serious transgressions that have happened to girls at Red Rock, nothing really serious ever happens to our main group to give weight to the story. When it does, it's "off-screen", and it has a too- neat resolve.
Maybe I'm being too hard on this YA book that tackles the topic of questionable "tough-love" therapy in a more light-hearted and easily digestible manner, but for some reason this story just doesn't resonate with me.
This had a good premise, and was a quick read. However, I couldn't help but feel the story was too shallow, and didn't go to the depths it kept flirting with. You have a lot of ideas going on: rebelling against questionable authority, empowerment, friendship, what makes someone "rebellious"etc, but it just touches on all of those, and never really quite tugged at you on any of those points. The characters are definitely all memorable- but for all the talk of serious transgressions that have happened to girls at Red Rock, nothing really serious ever happens to our main group to give weight to the story. When it does, it's "off-screen", and it has a too- neat resolve.
Maybe I'm being too hard on this YA book that tackles the topic of questionable "tough-love" therapy in a more light-hearted and easily digestible manner, but for some reason this story just doesn't resonate with me.
March 29, 2016
Een mooi boek over vriendschap, anders zijn en geloven in jezelf.
Ik ben ontzettend fan van Gayle Forman, ik heb nog twee boeken te gaan van haar (Haar dag en Zijn Jaar) en dan wordt het wachten op een nieuw boek. Dit is absoluut een auteur op m'n auto-buy list.
Ik ben ontzettend fan van Gayle Forman, ik heb nog twee boeken te gaan van haar (Haar dag en Zijn Jaar) en dan wordt het wachten op een nieuw boek. Dit is absoluut een auteur op m'n auto-buy list.
April 7, 2015
Rating: 3.75/5
Review coming soon!
Review coming soon!
April 13, 2019
4,5 stars
Inkvotary
Brit was raised by a very free-spirited mother and a father who loved his girls over the moon and back. But when her mother disappears and her father marries again it turns out that the way how Brit´s personality has developed is far from what her new family, her father on top, can handle. The secret her father is keeping from her is throwing a dark shadow over everything. And the fear, he can´t tell her, brings her to a place where she gets help in a way, she´d never expected.
I like the soft, sensitive way Gayle Forman uses to write about the most delicate things in a teenager’s life. Emotions. There is a special magic in her words, although I have to admit that I could have thrown Brits dad at some point against a wall. For more than ten years he raised his daughter to be an individual girl, to follow her passion and to see the world from a different perspective. And Brit does exactly that. Good, her style isn´t what others would call normal – but what exactly is NORMAL? And all the sudden, her father starts criticizing exactly THAT!
The conflict that occurs the moment a stepmother stands on their doorstep shows that women can be real bitches. Everything that was good and right the way it was, now isn´t right and good anymore. And when teenage hormones kick in and life seems to be one hell of a bad place with no one who understands you, life becomes a living hell.
For both sides.
And at Red Rock, only one thing is the goal. Fear. Big Brother is watching you. Wrong. Big Brother´s only in your head. Playing with your fear means nothing if the control others gain over you is only because you let them get it.
It took me a while, to get behind Brit´s figure. She discovers that playing in a band means everything to her. It is her world. A world that happens mostly late at night. Where she is supposed to lay in bed, sleeping. Making music, writing songs and to perform them keeps her away from the edge. But her father fears that the way he has raised his daughter over the years has become a threat. That she isn´t herself anymore. And the nightmare begins.
I was not happy with the way how Brits father was created. The moment Brits mother is gone, he changes completely. And not everything of that change can be explained by her mother´s absence. He suddenly has the need to reverse everything he taught his little girl and make her a completely new person. Not working.
If you keep reading this book all the way through, you will be rewarded with a very emotional and fitting end. Sisters in Sanity shows you strength, confidence, friendship, loyalty and the will to live your life and to go your own way. Good, sometimes I had the feeling that what I read wasn´t new to me. But all in all, I was hooked. And that end. Holy heck!
Inkvotary
Brit was raised by a very free-spirited mother and a father who loved his girls over the moon and back. But when her mother disappears and her father marries again it turns out that the way how Brit´s personality has developed is far from what her new family, her father on top, can handle. The secret her father is keeping from her is throwing a dark shadow over everything. And the fear, he can´t tell her, brings her to a place where she gets help in a way, she´d never expected.
I like the soft, sensitive way Gayle Forman uses to write about the most delicate things in a teenager’s life. Emotions. There is a special magic in her words, although I have to admit that I could have thrown Brits dad at some point against a wall. For more than ten years he raised his daughter to be an individual girl, to follow her passion and to see the world from a different perspective. And Brit does exactly that. Good, her style isn´t what others would call normal – but what exactly is NORMAL? And all the sudden, her father starts criticizing exactly THAT!
The conflict that occurs the moment a stepmother stands on their doorstep shows that women can be real bitches. Everything that was good and right the way it was, now isn´t right and good anymore. And when teenage hormones kick in and life seems to be one hell of a bad place with no one who understands you, life becomes a living hell.
For both sides.
And at Red Rock, only one thing is the goal. Fear. Big Brother is watching you. Wrong. Big Brother´s only in your head. Playing with your fear means nothing if the control others gain over you is only because you let them get it.
It took me a while, to get behind Brit´s figure. She discovers that playing in a band means everything to her. It is her world. A world that happens mostly late at night. Where she is supposed to lay in bed, sleeping. Making music, writing songs and to perform them keeps her away from the edge. But her father fears that the way he has raised his daughter over the years has become a threat. That she isn´t herself anymore. And the nightmare begins.
I was not happy with the way how Brits father was created. The moment Brits mother is gone, he changes completely. And not everything of that change can be explained by her mother´s absence. He suddenly has the need to reverse everything he taught his little girl and make her a completely new person. Not working.
If you keep reading this book all the way through, you will be rewarded with a very emotional and fitting end. Sisters in Sanity shows you strength, confidence, friendship, loyalty and the will to live your life and to go your own way. Good, sometimes I had the feeling that what I read wasn´t new to me. But all in all, I was hooked. And that end. Holy heck!
March 13, 2018
Um livro com um capítulo inicial muito bom, mas que, entre planos de fuga e artimanhas para sobreviver, consegue, inacreditavelmente, perder todo e qualquer apelo, terminando com um final monotônico. As personagens de O Que Há de Estranho em Mim (Sisters in Sanity) são inicialmente bastante interessantes, somos recebidos por caracteres bastante atrativos dada a sua complexidade aparente. Infelizmente, após metade da leitura, nenhuma personagem parece realmente evoluir -- a não ser por Virginia, ou V, cuja história de vida (apesar dum final de resolução simples) foge bastante do esperado. Aprecio o trabalho que a autora desenvolveu com pessoas que passaram por tais experiências, pois isso realmente trouxe certa veracidade para a construção do cenário, sistema e funcionários de Red Rock. No entanto, o local que serve de plano de fundo acaba ganhando cores tão vibrantes que as personagens pelas quais deveríamos torcer terminam todas sendo preto e branco.
August 26, 2019
Wow!!
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