Sisters in Sanity

by Gayle Forman

Book Overview

The very first novel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay now has a beautiful new cover. Sisters in Sanity is a story of sisterhood and self-discovery that's perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Morgan Matson, and Siobhan Vivian. Britt Hemphill doesn't know who she can trust. Her free-spirit mother has disappeared, and her father, once Britt's partner in crime, has remarried and shipped her off to Red Rock, a so-called treatment facility...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060887494
• ISBN13: 9780060887490
• Release Date: May 2016
• Publisher: Harperteen
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

Enchanting Review: Sisters In Sanity

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

A really good book

Reviewed by Casey Holt (age 13) for Reader Views (2/08) This book is about a young girl named Brit. Her dad remarried when Brit's mom left after being diagnosed with SchizoPhobia. Brit hates her stepmom and calls her "Stepmonster." Her stepmom is always telling her dad that she is so rebellious, and she needs to "stop hanging out with those band kids." She thinks that just because Brit has magenta streaks in her black hair, that she must be a terrible person. What? Before she knows it, her dad packs her up in the car for a "trip to the Grand Canyon." He says that her stepmom and her baby brother are flying, and that they are going to meet them there. But pretty soon, they stop at a rundown looking building with a fence topped with barbed wire all around, and two big guards standing at the gate. She opens her door, and the guards run over and grab her! They put her hands behind her back and start forcing her towards the door. She yells out to her dad, telling him to stop, what was this misunderstanding all about, anyways? But he just shakes his head, telling her that he is doing this all out of love, can't she understand? The guards take her to a solitary room and strip her of all her clothing and personal belongings. They give her some tattered pajamas and slippers, and then leave. She is so confused, and thinks that it's all been a mistake! After a few days, the reality starts to sink in, and she realizes that this is really real, and not a dream. She learns the ways of this insane, messed up "treatment" center, and meets V, Bebe, Martha, and Cassie. These five girls keep each other sane, while Red Rock Treatment Center is messing up their lives. I really liked this book, and I would recommend "Sisters in Sanity" to girls ages 13 and up.

Not just for teenage girls

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.

Crazy times, sane girls

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.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

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"