Cover Image: Sick Girl Secrets

Sick Girl Secrets

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Member Reviews

I'm DNFing at 1/3 of the way through. It's a short book. I'm not loving the writing style. I was surprised for the writing to be so bland for a book in verse.

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Natalie’s life changes dramatically when after a surgery she must use a wheelchair. And all this in front of her colleagues at school.
The author needs us to acknowledge that for the persons having this kind of challenges accessibility solves almost everything. If they had access, they would go to school, study, college, try to get hired. Unfortunately, accessibility stops this whole process. Natalie is stigmatized not only by her previous friends but by the school director as well.
I will not want to give spoilers, but the main character is the destiny of a winner, a child who manages to stand up for herself and is pushed by life to take care of the others not only by herself.
The below quote from the book I guess that speaks more than any resume:
“Like the spoon theory, Riley says. (…) What’s that ?/ People like us – sick and disabled - use it to describe our energy levels. So let’s say we all start with 10 spoons – that’s our energy -every day. Most people might use one point of energy, one spoon, for exercising, one for working, cleaning …. That leaves them with seven spoons. That’s pretty good energy, right? / I nod./ They can rest or go to sleep and get some of those spoons back. They might feel a little tired, but the energy restores. (…) Now for people like us…Getting out of bed takes a spoon. (…)One night of sleep, if it’s good, might bring back half the spoons you started with. (…) We’re spoonies, just trying to save our energy. Just trying to make it through. ”

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This book written in verse was impactful and written beautifully! I really enjoyed reading this book in verse about a girl who has to come to terms with being disabled and how others opinions could negatively impact someone's mindset when they are bound to a wheelchair. I feel like this book could have been written towards younger teenagers instead of making the main character sixteen years old and going to prom. If the book would have been strictly written about a thirteen year old girl like most of the book was focused on it would have been more suited for the main character in my opinion. Regardless of that though, I flew through it and overall really enjoyed reading it.

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