Brave Enough

Nothing is spared in this YA contemporary novel; nothing is too deep, and nothing is too dark. Kati Gardner certainly is brave enough.

BRAVE ENOUGH follows seventeen-year-old Davis and Cason, struggling with different harrowing issues. Davis is a recovering drug addict, and Cason has just been diagnosed with bone cancer, leaving her sure she’ll never dance again. Although it may sound sad and overwhelming, the overarching message is one of hope, and strength, and never giving up.

BRAVE ENOUGH should be on every teen’s TBR list. Cason and Davis are written so realistically that there are feelings here for everyone: those important YES moments that mean we seriously, seriously relate. Neither of them are perfect; they can be mean, and self-absorbed, and do things that you really wish they wouldn’t… but you always see why they’ve done it, and more often than not, can see yourself doing the same. They’re people. What’s more, they’re normal people, and normal people being extremely, extremely brave.

The dialogue is quick and believable, as are the general interactions. You don’t get much of a feel for the setting outside houses, hospitals etc, but here it doesn’t matter; the story is so character-driven that the outside world doesn’t need to feature much. The plot is raw and truthful, and while it may turn out exactly as you think it will, it’s inspiring. I’m not sure I’ve read such an honest book, YA or adult, in a very long time, that made me go YES until the very end.

I love this book. At first I was expecting another a fault in our stars novel but no, this one offers depth and personal struggle that I don’t really get in fault in our stars. Centering on an uprising ballerina that diagnose with cancer on her audition, and a recovering addict slash cancer survivor. Yes, the love will bloom and spring on the air. But aside from light romance, this book satisfy me in term of character development and we really get to understand the personal struggle of our main protagonists.


Turn out this book is written by cancer survivor as well, that’s why the story is really realistic. Kudos for Kati Gardner for superb and well written debut.

I'm not going to lie, this book made me cry in the last few chapters. It was such a real book, that I could feel the emotions of the characters. I really enjoyed the journey and ups and downs of the book. 

This book is about a ballerina named Cason, who is diagnosed with bone cancer in her leg. Davis is an overcoming addict who had cancer when he was younger. 

I loved Cason as a main character, at first I thought she might be stuck up, but then I realized that she was just a young girl, trying to find her place in the world after being diagnosed with cancer. 

Natalie - Cason's mom, was also a character that I enjoyed seeing blossom.

Another thing I loved about this book was the band of secondary characters, they were all well-formed and all had personalities of their own. I also loved that their was diversity to the characters. 

The last few chapters of this book flew by for me, seeing Cason and Davis find hope in their own ways was inspiring and captivating. Also learning that the author also had cancer made it so much more real & authntic to me as a reader.

Cason is prima ballerina and loves to dance, after all her mum is her teacher too but while trying to perform, she hides an injury which turns her career upside down when it's discovered to be a cancerous tumor and causes her life to change drastically. Her in control mum, Natalie, seems to believe it's all a blip at first and if very shut off about the subject towards her daughter, seeming cold and distant as she tries to cope with the fact that her daughter is seriously unwell and that it will effect her whole life.



Davis is serving community service at his old oncology ward while having trouble from his ex Alexis whom still uses drugs where as Davis is now clean of drugs thanks to rehab but using still plagues his mind as he often see's his dealer still hanging round.



As the pair find themselves crossing path, their lives intertwine and they share friends and situations which help them both such as a fellow patient, Mari talking about her experience with Cason.



I liked the premise of this book as a huge Lurlene McDaniels fan and a ballet fan this book is my ideal collision and once again, this book didn't let me down and I loved it. The way the plot went on was great and I wouldn't have wanted it to go any other way at all. Davis and Cason both had struggles which were believable and the way Natalie faced things was a harsh reality check at how it can change all lives involved and effected by cancer.



It has serious topics at the heart of it but it will leave you feelings grateful for all the good you have in your own life and appreciate even more what you have.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

*Thanks you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

This story was enchanting and drew me in. It gave me somehow the Fault in Our Stars, just with more layers to it. I loved the characters. Cason blew me away, and I loved Davis. I also don’t normally read contemporary books, but this one made me want to read it all the time!
I loved seeing Cason and Davis’ inner turmoil, and that addicted voice in the back of Davis’ mind quickly became my worst enemy.
Some of the plot made me want to cry my heart out and in the middle of the book, I just took a break. I couldn’t take it, I just had to stop crying. Why do I cry so much? I can’t explain that.
Also a plus is that this cover is gorgeous. Just look at it!
I also loved how Gardner took something from her own life, that probably isn't good memories, and turned it into something beautiful.

A book reminiscent of the Fault in Our Stars, but with a different twist: drug addiction.

I loved watching Cason and Davis come together. Their love story is sweet, and real. Each of them had their own internal struggles that they had to come to terms with before standing together.

Gardner draws on her own personal story to create a beautiful, fictional version.

Pain, turmoil, and loss of dreams are something that most of us will deal with at some point, but only a few experience it on such an intense level.

I enjoyed this good, quick read and thought it had a lot of qualities that are appreciative to a contemporary YA novel.

To say that I enjoyed Brave Enough is to not phrase it correctly: what I appreciated about the novel was its realistic portrayal of living with pain and potential limitations and trying to learn how to overcome them.

There's an honesty in how Cason makes progress and drifts backward throughout the story. She doesn't constantly feel sorry for herself, yet nor is she relentlessly and unrealistically upbeat about her situation. For a girl her age, she does her best to cope with what she has to face and tries her best to grasp at what hope she's given when she can, and is just as ready to disregard it when she can't handle or face it. She is human and vulnerable and has her bad days and her good ones. Her struggles ring true - trying to claim what independence she can and simultaneously resigning herself to the future she's painting for herself in particular - and I would have gladly read more about her. I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried more than once before the end of the book.

I read the whole novel, start to finish, in one sitting. Admittedly, my focus was on Cason's story more than Davis', but, even so, I felt no need to rush through the chapters following him, which I'm finding rarer and rarer these days with books that employ more than one narrative point of view. The romance was a little predictable, yet not overplayed and didn't detract from the main messages of the story.

Used properly and sensitively, I feel this book could make a fantastic class reader for children in their early teens.

(Goodreads 14 March 2018. Amazon: 21 Aug 2018, expected publication date)
4.5 stars.
What a delight to read!
There’s an authenticity and truthfulness in this story that captured me and made me read it in one setting. Kati Gardner writes realistically and accurately about cancer and cancer treatments, but, above all, about young people dealing with the disease (and other serious issues). The medical/clinical knowledge, details, experiences, feelings about very young people with cancer are absolutely believable, poignant and heartbreaking sometimes, sweet and endearing other times: the meaning behind Davis’ “smile with a wink” and the inspiration for it are an example of an author deeply committed to her story and subject. In the afterword, we’ll know where, to some extent, that experience comes from, but there’s also lots of talent telling a story with likeable main and secondary characters, handling serious issues with know-how, sensitivity and humor.
I loved how Davis and Cason spent so much time with each other and enjoyed their emotional closeness before they even kissed. Davis’ struggle is so hard and poignant to read, and so well dramatized. Cason is a beautiful character too.
And I’d love to read more about these complex and compelling characters, perhaps Kati Gardner would consider a sequel…

This book was lovely.

I've never read about childhood cancer so I was a little apprehensive about how intense it was going to be. At the same time, I was also worried about how real the situation was going to feel. After reading the author's note about how she had the same kind of cancer as Cason, it made it feel all the more real.

Cason's story was incredibly heartbreaking. Her fears and anger were so real and heartfelt that it made me so sad for her. I loved how she pushed through her pain, but also allowed herself to feel all the emotions and grief that came from her journey.

Davis was such a great character. His cancer didn't really come in to play much in this book beyond having a connection to Cason. His struggle with addiction felt very real and I can only imagine that's what other people with addiction go through on a daily basis. For being as young as he is he showed incredible strength and I think other young people who are suffering from the same disease can really draw strength from his story. I wish there was an epilogue so we could see how he was doing 3 years from the end of the book.

I loved every last one of the secondary characters. They all had amazing stories to tell and they accepted Cason with open arms. I loved the little bits of their storyline that we got to see, too. Especially Mari, she was probably my favorite.

If you're worried about being a crying blubbering mess through the whole book, you won't be. I cried through the last maybe 10% of the book because mushy moments always get to me. Overall, I do recommend this book.

This novel has a highly original plot and great characters. Although a little slow to start, it really builds as the novel continues

3.5 stars
This book was a lot more emotional and hard-hitting than I thought it would be. I did not expect to have the feelings that I did, either. That being said, as much as I wanted to love this book, there were some things that needed to be improved upon that I can’t ignore.

The Main Characters: Cason and Davis. I felt way more connected to Davis than I did to Cason, but I still did not feel like I knew either of them really well by the end of the book. Cason is a dancer and she loves it so much. She dreams to perform and dance. I can relate to that. But, even dancers are more than just dancers. That was the biggest issue. For Cason, all I knew of her was that she was a dancer that has cancer. For Davis, he was a cancer survivor and a drug addict. That’s it. They both needed to be developed more.

The Writing: The writing style was really easy to read. At times, I felt like things were worded oddly (which I know sometimes happens so it wasn’t a huge issue). The biggest issue was the time jumps. I found myself having to

The Plot: I can’t really say there was one. The book was about two people who struggle through cancer and addiction and the repercussions of those things, but I don’t know if there was a climax. I know other people have said this too, but I feel like 50% of the way through the book, it could have been over. Though the emotion and representation of Cason and Davis’s struggle was there, this was not a plot driven book at all.

Other Points: There was a line that Davis said in the beginning of the book about how he wanted to focus on the books and college so he didn’t have to think about Cason being admitted to the clinic. It made me wonder if he had seen her around before and liked her? That wasn’t ever addressed. I wish the progression of Cason and Davis’s relationship was not as fast as it was and had a little bit more depth to it. I think the time jumps played a part in this. Another thing that I found off was the fact that Cason and Davis seemed to rarely discuss Davis’s addiction. It felt like Davis was always the support system for Cason and barely ever vice versa. There needed to be more overlap between their story’s. They needed to connect more.

I loved the representation in this book. I have had some experience with cancer (though definitely not as extreme) but I feel like it was done really well. It is an own-voices novel with the author being a child cancer survivor and amputee as well. I don’t have any experience with drug addiction, but again, I do like how it was shown. I also love the friends: Mari, Jase, and Noah. They were great additions to the story and only wished they were in it a little more.

"In that one moment her perfect, prima-ballerina, pink-tutu world fell off its pointe. She wasn't Cason Marting, prima ballerina, anymore. She was Cason Martin, number T7654908, cancer patient."

Bravo to debut author Kati Gardner for this amazing story about a prima ballerina with cancer and a recovering drug addict fighting the need to use again. It's a story about real life situations and how we deal emotionally and mentally as everything comes crashing down in cruel, sweeping blows. About how two people from different backgrounds are brought together by one of the worlds most devastating killers: cancer. It's been a while since I've read a book where I fully connected to the characters, and because of this Gardner's novel struck a familiar emotional chord within me; a chord that can be hard to avoid playing because it's so painful and scary.

Seventeen year old Cason is the Prima Ballerina for the Atlanta Ballet Company, and she got there not only by hard work, but also because of her stern, overly critical mother, whom Cason calls Natalie instead of mom. What Cason doesn't know is that the pain in her leg isn't a spran, it's really cancer turning the bones in her leg to mush. During her audition for the American Ballet Theater based in New York, she breaks her leg. Cason soon finds out she has an aggressive form of cancer called Ewings Sarcoma...and with that, all of her dreams of going to New York and becoming the worlds best prima ballerina gets flushed down the toilet.

Davis is a recovering drug addict who is sentenced to community service in the hospital wing for cancer patients. He was there once a few years ago battling against non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which overcame. Davis was caught with drugs and charged with intent to distribute, but at 17, going to NA meetings, and receiving help from a doctor who saved his life once already, he's given 300 hours of community service. And even though Davis has been sober for almost a year, he still fights with his demons, always thinking "Just one hit. Just one." The need to score some dope is always creeping in the back of his mind, especially when things get tough. Not only is he still fighting the urge to use again, but his ex-girlfriend continues to pop up in the most inconvenient ways, asking him to help her find some dope or begging him to pay the money she owes to Ethan - Davis's ex-dealer. He also carries the guilt of being the person to get his ex-girlfriend addicted, something that his ex always throws at him while she's trying to manipulate him for more drugs or money.

It is during Davis's community service and Cason's chemotherapy that the two meet. Sparks fly soon after, and it isn't long before they start to care for one another in a romantic way. The beautiful thing is that Davis finds Cason beautiful, even without hair and (view spoiler). And Cason cares for Davis, even though he has a past. Both characters are dealing with their own issues but they're constantly brought together because of past choices and current circumstances. Davis is a safe place for Cason to utter her dark thoughts and deepest fears and the only person she can count on to truly understand how she feels as her own mother can't seem to come to terms with Cason's cancer, or the fact that Cason will never be the ballet dancer her mother has trained her to be. And Cason becomes one of the reasons why Davis must continue to fight for sobriety.

I tend to stay away from books with highly emotional and social themes, simply because they are triggering for me, but I couldn't help myself with this one. Cason goes through some serious depression in this book, and the way Gardner writes about Cason's feelings and reactions to each life-altering and crushing hurtle, I couldn't help but be transported back to my days of suicidal depression. Cason's dark thoughts align with those who simply just want life to end; Cason certainly sounded a lot like me when I just wanted life to stop...to be dead. But with every challenge that is thrown at Cason, these kinds of thoughts are to be expected, and so I was able to really empathize with this character on such a deep, deep level.

Now, you don't have to have dealt with these kinds of thoughts to understand because Gardner writes Cason so well that it's easy to put ourself in her situation to understand her line of thinking. I couldn't help but feel the same negative thinking that Cason has when (view spoiler)...I certainly wouldn't think I'd be able to live like that. But it's seeing Cason come to terms with what she's lost and fighting for her life that makes this story so beautiful...because even if we lose parts of ourself, physical and mental, we can accept it, gain strength from it, and create something even better in place of what we've lost. It's an uphill, life-long battle but it's totally worth it in the end. And I know this on a deep level...

And when you read the author's note, you realize why this story is so realistic and honest. Author Kati Gardner battled with Ewings Sarcoma just like Cason does. So thank you Kati for this amazing book.

The cover immediately caught my eye and led me to explore this book, and I’m glad I did. Gardner’s book follows seventeen-year-old Carson and Davis, who are each struggling with difficult issues. Carson is an aspiring ballerina who was recently diagnosed with bone cancer. Davis is a cancer survivor and a recovering drug addict. While this has the potential to be a depressing read, it isn’t. It is one of the most inspiring reads I’ve read in some time, as there are key themes of hope and strength. The characters could easily succumb to their circumstances and give up, but they don’t.

In the author’s note, she mentions that she’s a cancer survivor, as well, which adds a level of authenticity to the story. Descriptions are vivid, and the characters’ emotions and dialogue are realistic. There is solid character development, and the reader has a front row seat into the treatments and procedures throughout the story. Secondary characters are well utilized. Gardner was “brave enough” to show a realistic YA story that should be on every teen’s TBR pile (and adults, too).

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley, but I wasn’t required to leave a positive review.

I met this author at a meet and greet for Nic Stone and Scott Reitgen. We sat beside each other and she filled me in on this complete gem of a book. This is a great read for someone who feels like they are not represented enough in young adult literature. This story is flowing and beautiful from start to finish. The author has experience with these hardships and you can tell by her writing that this is something she is connected with. I will read anything by this author.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved that it had a little bit of everything: drama, romance, cancer, struggle, tragedy, the works. My favorite parts and the things that set it apart from other stories are the author's note, "I was desperate for a girl that looked like me. For a girl who had cancer and lived... So, I wrote one," and Cason's "Fear be damned" moment. It's a story full of actual truth, of real heartache and struggle, but also of triumph; it's one that young adults desperately need.

This fast-paced story hops back and forth between Cason's and Davis' experiences and thoughts - every chapter practically ended with a cliff-hanger. It was awesome. I couldn't put it down because I was always scared or excited for the characters. This style of writing would hold the attention of some of my most resistant readers but was easy enough to get through that even my struggling readers could both enjoy and relate to it.

I like that through the eyes of the main characters, we get to see the side characters change, specifically Cason's mother, Natalie. I think I was most thrilled for her at the end of the novel because it's always so easy for us to hate and blame "evil" mother figures when, in reality, they need our forgiveness to grow too. Cason isn't the only one suffering in the story, and I liked the tragedy and lessons the author included for Natalie too. It made it real and reminded of all the times I selfishly groaned at my own mother. However, if young adults will open their hearts and minds to her, they can maybe learn something about life and some of the struggles their own mom endures too.

Cancer and drug abuse are not uncommon diseases to our YAs nowadays. A number of my students personally know cancer patients, and even a few have been through cancer treatment themselves. They've watched their own friends die. They see and are tempted with drugs every day. I like that readers are taken on Cason's and Davis' journies to see the hardships and mental struggles they faced daily, especially every passing moment that Davis is tortured by the idea of "one more high." It's heartbreaking, but, hopefully, it could be one more example to show that life's issues aren't solved with one decision, or over the course of one night - it takes work, dedication, commitment, and a strength they probably haven't found yet. This book IS important!

I really did enjoy this book. It felt real, raw and close. I can't relate to the illness that Cason has but I can relate to being sick. That some things just hits you so hard. I don't know enough about addiction either, but I found the portrayal realistic enough for me and it felt close. Like I could feel it. I also liked that the author showed that there are options out there. That you can get help.

Also, the cover is spectacular! I'd absolutely recommend people to pick this one up.

Brave Enough is a touching story about two teens, Cason and Davis, who are both somewhat opposites besides the fact that cancer has ruined both of their lives. Although the messages within this story were there, I felt that it was a pretty basic story. The fact that it went a bit into a recovering teen addict, was a different perspective than what I have read in other books. I also learned about different types of cancer and I hardly have read books about cancer. I would have liked to see more depth with the story itself because the book was pretty short. I did like the characters because both had a goal and tried to accomplish them, even through the bumps in the road that made them almost give up. I would definitely pick this book up just to get a feeling of motivation and to realize that not every life is easy and not every life has a clear path. Anything can happen.

I started off alittle nervous about this book because it’s not something I usually read; but my god I fell in love with it. It’s a book bout struggling to cope as your world is ripped away and turned upside down. I found it’s a topic some people are scared to talk about. Having family who have gone through similar events it hits home for me and I could not be happier with how it was all betrayed. I loved the characters and felt that I could feel everything they did. I can not wait to read more from this author.

*thank you to Netgalley and North Star Editions for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.

This was so completly enjoyable! I fell into the story right away and stayed in it until the end. It's so heartfelt and wonderfully written. Plus it is based on the author's own personal story though parts are fictional, alot was based on her life and journey with Cancer. I would have prefered the Authors Note to have been at the start of the book because I feel that it changes how you read the story, with knowing from the start that this book is partly true. 

Carson is such a strong girl who is having to deal with one of the worst diseases a person can suffer through. Her own struggles are very real and I instantly felt a connection with her. On her way to being the best Ballerina at a very well known Dance company, her world is utterly shattered. Davis is a character who is battling drug addiction. I found this character to also be very realistic and as someone who also suffers an addiction, I can say that at times, this was a bit triggering. So just a warning for anybody who has an addiction with either drugs, food etc. I really liked Davis though. His strength and self control was at the height of amazing. He is definitely a character to look up to. There is little romance in this book but it is not mainly focused on. I feel it was just the right amount. 

Lastly, this cover! Ohh my god this cover is just simply beautiful!! Definitely one of my favourites for this year. I highly recommend this. It is an excellent YA story for anybody but expecually those with an interest in Cancer or Dance.

Can we take a look at the cover first. The cover is AMAZING! So pretty

I read a handful of protaginist have cancer themed books, and I'm sure all of them left me broken and wheeping on the floor. *I'm looking at you TFIOS* and the first time I read the blurb of this book I told myself, another one that will leave me heart broken. My heart was ready to be attached with the characters and the story then both or worse one one of them dies at the end. This book dissapointed me.

You must be wondering why dissapointed? I was expecting that this book will leave me broken but it didn't. It left me hopeful and lucky. It made md felt that my weaknesses are only a part of me and doesn't define me.

Davis and Cason has their own ups and down (mostly down) Davis is a cancer survivor and is struggling with drug sobriety. Cason was one of the best ballerina when she had the injury. I felt their struggles, their lowest points. When Davis was in the verge of using again, I was holding my breath praying for him not to. When Cason shuts everyone after her surgery, and found out she was accepted in the best ballet program. I felt frustrated and almost asked God what did she do to deserve this. Fortunately, they both have great family and friends though Cason's mother was a bitch I was glad she changed heart as the story went by. Their friends are very supportive, the campers at Camp Chemo. I also got attached to them, they also shared their own struggles.

If you're wondering if this book is a romance, no it is not. Davis and Cason love each other, they have conncetions but this story is their story, separately. It doesn't evolve only on the their love but also love of life, family, and friends, I think without these kinds of love, the two won't survive the challenges they are facing.

I like how it was written in third person point of view. It was not filled with medical jargon we don't understand. For me, it is perfect. It made cry and laugh, I felt that I was with them as one of their friends playing Uno cards and supporting them all the way.

I reccomend this to everyone who is now struggling and still finding what their purpose in life, this book may not find it but I hope this book may give you hope that you will find it. Also those who just want to read some inspiring story, this is perfect for you.

Why 5 stars? It is realistic and even if it was a cliffhanger,  it ended beautifully though I hope there will be more. I love how the characters in this story is connected and how they complete each other.  A beautiful and inspiring story.

I really liked this book. It dealt with some tough topics because both the main characters, Cason and Davis have some serious problems. Davis had cancer when he was younger and is currently in remission, but has since developed a drug problem which landed him in prison and rehab and now probation. Cason is a ballerina with an incredible future in front of her and she has just auditioned for a famous ballet company in NYC. Then she is diagnosed with bone cancer and her life changes completely. She has a mom who is in complete denial of Cason's cancer diagnosis which does not help at all. Davis and Cason meet on the Chemo Unit where Davis is completing his community service hours, and they have an immediate connection. The whole story while they get to know each other and both face very real, harsh circumstances of their lives, is really beautiful. They both go through some very difficult things both emotionally and physically which really shows their strength and also helps them grow closer. I think that if this book had been written in the first person it would have really been perfect! I think I would have felt a little more connected to the characters. In general though, this was a great story filled with love, heartbreak, pain and acceptance. Definitely worth your time!!

First of all this cover is beautiful! I was a little concerned when it kind of jumped into the romance between the two main characters but was happy to see that that was not and didn't turn into the main focus of the story. Anyone who loved the tv show Red Band Society will love this! (I, of course, was one that loved it.) The storyline, the characters...there wasn't one thing I hated.
I'm so happy I was granted an eARC from Netgalley for an honest review.

I got this ARC from netgally in exchange of an honest review. And honestly speaking I requested the ARC, because I fell in love with the cover!! Come on!! Isn't it gorgeous?!!! (**drooling**)  Thanks Netgally and publisher North Star Edition for making my wish come true.

This book follows Cason and Davis. Cason, who is a ballerina and doesn't have any other purpose of her life rather than dancing. Whose life turned upside down when she got diagnosed with Bone Cancer. And Davis, who is a cancer survivor yet got addicted to drugs. The book follows their journey to embracing their new life. For Cason it is, how to live with cancer, how to dream again and for Davis, his new life is struggling with the addiction, to stay sober, to live, to love.

"I was, I don't know . . . lost."

"But you're not, now."

"No" There was a pause as he looked for his words. "I wander sometimes, but I'm not lost."

TBH I didn't like Cason's mom at all, on the other hand I loved Davis's mom. What I liked most about this book is that, normally in YA books the love-interest takes all the focus, while in this book both of their struggles were almost untouched by their love interests. Their love interest supported the story-line, didn't end up being the main/only story-topic.

I loved the way this book dealt with drug addictions, how cancer affects a human mentally, the value of peer support. I loved how there was always help available around the corner, but the simple message that its you who have to decide if you want to take it or not.

And what touched me the most is these simple lines by the author at the end of the book

When I was a teenager and reading every book I could get my hands on, I was desperate for a girl that looked like me. For a girl who had cancer and lived. And it was really hard to come by. So, I wrote one.

Its such an inspirational read, do try it out if you are feeling low or just out of space for a while. I hope it will help you to feel good!

It's quite exciting to have a book about amputees and cancer survivors written by an amputee and cancer survivor, and I'm glad that Gardner has the chance to convey her experience to a large audience. In and of itself, though, the book leaves a lot to be desired. The dialogue is stilted and the plot is fairly predictable. I would have preferred to read a book that had a little more life outside of the "issues" it is tackling (cancer, amputation, addiction, trauma and recovery). I would still recommend this over similar books written by authors who don't have the experiences Gardner has, but it doesn't hold up on its own as anything other than a book about those issues. If someone needed a fictional handling of the situations the characters are in, I'd mention this to them--but if they were just looking for something to read and enjoy, I'd give them something else.

The thing that attracted me to this book and excited me the most was its cover – so much that I didn’t even read the blurb before jumping in. Sometimes, doing this and going in directly could result in amazing results like loving the book. And it was with this very hope that I became 'Brave Enough' to jump in and read this book. Now that I have finished reading it, I can’t even find the words to explain my feelings.

Cason Martin is a ballerina from Atlanta, who is her mother, Natalie Martin’s project. Natalie pushes and prods Cason because she thinks Cason doesn’t give her best. As director of Atlanta Ballet Conservatory, Natalie has big plans for Cason – plans that include Cason attending the American Ballet Theater’s studio program in New York. Cason wants to go, too, but she only wants to get away from her overbearing mother. But her dreams seem to shatter around her as she is diagnosed with cancer.

On the other hand, Davis Channing is a high school student who has been sentenced to 300 hours of community service after rehab for possession of drugs. He has to complete this service in his oncologist’s clinic. Yes, you guessed right. Of course that is where he meets Cason. Davis has the possibility of relapsing and he struggles with himself as he fights the urge to use again.

Will Davis and Cason be able to fight their internal and external demons to find peace again? Will they be able to shift their dreams to accommodate reality and still be happy? Will they be able to find their way to each other despite circumstances getting in the way?

First off, I need to say that this book reminds me a lot of The Fault in Our Stars. But that is being unfair, because not all cancer stories are the same. They have as much power to make you cry as they have to make you laugh and hope. And 'Brave Enough' wields the power to bring hope to a cynic, though it mightn’t be successful all the time.

Then there is the fact that the author, Kati Gardner, is a cancer survivor and an amputee herself. Kati was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma in 1989 and was only 8 when the diagnosis came through and when her leg was amputated. She uses her experiences to write this story of hope and dreams, and to spread cancer awareness with American cancer stats.

The copy I got is marked ‘uncorrected proof’, so all I will focus on is anything but the editing mistakes present in the eBook.

Let me start with how Cason’s mother is in the very beginning. She looks at Cason’s cancer as a ‘stupid inconvenience’, called Mari’s cancer and lack of a led a ‘disfigurement’, and soon enough, she was on my list of disliked characters. But if you are going to read 'Brave Enough' – and I recommend you do – please don’t judge her too early. Yes, she might seem impossible and looks selfish at times, but be patient with her.

'Brave Enough' is an easy read. The language is nice; not wow, not bad, but above average. The narration seems repetitive in a few places. Brave Enough isn’t about anything extraordinary. It’s about hope and its importance in our lives. And that makes the story pretty extraordinary. It is because of this that you can ignore anything that might lightly grate on your nerves, though I must say those instances are far and few.

'Brave Enough' tells us how a disease has the power to take away your best. Once where there was at least half a chance, now there’s only anger and resentment. But it all comes back to the same thing: hope. If you have the hope and the will to put your head above the water, you’ll soon find the shore you’re so desperately looking for. And it applies to everyone in this unpredictable world.

While I’d read the book with just a smattering of sympathy, there came a point where I suddenly felt like crying. It hit me out of nowhere. Before this, I’d made up my mind that the book was a 3.5/5; a 3 even. But it was here that the book went up to a 4.

In the end, I’d just say, if you want to read a story about hope (there it comes again, this word), then do read 'Brave Enough'. It worked big time for me!

What a beautiful story. I could go on and on about how perfect this book is, but that would contain spoilers. Such a sweet story and the cover is so beautiful too. Definitely a must read!

What a wonderful book! I was sucked in immediately, and found this book to be engaging and relatable. The characters were realistic and the author wrote in such a way that you really felt like you were there. I would definitely recommend this book!

Good YA novel that focuses on finding your own path and dealing with adults living vicariously through their children.

Carson has big dreams of becoming a famous ballerina, her whole life is dance, but a secret injury turns out to be something much worse and shatters everything. Davis is a cancer survivor and a recovering addict who is battling to stay sober. The big question? Are Carson and Davis brave enough to overcome the tough battles they are facing…

I really enjoyed this story, it covers two emotive topics cancer and addiction. As a YA novel, I thought it was really well done. I particularly liked how even though Carson and Davis are linked, each of their stories is separate and what they have to overcome is different.

I liked how even though there is some attraction and a little romance between Carson and Davis, it’s written in a way that it doesn’t overshadow the main theme of the story, there’s no insta love falsity to it, it just flows nicely in the background. I have to say that given how heavy the subject of this book is I didn’t feel depressed or come away feeling sad whilst reading it, it’s hard to put it in words but I just felt so in awe of how brave these characters are.

I don’t normally mention author notes but I found the one at the end of this book incredibly touching and it made this book a bit more special:

“When I was a teenager and reading every book I could get my hands on, I was desperate for a girl that looked like me. For a girl who had cancer and lived. And it was really hard to come by. So, I wrote one.”

This contemporary YA debut novel is thought-provoking, emotional and touches on many issues that others don't dare.  It was almost refreshing to see the real, raw emotion that both Cason and Davis showed at times.  We can't be strong all of the time and I rooted for them both. 

I really felt like I connected with both of the protagonists, Cason is fantastic.  She doesn't really have a filter which I liked and is very strong.  Davis is a great character, kind and selfless and his dark past made me really feel for him.  You could tell that he was struggling at times which was heart-breaking to read.

The secondary characters were great.  I loved Mari and Heather especially; for their no kid gloves attitude towards Cason - they knew what she needed and weren't afraid to go about it; their almost motherly tenderness for Davis was heart warming to read too.  

The story wove together wonderfully and there were a few times where I gasped out loud at what was happening; and I liked that I didn't find it predictable.  I was second guessing myself at times throughout the book.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a feel good story that warms the heart. I'd give it an overall 3.5.

This story follows dancer, Cason, as she discovers she has cancer and her whole life is turned upside down. Once slated to be one of the best dancers around - she struggles as her very attainable dream is ripped away from her. During her time in the hospital going through chemo she meets Davis, a cancer survivor struggling with his own battle of addiction. They form an immediate bond and seem to help each other through their battles.

I loved the message that is portrayed through this novel. I think that the author having gone through cancer herself at such a young age lends more authenticity to what it's like having to treat cancer. The idea that these kids and teens are able to come together and not have to worry about other people wondering about their sickness is such a heartwarming image. I found myself rooting for each and every character because I wanted something good for them.

This being said there were some things I found a bit of a stretch. I think Cason's mom going from work obsessed and in denial about Cason's cancer to completely supportive and caring mother was a bit of a stretch. Not that I don't think she could have gotten to that point - it just seems a bit drastic. The first half of the book was filled with so much happening I thought there would be a lot more to come, but the second half seemed to fall a little bit flatter than the first half. Overall though, I really did enjoy reading this book.

Brave Enough releases on August 21, 2018.

"Teenager Cason Martin is the youngest ballerina in the Atlanta Ballet Conservatory. She never really had a choice of whether she learned to dance or not. Her mother, the conservatory's artistic director, has made all the decisions in Cason's life. But that's about to change. Cason has been hiding an injury, and it's much worse than anyone imagines.

Davis Channing understands all too well what it's like to give up control of your life. He's survived cancer, but his drug addiction nearly killed him. Now he's been sober for seven months and enjoying his community service at the hospital. But just when he thinks he's got it together, Davis's ex-girlfriend, who is still battling her addiction, barrels back into his life.

Cason and Davis are not friends. But, as their worlds collide, they will start to depend on one another. Can they both be brave enough to beat the odds?" - Goodreads

GENRE
Realistic Fiction, Romance

THEMES
cancer, addiction, love, single parenting, mother/daughter relationships, friendship, recovery, self-image

WHAT I LIKED
Because I was reading this prior to its release date, I think I had a different mindset diving in. Reading something before everyone else does, before it can even be in my hands, had a different feel. It was my first ARC, and it was exciting.

The characters are pretty likable. I was rooting for both main characters to overcome their struggles and come out on top. I even wanted their romance to work, even though I believe they jumped in too quickly. Their connection was quick; I know teenagers react fast, but their journey getting to know one another could have been developed more.

A cancer story is important, and a teenage cancer story is that much more heartbreaking and scary. As a mom, it was terrifying to think about the need for children's hospitals, oncologists, and cancer camps for kids. In the author's notes, at the end of the book, she mentions wanting to write this story so she could see a character like herself, a cancer patient and amputee, in writing. While this is not a work of nonfiction, it is certainly influenced by Gardner's experiences as a survivor.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
I don't think the main characters' ages are believable. Maybe I am too naive, but a high school junior who has already battled a narcotics addiction, been in jail, and has now been sober for nearly a year thanks to (sometimes) daily NA meetings, doesn't seem real to me. I would have preferred him to be in college, even if it meant dating someone a year younger than him. However, I do believe Cason could have been a year older as well. I can't pretend to know anything about the ballet world, but a professional dancer who only attends school half a day at the age of 16? I don't know about that.

Cason is super cute name, but I read it as "Carson" every.single.time. Kudos though, it's a good name.

(Spoiler) Some details weren't developed as much as they should have been. We get this mention of the glitter incident so many times, but it's never really explained, whereas camp is mentioned constantly throughout the book and its part is so minimal. It's described as this life-changing event, but only a few specific incidences have depth and detail. Gimme more.

Overall, this is a cute book for teens. There are some good life lessons in there, especially about taking care of yourself, self-image and recovery. The love story is cute, and cancer stories are emotional.

FINAL RATING
3/5 stars

Brave Enough tells the story of Cason and Davis. Cason is the youngest ballerina in the Atlanta Ballet Conservatory, and was hiding her injury while doing an audition. But after her audition, everything changed… Davis is a cancer survivor, but his drug addiction almost killed him. But his addiction is still taking its toll.

Brave Enough was such a beautiful book about friendship, love, cancer and addictions. I don’t always know whether I’m going to like or hate a book about cancer because my grandma died because of cancer. However, Brave Enough was such an inspiring book and I couldn’t stop reading!

I really wanted to read this book because I’ve always been fascinated by ballet, probably that fascinated because my parents didn’t let me do ballet because of my mum’s physical illnesses she got because of ballet. The doctors thought I was going to inherit them if I would start practising myself. I’ve always been sad about that because I think that ballet is so beautiful (but, of course, also hard work!). Too bad that this book wasn’t really about ballet that much but more about cancer.

The story itself was really good, I kept on reading because I wanted to know how it was going to end. To be honest, the end was a bit abrupt. I expected more chapters than the story had. The characters were also really enjoyable. I really liked Cason and Davis, they’re so cute together and they don’t want to give each other more pain.

I really liked Brave Enough and I cannot wait to discover more books written by Kati Gardner!

The Quick Cut: A ballerina's life is shattered when she's given the devastating news of her diagnosis with bone cancer. In the process of treatment, she becomes increadibly close to a guy volunteering at the clinic she receives chemo at - a boy who was cured of his cancer a year ago. As their lives get complicated, they lean on each other for help.

A Real Review:
Thank you to Flux for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to preface this review with the fact that I have never had cancer, so I cannot say i have any clue what its like. I've watched an aunt die of brain cancer, family friends, but that's the closest its touched my life. So when this book came across my desk, I was intrigued by the premise knowing that the subject would touch many lives along with having the opportunity to better see what its like being in a cancer kid's shoes.

Cason was born to be a ballerina. With a mother as her artistic director and her natural talent, there is nothing that can stop her from reaching her dreams of working for the American Ballet Theater. However, when a pain in her left leg turns into something far more serious - a hidden strain suddenly becomes bone cancer and her life becomes changed forever. All her ballet dreams are permanently ripped away as all those skills that made her better than anyone are taken from her body piece by piece. Even her own mom Natalie is in total denial of the truth in the beginning, refusing to admit just how sick her daughter truly is.

Davis survived cancer, but he barely survived the aftermath. Becoming a drug addict in the aftermath - he struggles everyday to keep clean and repair the life he's let fall apart. This is made even harder by the ex-girlfriend who continues to harass him for her next high that he got her hooked on and the dealer that continues to attempt to get him addicted once again. Everything is a balancing act that seems to be a struggle well known until he meets a new cancer patient named Cason.

Cason and Davis from the outside don't make sense, but once you're a cancer patient things change. Although everyone wants to see you as special, the book makes a point of stating you're really nothing more than fighting for your next day of living. These two fighting for their next day learn to fight together and depend on each other as their separate, fragile worlds fall apart and they cannot handle it on their own. Cason learns to let others in when she has been so used to only living in her ballerina world while Davis finally sees that he isn't the one to blame for every terrible thing and through action, learns to move forward.

Although the thing that brings these characters together is cancer, the story is about so much more than that. It is about how they adapt to their changing situations and learn to dream after what they used to live for is gone. When the world sees you as a diagnosis, how you do see yourself as anything but that? They may be talking about cancer survivors and the scars they carry for their lives, but this is a life lesson that can be applied to many areas beyond it. My only minor complaint is the ending - although its pretty, its not very satisfying to me. I was hoping for something a little more poignant and lasting. This felt more like the end of a chapter than the end of the book.

FYI - The author lets you know at the end of the book in a note that her story is very much our heroine's story Cason's. She also had the same bone cancer as a kind and just like Cason - she grew close to a boy and ended up at a cancer camp that saved her life. This book was touching on its own but reading that note and knowing just how personal this story is to her? It adds another layer to the tale that hits you right in the heart. She also adds links and organizations for childhood cancer if you want to know more or would like to help. Its a phenomenal touch which provides resources for anyone looking for a lifeline in the same shoes she was once in or for anyone looking to donate to the cause.

A book about two kids learning to embrace life as it changes drastically around them, this story will leave you smiling and wishing there was more in a hopeful tale about cancer.

I was very happy to read this book, which has many qualities of authenticity.

Indeed the author has chosen a subject that matters a lot to her, as she’s directly concerned. She explains, in the end of the book, that she had the same cancer as her heroine as a child, and have lost her left leg as a result. The story and its characters are the product of her imagination, but all the facts, the details, the emotions are quite true.

I’ve got ambivalent thoughts about the actuel tendency of presenting more and more teenagers with various illnesses in YA books. In a way it’s really great, giving information to readers, encouraging them to understand, to be tolerant, to show that a person is a person no matter what, and never their illness. But on the other hand I’m always suspicious. Some authors, even motivated with the best intentions, even concerned by the difference, sometimes instrumentalise it, using the dramatics of an illness or neurological difference to create high emotions. I’m not sure it’s a bad thing, especially if the result is wholesome for the readers, but I can’t feeling the process sometimes a little dishonest… In « Brave enough », I was quite happy, all was perfect in my point of view.

I was very happy to read this book, which has many qualities of authenticity.

Indeed the author has chosen a subject that matters a lot to her, as she’s directly concerned. She explains, in the end of the book, that she had the same cancer as her heroine as a child, and have lost her left leg as a result. The story and its characters are the product of her imagination, but all the facts, the details, the emotions are quite true.

I’ve got ambivalent thoughts about the actuel tendency of presenting more and more teenagers with various illnesses in YA books. In a way it’s really great, giving information to readers, encouraging them to understand, to be tolerant, to show that a person is a person no matter what, and never their illness. But on the other hand I’m always suspicious. Some authors, even motivated with the best intentions, even concerned by the difference, sometimes instrumentalise it, using the dramatics of an illness or neurological difference to create high emotions. I’m not sure it’s a bad thing, especially if the result is wholesome for the readers, but I can’t feeling the process sometimes a little dishonest… In « Brave enough », I was quite happy, all was perfect in my point of view.

I read this book very easily, it was a good story, with strong message about illness, family and drugs. I applaud the author to have managed to write a very positive story without letting the reader forgot about the realities of cancer and addiction. Some children and some teenagers die of cancer, even with good treatments. Some people aren’t able to overcome their addiction, even with the best help. And still, hope is bright, as so many courageous people – patients, their families, doctors, hospital workers, volunteers – do their best, always.

Withstanding the gravity of the themes, the story was pleasant, with good characters, and the two stories intertwined of a teenage girl, a professional dancer, and a teenage boy, who was a « cancer kid » and is now cured but had also been using drugs. Their psychological evolution is a little bit rushed but sound and optimist, with a positive ending, which is a beautiful message!

Okay, so I may have accepted this book at first because the authors name is spelt the same as mine and that alone is a rare thing. But also because I read a few reviews and descriptions of this book and all came back as amazing! Then I got the book and by goodness this book is fantastic. I could not stop reading it. The characters are fantastic. I connected very well with Cason. Although yes I do kind of hate her name. This book is absolutely amazing and I loved it. Seriously I recommend picking it up and giving it a chance even if your heart may break a little.

Everyone is always told to be brave. But mostly its okay to be Brave Enough!

I always fall in love with stories that have dancing or music in them. I always fall in love with stories that teach me about some disease.

I thought I knew about cancer and its aftermath but I had no idea. I always perceived it as a two-way street - you either die or live happily ever after. Kati Gardner taught me that it is not so. I had no idea you could lose limbs and that its quite common. And I bet there are people who have leukemia or lung cancer who will say that they have it easy. Just cut it off and you're alright, whats there to whine about. But this book showed the different spectrum of losing a limb. It varies from being okay to losing your whole identity. Its awful either way and I'm glad to have the chance to learn about it.

I thought I knew about addiction and coming out of it but I had no idea. First of all I liked to see a cancer patient who wasn't a saint. And showing the horrible influence of dealers and how getting them out of the street is a very important key in helping addicts recover. I would've like to see more justifying in Davis's head though. I've heard all the "But I aced this test, I deserve a prize" and "Its not healthy to stop right away or the body goes in shock, it will help me to recover if I take one hit". I somehow felt that was missing from here but to be fair Davis wasn't in the begging of his recovery, maybe thanks to all the therapy and meetings he was passed that and only one bad thought had remained in his head "Just one shot". Spoiler: I hope every recovering addict has a "Margarite" to call them at the right moment. And of course John. If you have a friend who is recovering just take the time and call them just to say high or to grab a burger or something. This saves lives!

This is not a light read nor its heavy. Its balancing somewhere in between and I think that beautifully shows the journey through an illness - the good parts and the bad. I did find the change the mother go through a bit extreme but maybe what she went through does that

Mild spoilers:
I did find the Camp in the end a bit cliche. But its a cliche cause its beautiful and it helps. I have so many good memories going though different camps as a kid and maybe its a good way to remind people that. I just don't find it in my heart to judge it even tough its sooo cliche.

I Looooooooved that this wasn't a romance in a "The fault in our stars" kind of way. It was exploration of relationships through rough times.

Although the book went a bit slow for me and there are lot of cliches I really learned from it a lot and it was thoroughly enjoyable.

I'll be honest, when I first read the description of this one, I was afraid it was just another version of The Fault in our Stars... I was happily surprised that it was not. This wasn't just another teen romance (although there was some romance - and I was definitely rooting for Cason and Davis!!!). This is a story about perseverance and redemption. The story is told through the perspective of Cason, who has just been diagnosed with cancer and had her life turned upside down, and Davis, who is struggling with his sobriety & also a cancer survivor. The emotions felt very raw and real - I've never been through either situation personally, but I felt like I understood exactly how each character felt. I attribute this to the author's note at the end - the author never read a story about a girl who survived cancer, so she wrote one. It was a beautiful story that really inspired me to be brave.

Thank you to Kati Gardner, the publisher, Flux, and NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a sweet story of overcoming tragedy and learning to live with that life gives you. I absolutely loved this book. It has the same tone as Fault in Our Stars, but very different in storyline. I love the fact that the author used a few of her own experiences as a cancer survivor to inspire the story. That makes it more believable and allows you to connect with Cason. I laughed, cried and felt content after reading this book.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC to review.*

"I want to be brave."

This story is one you don't often hear - the story of a girl who had cancer and lived. The story of a girl who suffered unfairly, lost things that were important to her, because of cancer. This story details the anguish of losing your dream, the struggle to accept what you can't change, the need to exercise your passion and the fear that you might never be able to. It is also the story of a boy who struggled with drugs, who took everything from himself willingly.

It's so easy to give away your life. It isn't easy to take it back.

Brave Enough is a quick but emotional read, and the story is strong. The dialogue is great, but something about the narration just irked me. The writing feels like a report rather than a narrative, and the sentences seem kind of clumsy. However, this is an ARC, so it might be polished up before publication. The romance is slight and definitely not steamy at all - it's real-life and sweet.

Overall, this is a great story and I'd recommend it to anyone, especially for kids who struggle with identity after being diagnosed with a life-changing disease or similar scenario.

Brave Enough

Brave Enough by Kati Gardner

Published by Flux

August 21 2018

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dance is Cason's life; she eats, sleeps and breathes it. So naturally she ignores pain and pushes past it. It's part of what makes her great. Until it's what changes her life. Davis can relate to life altering circumstances. He beat cancer but his drug addiction almost beat him. Cason doesn't just walk into Davis' life, she barrels head first and at a time when they both need a friend the most. Can these two beat the odds and be just brave enough to overcome their personal and collective battles?

I generally, as a rule of thumb, steer away from anything where the "c word" is involved. Cancer is a pure evil that took my dad from me just after his 50th birthday. The wounds are still fresh, tearing away at me at unexpected moments. However, I felt ready to tackle Brave Enough. I mean, just take a look at that cover!
I took today to sit with my pain, unsure of the effect this book may have on me. Kati Gardner created a beautiful story of pain, unknowing and fear coupled with love, longing and bravery. While I didn't quite "connect" with the characters - the note the author left at the end of the book should be taken into account. "When I was a teenager and reading every book I could get my hands on, I was desperate for a girl that looked like me. For a girl who had cancer and lived. And it was really hard to come by. So, I wrote one." After reading that, I believe this book could indeed help the person who needs it most.


If you're looking for a book with inspiration to change your circumstance or in need of a bit of hope, pick up Brave Enough. It may be just the book to uplift you.



I received a copy of Brave Enough from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I received this book for free from Netgalley and publisher/author in exchange for a honest review.

This book is about 2 young people that come together and find the strength the help each and learn to depend on one another.

This story is gripping and found it to really hit home. There are young people in life that suffer and are forced to do things they don't want to do but being young, they have to conform to those around them. True friendship is something everyone needs and they journey they go through is a story worth telling.

This author did amazing job on this book. I would highly recommend reading this book.

Thank you so much Netgalley for the ARC of Brave. This was beautifully written and heartbreaking all at the same time. Aspiring dancer Cason Martin is diagnosed with cancer and her dreams of being a professional dancer are destroyed.
It’s a coping story and a different side of cancer than what I am used to reading. Instead of focusing on the treatments , it’s focused on the emotional toll. The denial, the grief, the feeling of helplessness. But it also talks about the hope, the friendships, the relationships that are formed and even healed.
Fantastic read!

This was a beautiful story about cancer and drug addiction. This book is about Cason Martin and Davis Channing.

Cason is the youngest Ballerina in the Atlanta Ballet Conservatory, but her life 180 degrees when she was diagnosed with bone cancer. Davis is a cancer survivor but his addiction to drugs almost killed him.

7 months after being sober and sentenced to community service at the cancer ward once where he was treated, he meets Cason where she is also being treated.

This book is as real as it can get. The struggles faced by both of them are real. Davis is almost on the brink of losing it and going back to drugs and Cason, loses hope after she is diagnosed with cancer until she meets Mari and all of Davis’ other friends.

Cason’s mother has stopped being a mother to Cason and only plays the role of her dance director. Kati Gardner has pictured an estranged mother and daughter finding their way back to each other in the midst of fighting cancer.

See how Cason and Davis find happiness and solitude in each other in this book. It is supposed to hit stores on 21st Aug 2018.

#BraveEnough #NetGalley

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Nirth Star Editins for an ARC of Brave Enough in return for my honest review.

I loved this book, the characters where realistic and likeable (mostly). The plot flowed really well and recolvedanround the main themes of Teenage Cancer, Drug addiction and relationships.
I devoured this book in a day, I could not put it down. It bought me smiles and many tears as I gunned for the characters to be brave and be their best. I highly recommend this wonderful story.

Thank you so much Kati Gardner for realising a gap in teen fiction and closing that gap with your wonderful words. I am sure you will be an inspiration to many and I hope this book gets recommended far amd wide. I will be recommending that my daughters school get copies .

I give this wonderful book 4 .5 stars.

* Thank you to NetGalley for e-ARC in exchange for an honest review *
This book follows 2 characters Cason and Davis, both of which are dealing with incrediable hardships. Cason has just been diagnosed with cancer and Davis is dealing with a drug addiction. We get to see their individual struggles and how their relationship wavers.
I really liked this book. It was a fast read full of emotion and provided excellent connection to the characters. Not to mention the cover is gorgeous.

So I have to start by saying I am obsessed with the cover of this book. It drew me in right away and made me want to immediately start reading! The cover did not disappoint. When you hear its a book about teenagers with cancer, it's easy to assume it will be a two teens who have cancer, fall in love, they struggle through chemo together, and either one or both dies in the end. This book was very different from the norms.

I loved that each character had their own struggle. I loved that struggled together, and at certain times they struggled on their own. It felt like a much more realistic story as you felt their pain, loss, disappointments, gains, and happiness. I am a sucker for books involving ballet (not sure why, I don't have a graceful bone in my body!) but I really enjoyed seeing Cason blossom through her difficulties.

It's easy to tell a story where the addict quits and never touches drugs again, never thinks about it, is just done completely the second they decide to be sober. It's easy to tell a story where the ballerina who succumbs to cancer in her leg falls into a depressive mess. I loved the author's take on leading these characters through their individual issues and letting their emotions feel realistic instead of picture perfect.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Four Stars
Brave Enough follows Cason, a ballerina who has Ewings and it turned her shin bones to mush, and Davis who suffered from cancer and also drug addiction. His main struggle through the actual novel is his addiction and staying sober.

After about the half way point of this book I was in a constant state of tears. The author did a fantastic job at writing Cason's frustrations and pain at the fact she won't dance or believes she will never dance. And the frustration and despair at losing her leg.
The author also did an amazing job writing Davis's struggle. The old elements from his past tempting him. His own brain tempting him.

The characters felt so real to me. This book was super emotional and honestly tore my heart out and stomped on it a bunch.

Okay though. The end of this novel just destroyed my soul. It was so good and full of hope.
This book is good for a light (but emotionally heavy) read. The writing was nice and flowed well.

When reviewing books by a person with a disability it can be easy to accidently fall into an ableist mindset and share how inspirational the book was or how strong the characters are, but after reading Kati Gardner's Brave Enough all I can say is how sweet, honest and heartwarming this book is to read. This book is not inspirational, Cason, Davis and Marti are all so wholesome and whole heartedly themselves which is heartwarming to read. They are true to themselves in every selfish and caring second, through the best and worst of cancer. Cason, Davis and Marti are all at different stages of recovery from cancer, addition and just being alive in general. This book is so honest and genuine with Cason and her mother learning how to navigate their new relationship to each other and her new friendship with Davis. This book shows how Cason's injury doesn't close up one world but opens her up to a new world of friendship, fun and summer camp. This book takes everyone where they are and is able to just spread happiness and ease. I could easily recognize myself in the characters, Kati Gardner is able to show Cason at her worst and best and shows that you don't have to be strong all the time to be brave. My favorite part was the way that summer camp was so exciting, I happily went to summer music camp all through high school and it made me happy for others to see how summer camp is not just for elementary school kids. Even though this book was really enjoyable to read there were some parts that felt a little too perfect. Cason, Davis and Marti all come from affluent parts of Georgia, they are all white and they do not have to worry at all about healthcare costs or financial repercussions. Sadly this is a worry that many people who have health issues struggle with and so it would have been great to see that side incorporated in the book. This does not take away from the rest of the book but is just something that should be acknowledged and kept in mind while reading. A topic that this book handles great is addiction. After surviving cancer, Davis also works to recover from his drug addiction, he has been clean for a year but still struggles to leave the impulses and that life behind, this book switches between Davis and Cason's point of view. When it is from Davis' point of view, he shows how hard he fights the addiction and the way it affects his relationships with those around him. I find that addiction is not often discusses and presented in this way, in most books it seems that the fight is to get into rehab, but Davis shows what life after rehab is like. Overall, this is just such a great book about friendship and the trails and tribulations of life and summer camp. I would highly recommend this book if you want great characters and a great story.

Wow. I just finished this book a few minutes ago, and I'm sitting here in a puddle of tears! I was so incredibly moved by this powerful tale of two young people, Cason and Davis, who are trying to put themselves back together after life-changing events--cancer and drug addiction. The heart of this book is truly the journey the characters go on, the struggles they endure, and their fight for survival. I was blown away by this raw and realistic look at how we all get dealt bad hands in life, and we all have to decide if we're going to be brave enough to keep on fighting. I think a lot of teens will really relate to this book and I whole-heartedly recommend it! A gorgeous debut by Gardner!

First of all this cover is absolutely stunning, I could see this being a cover buy for many people. However I think they will be pleasantly surprised by whats underneath it. Cason is a dancer, and its literally her entire life, so when she finds out she has cancer and she may never dance again it wrecks her. She meets Davis who's a cancer survivor and an recoding addict. In a different world these two would have nothing in common but thrust together under these circumstances their relationship blooms. I really loved this story even though at times I could not stand Cason. Also her mother was completely unlikeable for the majority of the story. I think the author did a good job of balancing the serious nature of the story with hope. Cancer stories tend to be heavy and hard to read, but I did not find that with story.

It follows the story of two young adults Davis and Cason. Davis was an ex-cancer patient now struggling with addiction who also works as a volunteer. Cason, with big dreams of performing ballet in front of hundreds of people to showcase her talent. Shatters when she was brought to the hospital to find out something wrong with her leg. Their worlds collide, what happens next?

It is told under Cason and Davis alternative point-of-view. Each character struggles and depth of thought were excellently displayed. Despite that depth, it was not at all difficult with each switch of point-of-view. Which immediately made me capture my feelings for them at 12% of the book. Not only for the two. But for everyone at the clinic, therapy, they were all hard-butt and I love Mari. (Wish’d get her own book.)

That depth I was talking about. It was profound. Davis battling addiction had me crying and rooting for him. And when I say crying~I really was, salty water stuff was coming out of my eyes. Then there was Cason too making it a sobfest. All I can say is that the way their story was written is driven by the person’s character. And boy it was excellently laid out for the readers to read and devour upon. Each intricacy was translated thoughtfully moving.

I admire both characters for being brave enough to go through it all. Just because the book ended the struggles ends too. It doesn’t; there are still battles to come. The portrayal of Cason and Davis character’s were fervently authentic. Surely a story I won’t be forgetting.

A demerit: All of the mention about how fun Camp Chemo it got me stoked on a detailed event of the said camp. I was expecting then, only to read scenarios that felt brief and rushed.

But overall, Brave Enough was an amaong red with such authenticity, hope and love.

"Are you ready to be remarkable?"

Cason Martin is a ballerina who's been hiding an injury that's much worse then it seems. Davis Channing survived cancer but nearly lost his life to drug addiction. Now their worlds are colliding and they must figure out if they're brave enough. Can Davis get away from his drug addicted ex girlfriend? How will Cason deal with the possibility of never dancing again?
I received an advanced ebook version of this book which comes out August 21st. When I saw the cover on netgalley it drew me in and I wanted to read this book. Upon finishing the book I can say that the story is just as wonderful as the cover design. The only other book I think I've read dealing with cancer is The Fault in Our Stars. So it was nice to see another book dealing with this tricky subject.
I really like how the characters help each other through rough times. I really connected with this book, even though I haven't dealt with cancer I have dealt with glaucoma since the age of seven and had 14 surgeries. So it was nice to see the strength and sadness of surgery and recovery portrayed in this book. I would highly recommend checking it out and I'll likely be picking up a finished copy in August!I

I was torn between four and five stars for this one, but I completely lost myself in the story while reading, so I decided it deserved the full five.

Though it was a fluffy and cute contemporary, there were also some more serious topics which were dealt with, and I appreciated that.

It deals with cancer more so than nearly any other book I've read. And the author has experience. She gets it, and that definitely comes across in the book.

It also dealt with drug addiction. This was very new for me. I mean, I knew that it happened, but I didn't get it until now. This book helped me understand so much more what people will go through, and I am so appreciative that this book went there and dealt with the topic.

What I did not appreciate was the insta-love. I say that I hate it all the time, but if I'm honest here I really don't mind if it's done well. However, in this book I did find it a bit jarring. It didn't feel like love at first sight, it was like love at third sight or something. So not long enough for either one to have a reason to like each other, but not like the destiny meet-cute which I thought was a bit strange.

I also wasn't the biggest fan of Cason. I feel like I could have liked her, if I got to know more of her personality earlier on. I get that dancing is a big part of her life, and that was something I really enjoyed in this book, but it is not the only element to her character, and I wish we got to know other stuff about her as well.

But overall, the ship was so so so so so so CUTE and I was absolutely in love, so though I can say these things now that I've had a day to think about this book, I was in love the entire time I was reading, which is EXACTLY what I look for in a book, so that was absolutely NAILED!!

Overall, loved it, highly recommend, can't wait for a realease date! 100% worth that cover!

I loved Brave Enough. Cason deals with pressure and stress all her life as a dancer with her mom as the director were she practices. During the biggest audition of her life she has the absolute worst pain and damages her knee which ultimately leads to her diagnosis of cancer and subsequent treatment. Cason meets so many incredible people in her life and learns that, even though she has faces many struggles and tribulations, she is still a dancer. I loved that the author had genuine experience on the topic and thank her for writing about something so real and giving the characters such personality.

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley. Thank you!

Thank you North Star Editions and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Brave Enough tackles the hardships of not just the two main teen characters but their family, friends and the people who are there to support and heal them, about Cancer And Drugs, about falling and loosing hope, loosing their way, getting back up, finding their courage and dreams and finding each other and being brave. The struggles were so real you'll cry when they cry. I just didnt like the part where he always says he needs a hit, I already feel his struggles, the stress building up the need for him to use, I guess the use of 'I need a hit' every single time is an excess. Aside from that it's a good read for me. It's just a short read, but it still showed the parents struggle. I'm also glad that it shows how the team of healthcare providers felt, that they also struggle, that they're happy saving ones life and also in pain if they loose the battle.
So there, it's not a long read but it touched a lot of surface. I recommend for you to read this book.

Brave Enough by Kati Gardner is the kind of book my heart sings for. It is the kind of book where I, a disabled teenager, belongs.
I cannot express how cathartic and good was this book for my soul. We discover Carson, a former classical dancer who is diagnosed with a bones cancer which stops her future career as a ballerina and shatters her dream in pieces, and Davis, a cancer survivor fighting against a drug addiction.
This novel explores so many questions: disabilities, future, relationship between mother and daughter, addiction, responsibility, ambition.
Kati Gardner gets it, okay. She gets it because she is it. She is disabled and she is a cancer survivor. She knows and she has felt any of Carson’s emotions: her pain and her self-hatred, her fear and her disgust for her disability, for her own body.
I felt it too, I felt it so much.

This topic is really hard for me. This book really great. Author did an amazing job. I cried a lot while reading it. It is meaningful, realistic and amazing. Everyone should read this.

WOW< WOW< WOW> I was not sure what to expect, but I can tell you that this is completely different and a very very special story. The reader will fall in love with the heroine early on and be rooting for her as she discovers herself and learns to heal and live again. The authors choice to alternate narrators only adds to the depth of the story. Cancer, addition, and the loss of dreams might be too much for one book, but in this case it is not. The characters that help our hero and heroine on their journey have depth and add much nto the story. The is a truly beautiful book about surviving the worst hurdles and rising above them to soar. I strongly recommend this book to readers!

I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review. This is an inspiring and heartwarming story of characters facing real life challenges.It's a beautiful story that grips you from page one. Wonderful character development. Good for young adults and up. For fans of Lurlene McDaniel's Dawn Rochelle series.

"Brave Enough" deals with childhood cancer with an honesty and cautious optimism that Kati Gardner, a childhood cancer survivor herself, makes believable. Gardner does not simplify her characters to their struggle with cancer, but rather creates fully develop individuals - whose struggle with cancer is only one component. Unlike other books in the genre, it doesn't feel that cancer is being exploited to create a highly emotive book. Rather, Gardner is able to tell a moving YA story in a way that feels real. Highly recommend!

I received an advanced reader copy of this book and it was Wow. This was a very well written book to show you the hardships of things people (including teens and children) face. At times the book was just heartbreaking but if you stick through the heartbreak it is so worth the read. As a dancer myself with health problems that have the ability to alter my dancing as I know it this is exactly the book I needed to read at just the right time. I highly recommend this book.

Plot:
This wasn’t a super plot based book, it was mainly revolved around what the characters have went through and what they’re currently going through. It was so beautifully sad seeing Cason fight her cancer, and find the purpose of her life outside of her dancing. The author wrote the addiction that Davis was going through perfectly. She showed how anything would trigger his addiction, not just a major event.
Characters:
I loved both Cason and Davis and their growth throughout this book. This isn’t revolved around their relationship, but right off the bat they start liking each other. If we’re being honest, it was a little bit awkward between them, since they didn’t really have a backstory together, they just kind of start liking each other. But they also share the battle for cancer, and overcoming it. It was beautiful seeing both of them progress together and separately through the battles they faced.
Overall:
This story was beautifully written, and I think it deserves more hype. It really opened my eyes to the fight against addiction and cancer. Please do yourself a favor and pick this up. And LOOK AT THAT COVER HOLY MOLY.

Okie first off, the cover to this is stunning. Its one of the most beautiful ones that I have seen in a while.

The book follows Cason and Davies as the main character their stories are remarkable. Cason is a ballerina that gets diagnosed with Bone Cancer, and Davies is the one that is a cancer survivor and also recovering from an addiction to drugs.

Being in the heads of both of these two people an getting to see how they are with having cancer and dealing with addiction was amazing.

We get to see Cason’s life as a high school student and her love of dance. She is a ballerina that is preparing for her audition for the American Ballet Theater. She only wants to dance and doesn’t have time for anything else. She’s not going to let the pain in her knee stop since she thinks is just a sprain. When she does find out what it truly is it changes everything.

Davis is one of the lucky ones that was able to conquer cancer, but now he has a different type of problem. He has an addiction. He has to do community service at the hospital that he got treaded at a few years ago. Davis has an ex-girlfriend who I found to be rather annoying because she would always come at the worst times for Davis asking for help/money.

Cason is getting chemo at the hospital where Davis is doing his community service and when they meet you can tell there is an instant connection. Even with the both of them having their own stories they still find love in one another, aside from one another knowing what the other is going through.

Kati wrote an outstanding book. I’m surprised that this was her debut book. I can’t wait to see what other works she has up her sleeve. I was able to connect and feel for these characters and you don’t always have that happen with this type of book. At the end of the book we get to know that this was something that actually happened to Kati just as Cason. Finding that out blew me away.

With this book being one that deals with cancer/depression it may not be a book for everyone.

*I received this book in exchange for an honest review form Netgalley and the publisher. *

Very compelling story! The balance of warm-heartedness and serious themes was so well done. I would definitely recommend, especially for the YA reader!

I loved this YA book about Cason, a dancer who deals with leg cancer..

Things I loved
--The character Davis. He was probably the most fleshed out and the parts about his drug abuse were very real.
--Cason's journey with cancer. The author herself dealt with childhood cancer and her very realistic, authentic portrayal made those pages come alive.
--Overall the plot was very good/a great YA read.
--The title is great.

The things I wish were done differently...
--I wanted more of the backstory before we jumped right into Cason's diagnosis. There was a lot of Cason's "internal dialogue" about being a great dancer but we didn't really get to see that except for a tiny bit at the very beginning. That beginning scene where she auditions is amazing. I wanted to know what happened there. I didn't want to flash forward so much and so quickly.
---I felt like the mom was a shell of a character who changed her ways too quickly/easily.
--The story was so fast paced. I wanted the author to slow down and really dig deeper because I liked all the characters and wanted more of them, instead of surface level observations.

3.5 starts, would definitely recommend!
Thank you NetGalley and publisher North Star Editions for the advance copy!

Kati Gardner is bringing the reader an endearing coming of age contemporary romance following Cason and Davis. These two young adults that had very lives for multiple reasons. Lives change when your doctor tells you that you have cancer, but to feel like you have lost who you are as well as your dreams and the future that was laid out before you.. This book leaves the reader full of hope, when there was not a lot to find while reading stories of youth who were dealt really bad hands of Uno. I think this book is perfect for fans of John Green and like YA stories that have a message. I am so glad that I received an ARC from Netgalley and get the privilege to tell people that they should pick this up and they will not regret it.

**This book was provided to me as an advanced reader copy from Netgalley. All views contained within this review are my own.**

Brave Enough features a young woman named Cason, and a young man named Davis. Cason has everything ahead of her, until suddenly her dreams have been shattered. Davis is recovering, and finding his own dreams. The two connect, and help each other through their separate, but intertwined trials.

This was a quick, emotional read. The writing was very good, though there were lots of moments that should have been surprising, but were not. I feel as though the portrayal of Cason and Davis was very good, but none of the other characters seemed to have any real depth to them. They were simply plot fodder.

Overall, an enjoyable read that I would recommend to someone looking for something easy, but emotional.

I requested Brave Enough on NetGalley because of the beautiful cover. I don’t even remember if I read the summary. If I had, I don’t know if I would have requested it. Most of the time with books about cancer and sick kids, I find that the authors very rarely have any idea what they’re talking about. They’re usually written by able-bodied people who think they’ve done enough research. I was about 30% into Brave Enough when I realized that the author must be disabled herself.

I’ve never had cancer, but I’ve been disabled my entire life. I spent most of my childhood in a children’s hospital and the rest of the time at doctor appointments. I would go to infusion centers monthly. So I was very skeptical going into this book. I’ve read dozens of books by able-bodied authors who think they know what they’re talking about, when they really don’t.

The moment I realized that this book might be different was when a child life specialist was introduced. I have never seen one in a book, but have met many in real life. I actually wanted to be one for the majority of my teen years.

I didn’t care too much about the romance in the book, but I really enjoyed each of the characters separate stories.

I could feel Cason’s heartbreak over losing her leg. I can relate to so many things that she had to go through. When Cason tried to shower by herself and fell was one of the things I understood all too well. That loss of independence and privacy is devastating. One thing that really made me chuckle was how much Cason loathed her physical therapist. It’s absolutely something I relate with. I had to learn how to walk again when I was 13, which involved seeing a physical therapist 3-4 times a week for months. It was the most frustrated and angry I’ve ever been. I was thankful when it was all over though.

I couldn’t relate as much to Davis’s addiction, but I appreciate how visceral the author wrote him. Addiction is also a very real problem that so many chronically ill/disabled patients have.

One thing that really really got to me was one of the characters talking about how able-bodied people want to call someone who’s disabled ‘an inspiration’ for doing anything they think we shouldn’t be able to do. That’s one of the my biggest pet peeves. I don’t want to be an inspiration to any able-bodied people.

I really did not like Cason’s mom in the beginning. I would say she was one of the worst parents I’ve read in YA. Luckily, she changed a lot throughout the book and was a great mother by the end.

In the author’s note Gardner talks about having childhood cancer and having her leg amputated at the age of eight. She also talks about how desperate she was to find a character like herself. I’m intensely thankful she decided to write this book.

I really recommend this book to those who are disabled. It’s one of the best representations I’ve ever seen. Those who are not will also do good to read it as it would give them an insight into the life so many live.

All her life, the only thing Cason Martin has known is dancing. She's been working toward one goal--becoming a ballerina in a dancing studio in New York. But lately, Cason's been having trouble with her leg, an injury that she's done her best to hide from everyone. When the injury gets to be too much, Cason learns that it was hiding something much more sinister: she has an aggressive form of cancer.



First of all, the cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous. It was one of the reasons I requested it from Net Galley (I know, I know, don't judge a book by its cover. But how can you not like this one?). Luckily, the story ends up being just as beautiful as the cover. Throughout the novel, we switch between Cason's and Davis's points of view. Cason is just starting her cancer journey, where Davis is in remission from his, now recovering from a drug addiction. The two meet, and inevitably, romance brews.



Overall, not much plot wise happened in the book; it was a much more character driven story. While I'm all for character driven books, adding a plot point or two would have pushed this book even further. However, Cason's voice in particular felt so authentic that the extra plot wasn't completely necessary.



The author herself is a cancer survivor, and she said that she wanted to write a book that reflected her own experiences. Her book stands out from other cancer young adult texts, especially since it is filled with such hope; hope that is infectious long after the book has ended.



All in all, a deeply character driven book that will tug at your heartstrings the entire time.

Like I expected, this novel was hard to get through. Not because I didn't like it - on the contrary - but because there are a lot of hard topics present. It starts with cancer, with Cason realizing she won't be the ballerina she's always wanted to be. She falls into a depression and struggles to get out.
Then we have Davis who used to have cancer. Although he doesn't anymore, that doesn't mean his life is all rainbows and butterflies. On the contrary. He's a recovering drug addict.

Especially being in Davis' head, reading his POV, was very hard on me because you can feel his struggle to stay sober. Whenever things go wrong and even when they don't, his brain tries to convince him he needs that high - if only for one more time.

I love how Brave Enough made me feel, made me understand to some extent what these people are going through. Sure, it isn't the same for everyone but at least now.. Now I have somewhat of an idea of the things going through their head and being able to say that after reading a book reminds me why I love reading contemporary novels.

There's only one thing I struggled with and that's how there's a bit of insta-love going on. More like an insta-crush, but still. I felt like there should've been more build-up to Cason and Davis' feelings instead of it feeling like an instant connection. For me, that would've added more to the story but I can see how others wouldn't be bothered by this at all.

4,5!