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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, August 28, 2007
This review is from: Sisters in Sanity (Hardcover)
Most of us never have to worry about going on a family vacation, only to find out that we're being unceremoniously dropped off at a boot camp, instead. We have never questioned the imminent arrival of "escorts" who come in the middle of the night and drag us away, kicking and screaming, from our home. We've never wondered what it would be like to be shuffled off by our parents to a "rehabilitation school" because we're overweight -- or because we might possibly be gay. For Brit, V, Bebe, Cassie, and Martha, however, the above mentioned scenarios aren't just nightmares. They're real events.
Welcome to Red Rock, a "school" in the middle of Utah run by the Sheriff, staffed by pseudo-psychiatrists like Dr. Clayton, and guarded by former bouncers with more muscles than brains. This is the place where parents can send their children when they rebel, misbehave, or show antisocial behavior. Red Rock offers such pleasantries as "confrontational therapy," where girls are called names and hounded until they break down and cry, a punishment system where being sent back to Level One status means complete isolation and no shoes, and where the food comes in freeze dried blocks.
The problem is that, although there may be a few "students" at Red Rock who really belong in such a school, most of them, like main character Brit, don't. These are teens who may have lost their way, sure, but their behavior isn't anything beyond normal adolescent angst. But what the parents don't know -- and what it's up to the Sisters in Sanity to prove -- is that Red Rock is a place full of fakes who are doing more harm than good.
When Brit and fellow "inmates" V, Bebe, Cassie, and Martha set out to get the school shut down, it's all the girls can do to avoid trouble, keep their chins up, and survive. But in the process, these five girls find a friendship that eventually helps them all in ways they'd never expected.
Ms. Forman has written a fast-paced page turner that you'll find hard to put down. SISTERS IN SANITY, although not based in hard truth, does show the frightening aspect of so-called "boot camps" for teens, and you'll find yourself appalled at the reality of the situation. Ultimately, however, you'll be overjoyed to watch Brit and her friends not only buck the system, but find their own places in the world.
Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice Novel, October 25, 2008
This review is from: Sisters in Sanity (Hardcover)
Then
Brit Hemphill's parents met at a U2 concert and eventually got married. They traveled the world and finally settled down and opened up CoffeeNation, a place where artists and musicians came to hang out. This allowed Brit, an only child, to grow up around the likes of Kurt Cobain. It was, literally, the life.
Now
Suddenly, she finds her self not on a family trip to the Grand Canyon but enrolled in Red Rock Academy. They call what they do there therapy, but it's more like "tough love" for girls they feel are out of control. Defiant Brit finds herself learning how to survive in a place where you fake it or you lose all control.
Soon, Brit finds safety in numbers when she forms a secret club with V, Bebe, Cassie, and Martha. Some of their "crimes" include being overweight, maybe being a lesbian, and being, let's say, a little too boy crazy.
This book is definite girl power, but beyond that, it's about trusting in your self and not backing down from what you believe in, even if the odds are against you. Forman shows that the things everyone seems to be so afraid of in a person are just one part of them. They are so much more.
I recommend this book to any and every girl out there, to show the meaning of being you and what friendship truly is.
Song to go along with this book: "Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett
What I like to call Bebe's theme song.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not just for teenage girls, September 11, 2007
This review is from: Sisters in Sanity (Hardcover)
Brit finds herself betrayed by her own beloved father when he delivers her, unknowing, to one of those wilderness schools that are supposed to dispense tough love and reform "troubled" kids. Brit, whose troubledness consists mostly of dressing gothly and playing guitar in a band, eventually befriends a varied group of girls, each with her own "troubles" and issues, each in her own way equally unfairly trapped at Red Rock, which is essentially run as a financial scam to dupe the kids' parents, with a certain amount of fake psychotherapy that the girls all see through and manipulate in their own ways. Brit has to learn to overcome her own stubbornness and let down her guard with her new friends; soon they team up and start working on a way to bring down Red Rock altogether. And Brit comes to terms with some of the genuine issues in her own life. Sisters in Sanity totally understands girls, the way they think and talk and see life--it's so smart, funny and cool, and the way the girls deal with their situation is so brilliant, I don't want to say anymore for fear of giving too much away. You won't be able to stop reading until you find out what happens. I promise. This is a terrific book.
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