Foto de l'autor

S. A. Harazin

Autor/a de Blood Brothers

3 obres 144 Membres 14 Ressenyes

Obres de S. A. Harazin

Blood Brothers (2007) 113 exemplars
Painless (2015) 30 exemplars
Painless 1 exemplars

Etiquetat

Coneixement comú

Gènere
female

Membres

Ressenyes

I read this book maybe 2 years ago. I remember loving it and I've just bought an ebook copy for the students at my school. I've checked my LT reviews and found no review so here is the one from Good Reads to refresh my memory when discussing with my students:
"A first kiss. Falling in love. Going to prom. These are all normal things that most teenagers experience. Except for 17-year-old David Hart. His life is anything but normal and more difficult than most. Because of the disease that wracks his body, David is unable to feel pain. He has congenital insensitivity to pain with anhydrosis--or CIPA for short. One of only a handful of people in the world who suffer from CIPA, David can't do the things every teenager does. He might accidentally break a limb and not know it. If he stands too close to a campfire, he could burn his skin and never feel it. He can't tell if he has a fever and his temperature is rising. Abandoned by his parents, David now lives with his elderly grandmother who is dying. When David's legal guardian tells him that he needs to move into an assisted living facility as he cannot live alone, David is determined to prove him wrong. He creates a bucket list, meets a girl with her own wish list, and then sets out to find his parents. All David wants to do is grow old, beat the odds, find love, travel the world, and see something spectacular. And he still wants to find his parents. While he still can." Good Reads, 2020… (més)
½
 
Marcat
nicsreads | Hi ha 3 ressenyes més | Aug 31, 2020 |
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

David is 17 (almost 18) and suffers from a condition where he can't feel pain and has troubles regulating his body temperature. Which sounds like it could have been a really nice book, but somewhere it fell short.

David really acted like a child most of the time and the writing didn't help there either. He has a constant assistant, but since he didn't have any mental issues and was perfectly aware (by training) of what he could and couldn't do I didn't really understand why. Surely he was capable himself of checking his temperature (he has a watch) or taking his blood pressure. I also wasn't sure why they would be putting him in an assisted living facility, since he was perfectly fine living on his own.

One other thing that bothered me was that everything happened really fast (like on a couple of pages) and was never mentioned later. One of his friends dies in a car accident, which is never mentioned later at all. They go to the funeral and that's about it.

Not really for me.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
… (més)
 
Marcat
Floratina | Hi ha 3 ressenyes més | Dec 7, 2019 |
Beautiful story of a young man with a rare disease who decides to live the life he has been given to the best of f his ability. He finds who is true friends are, his true family members, and the people who really love him. He learns that he's not the only person who suffers and the world doesn't revolve around him.
The novel’s early chapters contain short, choppy sentences that move the plot along quickly. I believe this reflects David’s life: slow, cautious, and planned. However, as David progresses and learns more about himself and others, the sentence structure changes along with him.

I received an ARC from Net Gallery in exchange for an honest review.
… (més)
 
Marcat
laura.w.douglas | Hi ha 3 ressenyes més | Mar 9, 2017 |
I wanted to read Painless from the first time I saw the premise. I am drawn to books about teens with illnesses. I have never read a book about anhydrosis or CIPA, but have seen a House episode. LOL. I am diagnosed with somewhat of the opposite... a neurological condition where my body doesn't process pain signals correctly, and I feel pain more than normal, especially in the muscles. I know that CIPA is much more dangerous because you can get burned and not know it, or be sick and not really have indication.

David is an intriguing character and a walking paradox. He has learned so many tricks to keep himself from hurting himself, getting too hot, and to appear somewhat normal. But he balances these things with acts of recklessness.

It is more of an emotional story than I bargained for. I figured some because of his illness, and the hint that his parents had left him. But for me the most heartbreaking and touching part at the same time was his relationship with his grandma, Nanna. She cares so much for him, and has taken care of him. His mom left when David was a baby, and his dad, Nana's son left when he was school aged. There was a certain amount of mystery there, if they couldn't handle him, or somehow he was better off with his grandparents.

His Nana is getting old though, and as the book progresses her dementia gets worse. She still loves him fiercely though, and he does the best to make sure she is getting the best care. Their relationship made me even more emotional because of how close I was with my grandma, and how she raised me for a good part of my life. She also had dementia and it was so sad to watch the decline. Anyways, her lawyer and power of attorney as well as guardian of David as she can't make decisions has made sure that she gets medical care, but also that David has an assistant to make sure he doesn't get too hot since he can't feel it, but also can't sweat to cool down, and help him do injury checks, his bp, pulse, ears, throat, etc.

His best friend and also helper for years is graduating and going to college, so David gets Luna, a nursing assistant hoping to get her PhD. They develop the working relationship first, and then a friendship as she helps him to experience more of life than he has before, but figuring out ways to do it more safely. There is something mysterious about her and I had some theories but none were exactly right. Their relationship was in question for me a lot, but it was nice that a romance wasn't forefront.

I liked the ending in a way, but it was pretty open ended in a few areas. I liked the growth and balance that David reached.

Bottom Line: Emotional story of David learning to balance living his life and keeping himself healthy and safe. Also loved the quality of the relationships in this one.
… (més)
 
Marcat
brandileigh2003 | Hi ha 3 ressenyes més | Jul 8, 2015 |

Premis

Estadístiques

Obres
3
Membres
144
Popularitat
#143,281
Valoració
½ 3.7
Ressenyes
14
ISBN
9

Gràfics i taules