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I started and finished The Thing with Feathers in the middle of the Fresno Yosemite International Airport on Friday, when I got to the airport a few hours (yes, I know) early for my flight. It was… forgettable. Unfortunately uninteresting. And underdeveloped.
It looks like everyone on Goodreads loved this book, so maybe it was just not my kind of book. But I really didn’t enjoy it – the romance happened pretty much instantly, everything moved a little too quickly and Emilie’s seizure dog was my highlight. 
Warning: There will be “spoilers” below. Read with caution. I guess.


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Here’s the Goodreads synopsis…
Emilie Day believes in playing it safe: she’s homeschooled, her best friend is her seizure dog, and she’s probably the only girl on the Outer Banks of North Carolina who can’t swim.
Then Emilie’s mom enrolls her in public school, and Emilie goes from studying at home in her pj’s to halls full of strangers. To make matters worse, Emilie is paired with starting point guard Chatham York for a major research project on Emily Dickinson. She should be ecstatic when Chatham shows interest, but she has a problem. She hasn’t told anyone about her epilepsy.
Emilie lives in fear her recently adjusted meds will fail and she’ll seize at school. Eventually, the worst happens, and she must decide whether to withdraw to safety or follow a dead poet’s advice and “dwell in possibility.”


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The writing
I don’t really have much to say here, because nothing stood out to me as great or terrible, writing-wise. It was pretty standard young adult contemporary language, and (if I remember correctly) I only rolled my eyes every once in a while.


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The characters
I loved that McCall Hoyle decided to write about a teenager with epilepsy, and I loved Hitch, Emilie’s seizure dog. The rest of the characters, however, were just fine. Emilie’s mind moves a little too quickly to make sense to me – one minute, she’s scared to death about befriending anyone, and the next, she’s spending time with Ayla at her house. I didn’t feel her hesitancy and her concern as much as she talked about it in her own head. 
For a book that takes place in the Outer Banks, no one seemed even remotely southern to me. I’m southern. I come from a beach town farther south than the Outer Banks. 


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The plot
Essentially, a teenage girl with epilepsy is being “forced” to attend public school for the first time by her mother, who was recommended to do so by the girl’s therapist. Emilie refuses to make connections – because she isn’t going to stay in school past 3 months, she’s decided – and … well, yeah, she makes connections. She isn’t great at sticking to her guns. 
And good for her, for making friends and finding a boy she likes. But this was a simple plot, too simple to thrill me. *shrug emoji*

Thank You Net Galley for the free ARC.

It is difficult for Emilie to be back at school because nobody knows of her epilepsy, but she meets some really great friends there. Should she tell them?

Well, that was cute.

This book follows the typical YA romance structure: Emilie starts at a new school and develops a crush on the first boy she sees, Chatham. They end up working together on a school project about Emily Dickinson and Emilie ends up connecting to Emily on a deep level and learns great lessons about herself and the world.

…but…

Emilie has epilepsy, and the driving force of this book is her own desire to completely forget that fact and live (what she perceives to be) a “normal” life. Also, she’s still grieving the loss of her father (it’s been three years) and trying to come to terms with the fact that her mother wants to start dating again.

What I love most about this novel is that it takes the “typical set-up” and manages to make it feel new and fresh. For example:

“My first tutoring session with Chatham was both amazing and horrifying – the way I imagine parasailing world be if I ever had the nerve to try it.”

Emilie’s voice is spot-on, and we struggle alongside her to step outside our comfort zones and trust in others.

Also, I’ve never known anyone with epilepsy, but this book gives me better insight into what it must be like to run constant risk assessment. Emilie’s concerns are among those of any teenager’s: looking foolish in front of one’s peers, but intensified by the possibility of losing physical control during a seizure.

And of course, I am an English teacher with a love of Emily Dickinson and I knew I'd adore this aspect of the book. Definite recommendation for middle and high school classroom libraries.

This book was exceptionally written. I expected one thing ("this should be a good read") and got another ("wow, this is truly insightful!") and the irony wasn't lost on me that Emilie, who goes to school for the first time, prejudged the people she'd meet much the same way I prejudged this book. She was a refreshing teenager with insights that didn't seem beyond her teenage years. She's spent her life isolated and yet experienced the world through books and movies. You'd think she'd have more hangups but somehow really didn't. I loved the skeptical optimism she carried ~ think this one will be a favorite with my students.

The Thing with Feathers is sure to be a favorite of middle school and high school students. It has everything that draws in YA readers: conflict, diversity, and young love. It is a very believable story because the issues the characters face are realistic. The characters are so real. McCall Hoyle does an excellent job of drawing the reader into the characters’ minds and emotions. As I read, I was instantly drawn into the drama of Emilie’s life: her seizures, her dad’s death, her relationships with her mother, and the kids she meets at school. I liked how Hoyle lets the characters fall out of the stereotyping that most forms of media lock students: jock, geek, art freak, band geek, athlete. He allows them to develop into complex people. Each character faces his own drama and tough life decisions. The choices of the characters were not always as I would have expected, which I found intriguing. The high school students are not as shallow as you would think. In a lot of ways, The Thing with Feathers reminds me of Holding up the Universe by Jennifer Niven and Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon, which are both about young people finding their place in the world.

The Thing with Feathers is an amazing YA book that will be published September 5, 2017. You might as well mark it on your calendar because you will really love this book. The Thing with Feathers is the debut novel by McCall Holye. Bravo, McCall!!!!! I already know several of my middle school students that are anxiously waiting to read this book.

*I received a free copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Sometimes when you start a book you find yourself thinking about things you have never thought of before and that is what this book did for me; I thought about the issues that those who struggle with epilepsy. The author wrote a beautiful story about a young girl, Emilie Day, who is being forced out of her comfort zone of homeschooling in to the scary world of high school. After the loss of her father, Emilie has continued to hide at home so that her epilepsy won't be something that others are able to see and make fun of her for. She spends her days with her seizure dog BFF and moments with her little next door neighbor. When Emilie is pushed to school, she meets Chatham on the first day and she finds herself confused because her goal to avoid everything in high school starts to unravel the moment they connect. This isn't just a love story or romance, this is a story of a girl who is hiding her truth from those she starts to care about, while dealing with the changing dynamics in her relationship with her mother. Emilie's mother is starting to move forward from the death of her father and their relationship struggles drive the way that Emilie keeps her truth hidden from her new friends and classmates. One of my favorite parts of this story was the interwoven quotes from Emily Dickenson. The title and the way that the author added bits of Dickinson throughout the novel, gave it an added joy. I loved the character development and emotional impact of this story. I don't recall ever reading a story before where the protagonist was struggling with epilepsy and where the topic was so fully developed. This was a beautiful read about hope and growth and change and trust and I look forward to more from the author in the future.

3.5 stars. I really enjoyed reading this one. I loved Emilie and I don't think I've ever read a book from the perspective of a person with epilepsy, which was interesting and her fears entirely understandable, realistic and even, sometimes, relatable. I did feel, though, like her relationship with Chatham was a bit instalovey, which brought things down for me. I also felt like there was a lot of repetition throughout that kept the story from exploring new places...for instance, seeing Emilie actually on the lit-mag or debate team would have been a better use of text than continually mentioning her mom's nail polish or her father's boxes of clothes. Also, I felt like the sub-plot with the next door neighbor Cindy was also just out of place and didn't take up enough time to make a real impact. There were a few too many tragic backstories sprinkled throughout to feel entirely realistic. But overall I fully enjoyed the narrative here and the writing was easy and fun to read. Would recommend for a contemporary reader looking for something new; this one was heartfelt with a unique perspective.