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emmabubx's review against another edition
3.0
I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Slight spoilers ahead, nothing too major but if you haven’t finished the book yet, please don’t read incase.
Rosa is a teenage quadriplegic with a degenerative disease. Both she and her parents see a trial treatment as the only chance for Rosa to survive, nevermind have a life where she isn’t constantly depending on her parents. The treatment she receives is a brain transplant into the body of another teenage girl, Sylvia, who was involved in an accident which left her brain dead.
Overall, I enjoyed the story. There was the typical instalove which you just can’t seem to get away from in YA books these days, both with with secrets they were hiding from each other. The road trip which, less common, but always for self discovery in a way. The fall out of said road trip, arguments with family and the drama this causes for the couple.
At first I really enjoyed the character of Rosa, but from the second she left the hospital for the weekend with Joe she became more and more annoying to me. After going through life thinking that you would never walk again or be able to perform simple tasks, I can understand the urge to go and do something reckless, something you never thought you could do, but everything she did on the trip really annoyed me. She shows up randomly in a small town wearing a dead girls face and flat out lies to the friends of said dead girl. The lie she told about being the long lost adopted twin coming back to learn about her sister is just horrible. Not only does this lie hurt Sylvia’s best friend when she is told this, what this lie could do to her family is unimaginable. Especially after learning about Sylvia’s mothers medical issues so soon after her death. What this would have done to Daniel if it had been spread around town is horrible to think about.
Joes story interested me more, the story about his mum was bittersweet, after seeing close family members suffering from terminal illnesses myself I can totally understand his thought process.
Overall, I enjoyed the book for the most part, but more so for Joe than for Rosa.
2.5/5 stars
Slight spoilers ahead, nothing too major but if you haven’t finished the book yet, please don’t read incase.
Rosa is a teenage quadriplegic with a degenerative disease. Both she and her parents see a trial treatment as the only chance for Rosa to survive, nevermind have a life where she isn’t constantly depending on her parents. The treatment she receives is a brain transplant into the body of another teenage girl, Sylvia, who was involved in an accident which left her brain dead.
Overall, I enjoyed the story. There was the typical instalove which you just can’t seem to get away from in YA books these days, both with with secrets they were hiding from each other. The road trip which, less common, but always for self discovery in a way. The fall out of said road trip, arguments with family and the drama this causes for the couple.
At first I really enjoyed the character of Rosa, but from the second she left the hospital for the weekend with Joe she became more and more annoying to me. After going through life thinking that you would never walk again or be able to perform simple tasks, I can understand the urge to go and do something reckless, something you never thought you could do, but everything she did on the trip really annoyed me. She shows up randomly in a small town wearing a dead girls face and flat out lies to the friends of said dead girl. The lie she told about being the long lost adopted twin coming back to learn about her sister is just horrible. Not only does this lie hurt Sylvia’s best friend when she is told this, what this lie could do to her family is unimaginable. Especially after learning about Sylvia’s mothers medical issues so soon after her death. What this would have done to Daniel if it had been spread around town is horrible to think about.
Joes story interested me more, the story about his mum was bittersweet, after seeing close family members suffering from terminal illnesses myself I can totally understand his thought process.
Overall, I enjoyed the book for the most part, but more so for Joe than for Rosa.
2.5/5 stars
rozalyn_lethe's review against another edition
2.0
I never put disclaimers, but I am putting one right now because this book has a lot of love surrounding it, a lot of good ratings, but this is about to be a very controversial opinion.
also, *SPOILERS*
The first few pages of this book had me completely hooked on everything characters and story on the setting I love it all and then the surgery happened and Honestly I was bored out of my mind until the extreme end of this book and I still didn't love it. And to be completely honest the first however many pages maybe the first 70 was actually SO good I would have given it a 4 to 5 star rating easy, but I can't believe how quickly this book got boring to me I couldn't believe that the surgery had happened so quickly and was over so fast and how I seemed to just be reading about her "new life" and just seemingly random events that to me meant absolutely nothing and her life decisions from here on out but feel like the whole "loving yourself" part was not there until the very end of the book, like I said, this is a controversial opinion, there are a lot of people who like this book and I would have given it 4 or 5 stars definitely in the beginning, but I just can't give anything higher than a 2 because I was practically waiting for it to be over and I didn't like reading any of it except for the first seventy-ish pages and the last page of the book. This book is gonna be 2 stars for me.
also, *SPOILERS*
The first few pages of this book had me completely hooked on everything characters and story on the setting I love it all and then the surgery happened and Honestly I was bored out of my mind until the extreme end of this book and I still didn't love it. And to be completely honest the first however many pages maybe the first 70 was actually SO good I would have given it a 4 to 5 star rating easy, but I can't believe how quickly this book got boring to me I couldn't believe that the surgery had happened so quickly and was over so fast and how I seemed to just be reading about her "new life" and just seemingly random events that to me meant absolutely nothing and her life decisions from here on out but feel like the whole "loving yourself" part was not there until the very end of the book, like I said, this is a controversial opinion, there are a lot of people who like this book and I would have given it 4 or 5 stars definitely in the beginning, but I just can't give anything higher than a 2 because I was practically waiting for it to be over and I didn't like reading any of it except for the first seventy-ish pages and the last page of the book. This book is gonna be 2 stars for me.
leoleoleoleo's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyable but I was hoping for a lot more insights into things that would have changed in her life.
adeleashley's review against another edition
This novel was..... interesting. The concept is really good and I was intrigued because of it. An experimental brain transplant? Rosa gets a whole new body?! Could that even work?!? It is more than understandable that Rosa would want to know who Sylvia is, what her life was like and who Rosa is now, but I wanted to know so much more about what was going on.
Three major things stood out for me as I read. Firstly, I wish we got to find out more about what Rosa's nerve disease was, a bit more backstory on how she got to the point of needing a miracle, and a bit more understanding of how the transplant happened (I'm a bit of an anatomy geek so I kept thinking about how difficult it must be to transplant only the brain and what that would entail). Secondly, I really enjoyed the road trip aspect of the book, especially since it makes sense that Rosa would want to go out and discover the world around her, but I found it a bit unrealistic that she would run off with someone she barely knows. That being said, I thought their relationship was cute but better suited for a friendship than a romance.
Lastly, I got the impression that Rosa felt that she had no life and no opportunity because she was disabled. The full-body transplant is always referred to as a new lease on life, or that her life is just starting, but what we know about Rosa's disease is that it first showed signs at 10 and it progresses till she's 18. As we don't find out a lot of information of what life was like for Rosa pre-transplant, there is a slight implication that she had no life because she was disabled.
At the end of the day, it was an interesting but slightly weird read, based on a really interesting idea.
Three major things stood out for me as I read. Firstly, I wish we got to find out more about what Rosa's nerve disease was, a bit more backstory on how she got to the point of needing a miracle, and a bit more understanding of how the transplant happened (I'm a bit of an anatomy geek so I kept thinking about how difficult it must be to transplant only the brain and what that would entail). Secondly, I really enjoyed the road trip aspect of the book, especially since it makes sense that Rosa would want to go out and discover the world around her, but I found it a bit unrealistic that she would run off with someone she barely knows. That being said, I thought their relationship was cute but better suited for a friendship than a romance.
Lastly, I got the impression that Rosa felt that she had no life and no opportunity because she was disabled. The full-body transplant is always referred to as a new lease on life, or that her life is just starting, but what we know about Rosa's disease is that it first showed signs at 10 and it progresses till she's 18. As we don't find out a lot of information of what life was like for Rosa pre-transplant, there is a slight implication that she had no life because she was disabled.
At the end of the day, it was an interesting but slightly weird read, based on a really interesting idea.
saira98's review against another edition
4.0
I was given this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All views are my own and are not influenced by anyone.
She, Myself and I, follows the story of 18 year old Rosa as she undergoes a brain transplant. After a diagnosis at the age of seven, her body had started to deteriorate and she's on the verge of dying. Taking the brain transplant was a novel way of letting her survive. Even with an anonymity clause in the contract she signed, Rosa is still curious as to who was in this body before she was. So, she goes in search to find out more of the girl who's body she now uses, Sylvia.
This book can be quite intense and it led me to feeling a lot of emotions. However, I don't think the intensity was a bad thing. Instead, it brought across all of the feelings that Rosa was going through. How she was trying to find her identity again and trying to put a line between who she is and who Sylvia was.
I loved Rosa and the way she was written. How she got angry and annoyed with certain things and how her natural curiosity led her into a situation that, legally, she shouldn't have been in. I was thankful that this book was in her point of view as it did a lot more justice to her character. I don't think the book would have made sense had it not been.
I felt that there was a little bit of an incompleteness with the ending. I think there was some part of me that wanted a little more. Maybe an epilogue where we saw what Rosa's life was a couple of years after the brain transplant, Although, the book was still wrapped up in a pretty good way and it tied up any loose ends that might have been there for the reader.
Was the romance element of the book rushed a little bit? Possibly. I didn't feel like there was much development on that front, considering the two characters had only known each other a couple of day. I did find it hard not to fall in love with Joe's character though and he added quite a nice dynamic to the book.
All in all, this book was a journey of self discovery for Rosa. She had spent so much of her life not being able to do what other kids her age were doing. She hadn't experienced a lot of the world in a way she wanted to. It was really beautiful to see her experience a lot of things for the first time in a long time as well as coming to terms with the new body she was in.
I would definitely recommend this book to any who's looking for a heartwarming read with a few twists along the way.
She, Myself and I, follows the story of 18 year old Rosa as she undergoes a brain transplant. After a diagnosis at the age of seven, her body had started to deteriorate and she's on the verge of dying. Taking the brain transplant was a novel way of letting her survive. Even with an anonymity clause in the contract she signed, Rosa is still curious as to who was in this body before she was. So, she goes in search to find out more of the girl who's body she now uses, Sylvia.
This book can be quite intense and it led me to feeling a lot of emotions. However, I don't think the intensity was a bad thing. Instead, it brought across all of the feelings that Rosa was going through. How she was trying to find her identity again and trying to put a line between who she is and who Sylvia was.
I loved Rosa and the way she was written. How she got angry and annoyed with certain things and how her natural curiosity led her into a situation that, legally, she shouldn't have been in. I was thankful that this book was in her point of view as it did a lot more justice to her character. I don't think the book would have made sense had it not been.
I felt that there was a little bit of an incompleteness with the ending. I think there was some part of me that wanted a little more. Maybe an epilogue where we saw what Rosa's life was a couple of years after the brain transplant, Although, the book was still wrapped up in a pretty good way and it tied up any loose ends that might have been there for the reader.
Was the romance element of the book rushed a little bit? Possibly. I didn't feel like there was much development on that front, considering the two characters had only known each other a couple of day. I did find it hard not to fall in love with Joe's character though and he added quite a nice dynamic to the book.
All in all, this book was a journey of self discovery for Rosa. She had spent so much of her life not being able to do what other kids her age were doing. She hadn't experienced a lot of the world in a way she wanted to. It was really beautiful to see her experience a lot of things for the first time in a long time as well as coming to terms with the new body she was in.
I would definitely recommend this book to any who's looking for a heartwarming read with a few twists along the way.
sandrareilly513's review against another edition
5.0
Paralyzed and slowly dying from a degenerative disease, 18-year-old Rosa longs for a normal life. Brain-dead after an accident while trying to help a friend, 18-year-old Sylvia’s family is left with no hope of her ever regaining consciousness. Their young lives are about to intertwine in ways never thought scientifically possible. A brain transplant will give Rosa a new body and Sylvia the legacy of a lifetime. The physical recovery will be long and difficult for both Rosa and her family as well as Sylvia's parents and friends. As Rosa learns how to live in her new body, she becomes deeply preoccupied with the person whose tragedy that gave her the ability to walk again. She needs to know who Sylvia was before the accident, whether a part of Sylvia still lives on in her, and if she will ever feel like "herself" again when she looks in a mirror and sees someone else's face.
THOUGHTS: A dying quadriplegic teenage girl is given the chance of a lifetime -- to wake up in a new body with a new future. How does she compromise who she used to be with who she is now? How does she live up to the potential of the person who gave their life, and their entire body, so she could have another chance? What does she -- and everyone around her -- see when her face is no longer her own? Rosa faces all of these questions and more as she recovers from the brain transplant surgery that has given her a new body -- Sylvia's. While the situation itself might seem unrealistic, medical technology is rapidly advancing and brain transplantation might not be far from the horizon. Technology aside, the existentialism of Rosa's situation and the ripple effect on Rosa's and Sylvia's families and friends are not often seen in YA literature and will resonate with teens as they embark on their own journey of discovery.
THOUGHTS: A dying quadriplegic teenage girl is given the chance of a lifetime -- to wake up in a new body with a new future. How does she compromise who she used to be with who she is now? How does she live up to the potential of the person who gave their life, and their entire body, so she could have another chance? What does she -- and everyone around her -- see when her face is no longer her own? Rosa faces all of these questions and more as she recovers from the brain transplant surgery that has given her a new body -- Sylvia's. While the situation itself might seem unrealistic, medical technology is rapidly advancing and brain transplantation might not be far from the horizon. Technology aside, the existentialism of Rosa's situation and the ripple effect on Rosa's and Sylvia's families and friends are not often seen in YA literature and will resonate with teens as they embark on their own journey of discovery.
jazzyjan94's review against another edition
3.0
This review appears on my blog: https://confessionsofabookwormweb.wordpress.com/2020/10/12/book-review-she-myself-and-i-by-emma-young/
She, Myself and I is a book tha has been on my physical TBR for over three years - ever since I received an ARC at YallWest in 2017 - and I've finally had a chance to get to it. Before I get started with my review, I do want to note that this a review for the ARC and not the final version of the book, so there are probably some difference from what I read and the final copy.
She, Myself and I follows Rosa who is a quadraplegic as a resut of a nerve disease which is slowly killing her. However, she has an opportunity to have a new lease on life when a doctor in Boston asks her to take part in an experimental surgery - a brain transplant. Her and her family move form Londno that she can have the surgery.
Everything goes according to plan and Rosa's brain is successfully transplanted into the body of brain-dead Sylvia Johnson. While Rosa starts to recover from her surgery, she struggles to find her identity - is she Rosa or Sylvia? Who is she really? Matters are not helped when she overhears a nurse praying over her for her death because she believes that the brain transplant was evil. This incident haunts Rosa and causes her to question herself and her existence even more. The one day she meets Joe, and intern for Bostonstream, who writes stories about the people he meets in the park outside the hosputal. With his help, Rosa sets out on a journey to find out who Sy;via was in order to find herself - she ultimately disocvers that it is up herself to decide who she is moving forward as Rosa.
I liked this book - however it lagged in places and seemed a little bit jarring at times. I liked following Rosa on her journey to discovering herself and her self-worth. I did enjoy the allusions to Frankenstein in this book and how Rosa in some ways views herself as a type of Frankenstein's monster because of the brain transplant.
I also enjoyed getting to know Joe and how he treats Rosa and respects her privacy, even though he is a journalist. I like how he cares about upholding integrity and not making advances in his career.
Another character I really liked was Rosa's brother Elliott. Even though he was a typical brother, he also provides some wise advice to Rosa, which ultimately helps her come to terms with her identity.
While I liked the novel, it was hard to get into and it just seemed very open-ended, which I think was the point. 3/5 Stars.
She, Myself and I is a book tha has been on my physical TBR for over three years - ever since I received an ARC at YallWest in 2017 - and I've finally had a chance to get to it. Before I get started with my review, I do want to note that this a review for the ARC and not the final version of the book, so there are probably some difference from what I read and the final copy.
She, Myself and I follows Rosa who is a quadraplegic as a resut of a nerve disease which is slowly killing her. However, she has an opportunity to have a new lease on life when a doctor in Boston asks her to take part in an experimental surgery - a brain transplant. Her and her family move form Londno that she can have the surgery.
Everything goes according to plan and Rosa's brain is successfully transplanted into the body of brain-dead Sylvia Johnson. While Rosa starts to recover from her surgery, she struggles to find her identity - is she Rosa or Sylvia? Who is she really? Matters are not helped when she overhears a nurse praying over her for her death because she believes that the brain transplant was evil. This incident haunts Rosa and causes her to question herself and her existence even more. The one day she meets Joe, and intern for Bostonstream, who writes stories about the people he meets in the park outside the hosputal. With his help, Rosa sets out on a journey to find out who Sy;via was in order to find herself - she ultimately disocvers that it is up herself to decide who she is moving forward as Rosa.
I liked this book - however it lagged in places and seemed a little bit jarring at times. I liked following Rosa on her journey to discovering herself and her self-worth. I did enjoy the allusions to Frankenstein in this book and how Rosa in some ways views herself as a type of Frankenstein's monster because of the brain transplant.
I also enjoyed getting to know Joe and how he treats Rosa and respects her privacy, even though he is a journalist. I like how he cares about upholding integrity and not making advances in his career.
Another character I really liked was Rosa's brother Elliott. Even though he was a typical brother, he also provides some wise advice to Rosa, which ultimately helps her come to terms with her identity.
While I liked the novel, it was hard to get into and it just seemed very open-ended, which I think was the point. 3/5 Stars.
rivenonpluto's review against another edition
5.0
i remember being so hooked on this book. it was phenomenal
angelicasreads's review against another edition
2.0
When I first heard about this book I was actually very excited to read it. When I saw it on NetGalley I had just watched both Criminal (2016) and Self/Less (2015) two movies with the same exact same concept and both strangely staring Ryan Reynolds. Similar to those movies, this book is about a girl who gets her brain transplanted into another body and then things start to happen. So, I figure that since those movies didn’t totally suck, and that their concept was cool, I would want to read a YA contemporary about it, because why not.
In the end, I was kinda disappointed with what I got.
When Rosa, a girl with a nerve disease that rendered her a quadriplegic get her brain transplanted into the body of a brain dead girl named Sylvia, she goes on a search to find what makes a person a person. Is it just the body? Is it the mind? Is it the soul, and if so, where does that lie? Also, is there anything left of Sylvia in the body Rosa now inhabits?
To answer these, Rosa goes on a journey of self-discovery to find out about Sylvia’s past and her own future. Along the way, crazy things happen and love begins to bloom. Some parts of it were nice, some parts of it seemed slightly unrealistic. I admit, I was not a huge fan of the writing and the romance felt a little forced. Really, I think the book could have done without it.
Also, I feel like this book took a turn. I wanted it to focus a bit more on the effects of the transplant, in a physical and psychological way. I wanted more reaction from Rosa and those around her. I wanted a little less romance. Still, I didn't hate this novel.
Ok, so time for me to make some slightly controversial statements.
There are people complaining that there wasn’t enough information on the disease and the way the transplant went on. Personally, I prefer it. I want to read a contemporary, not a medical journal. Sure, I would have wanted some specifics but not to the point that people are demanding.
There are a lot of people complaining that this book implies that Rosa had no life due to her being disabled. They say that this is ableism (discrimination in favor of able-bodied people) and that it suggests that Rosa would not have had any opportunities while in her condition. Let’s be clear, I am not an ableist. I have never discriminated against someone for any condition that they may have. That said, if you are a quadriplegic teenage girl, there isn’t much you can do. The opportunities for her were very little and that’s just a sad reality. So, yes, she now gets to actually stand up and see the world, and have a new life. One with more opportunities than she would have. It’s not saying that people with disabilities can’t be happy and have lives. It’s stating the fact that there is a lot more that you can do when you aren’t completely paralyzed in your entire body, as Rosa was.
So, why am I defending a book that I rated only two stars? Well, because this book barely held my interest. At times I was into it, but mostly I was entirely out of it. It took me weeks to finish this book, when usually I read books in 2-3 days, tops. Sometimes, when a book is just that good, I’ll read it all in one sitting. This wasn’t one of those books. That’s why I gave it two stars. Not because I saw it as an ableist novel, or whatever.
**I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**
In the end, I was kinda disappointed with what I got.
When Rosa, a girl with a nerve disease that rendered her a quadriplegic get her brain transplanted into the body of a brain dead girl named Sylvia, she goes on a search to find what makes a person a person. Is it just the body? Is it the mind? Is it the soul, and if so, where does that lie? Also, is there anything left of Sylvia in the body Rosa now inhabits?
To answer these, Rosa goes on a journey of self-discovery to find out about Sylvia’s past and her own future. Along the way, crazy things happen and love begins to bloom. Some parts of it were nice, some parts of it seemed slightly unrealistic. I admit, I was not a huge fan of the writing and the romance felt a little forced. Really, I think the book could have done without it.
Also, I feel like this book took a turn. I wanted it to focus a bit more on the effects of the transplant, in a physical and psychological way. I wanted more reaction from Rosa and those around her. I wanted a little less romance. Still, I didn't hate this novel.
Ok, so time for me to make some slightly controversial statements.
There are people complaining that there wasn’t enough information on the disease and the way the transplant went on. Personally, I prefer it. I want to read a contemporary, not a medical journal. Sure, I would have wanted some specifics but not to the point that people are demanding.
There are a lot of people complaining that this book implies that Rosa had no life due to her being disabled. They say that this is ableism (discrimination in favor of able-bodied people) and that it suggests that Rosa would not have had any opportunities while in her condition. Let’s be clear, I am not an ableist. I have never discriminated against someone for any condition that they may have. That said, if you are a quadriplegic teenage girl, there isn’t much you can do. The opportunities for her were very little and that’s just a sad reality. So, yes, she now gets to actually stand up and see the world, and have a new life. One with more opportunities than she would have. It’s not saying that people with disabilities can’t be happy and have lives. It’s stating the fact that there is a lot more that you can do when you aren’t completely paralyzed in your entire body, as Rosa was.
So, why am I defending a book that I rated only two stars? Well, because this book barely held my interest. At times I was into it, but mostly I was entirely out of it. It took me weeks to finish this book, when usually I read books in 2-3 days, tops. Sometimes, when a book is just that good, I’ll read it all in one sitting. This wasn’t one of those books. That’s why I gave it two stars. Not because I saw it as an ableist novel, or whatever.
**I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**