Sisters in Sanity: A YA Novel of Friendship, Survival, and Fighting Institutional Abuse

See more of my reviews on my blog Thoughts At One In The Morning. Many readers are probably more familiar with Gayle's "If I Stay" (especially with the sequel recently released). It was due to knowing of them that I stumbled across this when filling up a cart on Amazon. The premise is about a girl being sent away to a center for rebellious teens by her father. That girl is Brit Hemphill, 16 years old with magenta and black hair and tattoos. She's in a band (Clod) with friends Denise, Erik, and Jed, the guy she's in love with. The book opens with her trip to Red Rock Academy, disguised as a family trip to the Grand Canyon by her dad. In the first few weeks she has an attitude, but Virginia (or V, as she prefers to be called) helps her get started off right. She makes three other friends, Bebe, Martha, and Cassie, and the five of them together keep each other sane. The rules at Red Rock are very strict. You're given "levels" numbered 1-6, one being the lowest and six being highest. There's hardly any contact with people outside, and when you can it's limited to family only. They will withhold things from you unless you do what you're told to do. You get level upgrades for telling them what they want to hear. Basically, the place isn't a legitimate institution, it's just taking money from overly concerned parents. Of course, the parents don't realize this, the truth is always hidden when there are visitors, not to mention they're warned to not listen to the complaints of their child (since they're child is out of control and not to be trusted). While it seems to be difficult to abide by the rules, there are ways around them, like to write and receive letters from non-family. There's also a way to sneak out briefly at night. As the months go by, the girls grow closer. Brit is even able to keep in contact with Jed and her band. Then somebody gets caught breaking a rule and dynamics change. The girls attempt to stay right but it gets harder. When one of them ends up in the hospital thanks to the negligence of Red Rock, Brit reaches a breaking point. At that moment she makes it her resolve to shut Red Rock down. I will not say any more as to what happens in the end. You will not be disappointed as you take on Brit's journey. My Rating: Very Good: Stay up late

I love her writing, I loved this story. HOWEVER the end was so abrupt! It could have gone a couple chapters longer, it seemed like she was rushing to hit a deadline. I would definitely read again and I love her writing, just would like to see her write things a bit more thoroughly.

I visited one of these places with my son once when he was involved with a troubled girl with a drug problem, I found thie an interesting read

It was a decent quick read. I guess the overall story line didn't surprise me. Similar books and movies have been made about this subject. There were some really good parts in it....but none of it was really new stuff, just the way the author writes is ok, the characters are good. Just not one of those books that I don't want to put down.

Another Gayle Forman hit story that takes you into a rehab like tougher camp but not run by caring, professional people. it's a story of people finding themselves and others to learn and gain strength from.

I got this after the BookBub ad ran and went it with great expectations. It didn’t necessarily fail but it was different, very different, than her other pieces and other books I read. The note in the back of the book about Forman’s time at Seventeen made me kind of understand. It was interesting to read about places like Red Rock and know that girls actually are sent to places like that. A definite eye opener to stereotypes and treatment of others.

well written and kept me glued to it til the very end

Best story in long time I have ever read s I will read more of this author . Loved the true story .

I could never say what it might be like in one of those bootcamps for bad teens, I've never been to one but after reading this book, I feel the writing was such that I KNOW what it WOULD be like. Its very rare that reading a book can almost make you feel like you have lived that experience yourself but Ms formans writing did that for me. I had already read If I Stay and although this book didn't effect me the same way it really did leave me thinking about the way young people are judged on their behaviour and how for Brit, doing a few things such as getting a tattoo and listening to a certain sort of music has her pegged as troublesome and rebelious by her Stepmother. Who convinces Brit's father that she needs to go to Red Rock. Red Rock is quite possibly the worst place to send a teen in trouble. The councellors really don't care or have the skills needed to help anybody. And Brit in my opinion should never have been sent there. I loved how she never wavered in that she believed she had done nothing bad enough to deserve where she ended up. I also loved the friendship and solidarity that grew between her ans some of the other girls at Red Rock. At first I thought that one girl in particular would turn out to be the bitch who would try to take Brit down so I was pleasantly surprised when they formed a group who promised to stick together and hep each other through this awful experience. Ultimately the ending was great. I loved them standing up against the system, I loved them revealing exactly what was going down at Red Rock and I loved how this book shows that young people should be listened to, they should be believed and they should be accepted for who they are, even if it doesn't fit into the worlds ideal of who they want young people to be. This book seals gayle Forman as one of my all time favourite authors, unfortunately I have read everything she has written and will have to wait patiently for her next offering. I just hope I don't have to wait too long!!

I honestly CAN'T believe how amazing this book was. Brit is a truly amazing character and her personality most amusing. It's sad how badly she is misunderstood. Brit, mixed with the other characters who I also hugely liked, was a brilliant combination. The characters were such varied people I found their interactions towards each other to be very interesting and complexed, they all had such different personalities that it made the book original and the way they could put their differences aside and work together made the book very moving. The characters all have a beautiful relationship with each other and I found myself understanding their thoughts and feelings thoroughly and sympathising with all of them. The actual plot is ingenious and the pacing of the story was fantastic, every word seemed purposeful and the slow progression of finding out who Brit really is made it on of those books you can't put down. Flashbacks ensured that the context was thoroughly understood. The ending was not at all predictable and somehow I found myself shocked by everything I read, unsure what would happen next. The mixed genre's in this book ensure a good all rounded book able to meet all expectations whether it's romance or thriller you're after; this book has it all. I would recommend for 13+, although it may be a bit of a hard read for someone that age and some concepts misunderstood I truly feel that this book could be for any age. Overall I could not recommend this book highly enough, it has everything you could ever want in a book and I literally couldn't put it down, everything about it is so original and I would advise taking advantage of the 'Look inside' feature to get a taste of what the book is about. Just buy it! Seriously, it's amazing.

I found this book an easy read, and flowed well, young girl misunderstood. It arrived quickly and packaged well, in great condition. Very pleased customer.

A great book, fully recommend. Pleased I was able to get hold of a copy although out of print. Thank you.

One of the best books I have read