Life Support

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Pub Date 16 Feb 2022 | Archive Date 02 Aug 2022

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Description

Every bite Kendra takes is a battle. Rosie can’t control her mouth. Alex struggles to keep his head above water. Tyler’s world has come crashing to his feet. Ricky’s anger threatens to spill over.

Told through a series of shifting perspectives, five strangers, nothing but blurred faces in a crowded high school hallway, come together in search of solace, support, and comfort. Together, they help each other realize that although life may not be perfect, the world around them can still fall perfectly into place.

But one of them may be beyond help. Will they be able to reach out in time to pull their friend out of the darkness, or are they already too late?

Every bite Kendra takes is a battle. Rosie can’t control her mouth. Alex struggles to keep his head above water. Tyler’s world has come crashing to his feet. Ricky’s anger threatens to spill over.

...


Advance Praise

“Highly entertaining. I couldn’t put it down!”

-Jim Lewis, author

“With her seemingly effortless command of the English language and her ability to write characters who feel like real people, Life Support drew me in. Looking forward to what else Ms. McKnight has in store for us.”

-Cathy Greco

In this modern day Breakfast Club, fate brings together five teenagers suffering from very different personal problems. Through a series of meetings, the newfound friends provide support and advice to one another when they've hit their darkest emotional moments. Told seamlessly through five distinct voices, LIFE SUPPORT was a pleasure to read and had me furiously flipping pages to find out how each character's story resolves. Much respect to Sarah McKnight for tackling such difficult mental emotional issues in such a delicate way. By the end of the book, I was rooting for all five characters, and seriously impressed by how the ending tied all the loose threads together! Two thumbs up!

“Highly entertaining. I couldn’t put it down!”

-Jim Lewis, author

“With her seemingly effortless command of the English language and her ability to write characters who feel like real people...


Available Editions

ISBN 9798430929589
PRICE $3.99 (USD)

Available on NetGalley

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Average rating from 23 members


Featured Reviews

This book is incredible. It is brutally raw and feel incfedibly real, like you are there with the characters - who I loved. There are some hard hitting issues in this book such as child abuse, mental health such as self harm and eating disorders, to name just a few, however I felt these were handled as sensitively as could be and that they are important things to be put in books for teens and young adults as they are very reall issues for many of them. I really liked it.

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TW: child abuse, eating disorders, body shaming, homophobia, self harm

I loved the format of this book. It also reminded me a lot of The Breakfast Club and the Losers Club from Stephen King's IT, which I really enjoyed.

Some of their individual stories were pretty triggering, so I do wanna give a warning in case one of the things I listed above will trigger you.

I could not put this book down. I became so attached to and invested in the characters that I had to keep reading as long as I could so I'd know what would happen to them all. They were all very well-written - as was the whole book - and it just made this a great read. I highly recommend this one!

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The title of the book is spot on. Breakfast Club meets Group Therapy. Five teens struggling with real problems meet by chance and cling together for support during a year of high school. They support one another as they navigate panic attacks, overeating, anorexia, abuse, and bullying. This book reminds the reader of the weight young people carry in today's society and of just how important it is to have a group of supportive friends.

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I want to start by saying that the content warning at the beginning of the book was perfectly written. The author makes it clear that there are sensitive topics in the book that may upset and trigger some readers. Not only that, she makes a point in saying that she cares about the reader more than book sales, so if you are not in the right mental state to read about the issues in the story that is okay. I love the sensitive way the message was written.

This story has a lot going on: an over weight teen, a teen with an eating disorder, lgbtqia, self harm, abusive and alcoholic parents, financial struggles. Basically this book covers any and, just about, every struggle a teenager may go through. What I loved about it is the struggling teens, somehow find each other and form strong bonds and give each other the support they need to work through and face their issues. I feel this is a book that teens and especially parents should read. We can all learn a lot from it.

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An unlikely group of friends comes together to help each other find the light in the darker sides of their respective lives. Mental health is such an important topic that often goes ignored. Sarah McKnight does a great job of highlighting the way words and actions can impact someone, both negatively and positively.

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Life Support by Sarah McKnight is a book about five teenagers that find friendship through their struggles. This book reminds me of a modern day Breakfast Club mixed with the Losers Club from It. There are several trigger warnings for this book: abuse, eating disorders, homophobia, self-harm and suicide attempt. I found that even with these very tough subjects, the author does a fantastic job portraying the characters struggles. I love that friendship is what gets them through everything. The characters are very relatable and likeable and I found myself wanting to know everything about them. I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to be added to your read list!
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

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I was caught by the premise of the book and the title, it sounded like a modern take on The Breakfast Club, with a lot more themes and mental health representation, the book follows the five main characters who meet by chance and begin to develop squad goals/vibes, as they navigate their own and each other’s problems.

There are a number of triggering topics covered throughout this book such as anxiety, panic attacks, eating disorders, abuse, body shaming, homophobia, self-harm and bullying, the author has done a great job in approaching these topics carefully and compassionately, this is definitely a good read for young people (maybe those aged 16-18) to realise that they are not alone and that some of the feelings they are likely to experience are valid.

This book does a fantastic job in highlighting the how important it is to have a group of supportive friends, and family, as it today’s society things are much harder for young people to navigate, especially with the developments and ever-growing social media presence and technology improvement/reliance

I like the way that the book alternates between perspective, giving you various chapters from each character, which I feel really adds to the books pace and the characters development, it’s such a fast paced and well-rounded book, that I was invested in, I needed to know what happened to the characters, it’s definitely a great read and one I would recommend

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My Rating - 4.5 / 5

12am: Finish Book
12:01am: Stare at the ceiling
12:30am: Cry happy tears

My Review:
This is exactly what happened to me when I completed the book. It was fantastic. This book encapsulated all of my emotions into a single volume.
The story revolves around five kids who are all in various situations. This book covers a wide range of mental health topics (including an eating disorder, suicide, and homophobia). This book, in my opinion, discusses these difficult concepts in a digestible manner. I also appreciated that the book began with a disclaimer; it indicated that the author cared about the readers. That is significant.
There were a few punctuation mistakes that I noticed. In addition, the novel was left incomplete. Do Kendra and Alex ever get together? Ricky and Rosie? Is Ricky's father also set free? If that's the case, will he go after the family? Do they disclose the abuse? I really like the novel, however, I wish it had a conclusion.
This book is something I would suggest to everyone who wants to read something important. If you do, I believe this book is ideal for you.

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This book handles some very difficult topics but does it with compassion and understanding, whilst keeping the book enjoyable.
I really liked this book. It’s my first by this author but it won’t be the last. It’s a great young adult book and is relevant and relatable.

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This book tackles tons of different struggling challenges; and it's handled with perfection. All the characters feel so real, the emotions, dialogue, everything is realistic and works perfectly with the theme of the book. The changing perspectives of the main characters is so necessary, and makes reading much more interesting. Making you able to feel and see their emotions, and be able to know them more in depth.

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4.5 stars!

Check trigger warnings before you read this.

I liked stories with themes of mental illness. I find them intriguing and immersive. I find most of them relatable and that's what makes this vividly raw and close to my heart. To sum it all up, it's heartbreakingly beautiful.

Massive thank you to Netgalley for this arc!

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The teenage protagonists in this story all have some issues to contend with in their personal lives - anorexia, body image, sexuality, abuse, poverty - which makes it quite triggering in places but what I appreciated most about the book is the strong emphasis on friendship and the encouragement to feel empathy with others. None of these teens are 'saved' by the adults around them - they save themselves with the help of the random bunch of fellow students they fall into a friendship with. There's an important message about toxic masculinity too and a real understanding of the trials some young people have to go through whilst growing up.

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This is one of the most moving and deepest books I have read in a very long time. These teenagers could have been our own children, friends, nieces or nephews. Their individual stories will just grab you by the heart strings and you will be holding on tight trying to prevent any of them from slipping through.

A young adult could red this book, and they all really should read it, but adults should also read it as an eye opener to what is going on with kids and how some of the basic problems are still out there and still very real.

If these were actually people they would be hero’s in my book. I just can’t find the words to describe how moved i was and how wonderful a job the author did creating these characters and their storylines. Thank to to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing the ARC of this book with me.

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This book covers a wide range of trigger warnings the characters all have a range of issues and it is handled pretty well.

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