Customer Reviews

Sisters in Sanity

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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"

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.

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.

This book is about sisterhood. It's about believing in yourself and taking a stand for what you know is the right thing to do. Brit, V, Bebe, Cassie and Martha form a sisterhood in the secret confines of an empty office when the "goons" at Red Rock--a school for misguided teen girls--turn their backs. Together, the girls learn the ins and outs of Red Rock. They learn to survive it and they learn to rely on each other.

Sisters in Sanity is not a typical coming-of-age tale but the reader follows Brit through her stay at Red Rock where she discovers who she is and what she and her friends are made of. It's well written, an easy and entertaining read that can make you laugh one minute, cry the next and be fuming with anger when you turn the page again. The characters are unique, full of individuality and life. You feel like you're right there with them in the quarry, building walls or hiking up the hills in 90 degree heat. You can't help but feel like a part of their sisterhood.

Thank you, Gayle Forman--author of IF I STAY-- for writing this book. I plan on gifting it to my "Sisters".

SISTERS IN SANITY
GAYLE FORMAN
YA contemporary

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments


Sixteen-year-old Brit Hemphill, just wants to play in her band. Life hasn't been the same since the Step monster joined the family. Brit doesn't realize how bad things will get until a so-called promised family trip to the Grand Canyon turns into a trip to a remote, all-girl, residential treatment center for troubled teens. Brit is devastated by her father's betrayal. Once at the center, she finds other inmates' who become her friends and help try to find a way out of the prison-like institution.

This edgy tale shows the pain and anger of a girl who is tricked by her father into going to a boot camp for out of control teenagers. Brit's reaction to being in the camp and her refusal to accept the counselor's diagnosis of her so-called problem rang true. The language at times is raw but also very realistic of what might be the reaction to anyone suddenly locked up in a prison like building. Forman does a great job getting the reader inside and letting us see the horrors of so-called `tough' love. The girls are exposed to harsh criticisms of their so-called problems in order for them to reform. Instead, it only makes them resent not only the camp but their parents as well.

I really liked how Forman doesn't show the typical stereotypical troubled teen. No,
Brit's character is not the usual angry punk rocker, but a girl that is struggling with the pain of her father's betrayal and the fear that she might become like her paranoid schizophrenic mother. Brit learns to open up to some of the other girls at the camp and together they put together a secret sisterhood club in order to survive from the indifferent counselors at the camp. The other girls in the institution are also multilayered. I especially liked how Brit slowly learns to trust and how she decides to take matters into her own hands. Those who loved IMPULSE will also enjoy SISTERS IN SANITY.

Gayle Forman lives in New York City with her husband and daughter. Find out more at [...]

Kim
ENCHANTING REVIEWS
August 2009

I loved the unique setting of this one. I'm not familiar at all with these teen centers, so I found the one in the book interesting. The rules, restrictions, therapy, and levels the girls can be at are thoroughly explained and are present enough to make the whole setting come alive. Red Rock itself becomes a character similar to the crazy workers and the crazy inhabitants: it's imposing, mean, and scary.

Each of the girls are unique and even though it is expected that they would be cliche, they aren't. For example, Brit is sent to the school for having pink hair and singing in a band, so it's expected that she would be this hardcore punk girl. But it's just a look; there's no real attitude that comes with it, unless Brit happens to be talking to her parents. Then there's an attitude. But she and her friends break their stereotypes also while being deep and completely awesome, with them breaking rules and trying to take Red Rock DOWN stuff.

I don't exactly know why this one didn't blow me away. It just didn't, but I still really liked it. It might be the ending, which was a little too coincidental and happy for the story, or maybe it was just that Brit's voice wasn't that strong until the end, when she finally gained the confidence she needed to complete her goal. Also, some things that weren't in the ending were a little to coincidental. Not going into detail since I don't want to spoil it, but some events were just a little too convenient.

Sisters in Sanity, is an interesting, unique read with strong characters.

When I got the copy of this book, I was so excited that it was finally in print, all glossy in its cover. I read the first draft, and was entranced with the characters and especially the heroine, Brit, a smart, sweet, witty girl who's misunderstood by her clueless dad and 'stepmonster'. Because of her rebellious nature, e.g tattoos, piercings and the fact that Brit is in a band, her father sends Brit to Red Rock Academy. Red Rock claims to be a therapeutic place, that helps teenage girls who are having a hard time, but turns out to be a young girls' worst nightmare. In her miserable time at Red Rock, Brit meets several girls who become her 'sisters'. They grow extremely close and find happiness with each other, which is so important for all of them under such circumstances. I loved everything about the book, Brit totally shoots the reader straight, and has so many great things to say. What I loved even more were Brits' partners-in-crime, V, Bebe, Cassie and Martha. These girls, who are so different are brought together by this place and hold each other together as time goes on. But this book goes so much deeper than a friendship. Throughout everything, these girls discover who they are and who each other are, through bad and good. I also love the fact that this book isn't afraid to touch on real issues. Red Rock Academy is based loosely on true events, and a wonderful book like this that opens peoples' eyes is one more wonderful contribution to our world and society. Gayle happens to be friend of mine, and I couldn't be prouder of her wonderful book.

It is a really interesting and fun book to read. It's not only ment for the teenagers because I'm much older than that. I like this book a lot.

Read this because I LOVED If I Stay and Where She Went. Foreman definitely improves as writer in her later books. This book was okay. My teen sister might like it.

This book is finally something I can relate to. I was waiting for a "program kid" to publish a book about those AWFUL programs! Great, easy read!