S. A. Harazin

I wanted to read Painless from the first time I saw the premise. I am drawn to books about teens with illnesses. I have never read a book about anhydrosis or CIPA, but have seen a House episode. LOL. I am diagnosed with somewhat of the opposite... a neurological condition where my body doesn't process pain signals correctly, and I feel pain more than normal, especially in the muscles. I know that CIPA is much more dangerous because you can get burned and not know it, or be sick and not show more really have indication.

David is an intriguing character and a walking paradox. He has learned so many tricks to keep himself from hurting himself, getting too hot, and to appear somewhat normal. But he balances these things with acts of recklessness.

It is more of an emotional story than I bargained for. I figured some because of his illness, and the hint that his parents had left him. But for me the most heartbreaking and touching part at the same time was his relationship with his grandma, Nanna. She cares so much for him, and has taken care of him. His mom left when David was a baby, and his dad, Nana's son left when he was school aged. There was a certain amount of mystery there, if they couldn't handle him, or somehow he was better off with his grandparents.

His Nana is getting old though, and as the book progresses her dementia gets worse. She still loves him fiercely though, and he does the best to make sure she is getting the best care. Their relationship made me even more emotional because of how close I was with my grandma, and how she raised me for a good part of my life. She also had dementia and it was so sad to watch the decline. Anyways, her lawyer and power of attorney as well as guardian of David as she can't make decisions has made sure that she gets medical care, but also that David has an assistant to make sure he doesn't get too hot since he can't feel it, but also can't sweat to cool down, and help him do injury checks, his bp, pulse, ears, throat, etc.

His best friend and also helper for years is graduating and going to college, so David gets Luna, a nursing assistant hoping to get her PhD. They develop the working relationship first, and then a friendship as she helps him to experience more of life than he has before, but figuring out ways to do it more safely. There is something mysterious about her and I had some theories but none were exactly right. Their relationship was in question for me a lot, but it was nice that a romance wasn't forefront.

I liked the ending in a way, but it was pretty open ended in a few areas. I liked the growth and balance that David reached.

Bottom Line: Emotional story of David learning to balance living his life and keeping himself healthy and safe. Also loved the quality of the relationships in this one. show less

Beautiful story of a young man with a rare disease who decides to live the life he has been given to the best of f his ability. He finds who is true friends are, his true family members, and the people who really love him. He learns that he's not the only person who suffers and the world doesn't revolve around him.
The novel’s early chapters contain short, choppy sentences that move the plot along quickly. I believe this reflects David’s life: slow, cautious, and planned. However, as show more David progresses and learns more about himself and others, the sentence structure changes along with him.

I received an ARC from Net Gallery in exchange for an honest review. show less

"Blood Brothers" has a very compelling plot, hard to put down. Too bad it wasn't a better book.

Several of the secondary characters felt unfinished, like the author hadn't quite decided who she wanted them to be. Their personalities shifted according to the scene the author wanted to write. Backstory was revealed in an odd order for no apparent reason except to mislead the reader. Clay adamantly states that neither he nor Joey drink or do drugs...and yet, the night before the inciting show more incident he drank a 12-pack of beer and Joey didn't comment on it, the next night Joey got extremely drunk at a party, a month earlier Clay smoked part of a joint...all of this is revealed in bits and pieces throughout the story, undermining the "Joey doesn't do drugs" premise from the beginning. An ex-girlfriend Clay writes fondly of in the beginning becomes an unappealing jerk the moment she enters the story, and the narrator's reaction is, "That's Michelle for you," with no explanation or note made of having made this discovery. It's all pretty confusing and, in the end, undermines that compelling plot that keeps the reader plugging away at the book, trying to sort out what actually happened. show less

Reviewed by Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

In BLOOD BROTHERS, S. A. Harazin combines many "teens will love it" elements sure to be a success for the young adult crowd.

Clay and Joey are best friends, even though their lives are quite different. Clay's mother died when he was just a baby, and while he lives with his dad, there's not much interaction between them. He pretty much fends for himself. Joey, on the other hand, has a great family, gets good grades, and has a show more terrific future ahead of him.

One night Joey calls Clay. It is obvious that Joey is not himself. He sounds confused and angry, possibly drunk. When Clay arrives, Joey flies into a mad rage, and while attempting to calm Joey and protect himself, Clay shoves Joey. The incident ends in a 911 call with Joey ending up in the hospital in a coma.

Clay works as a nurses' assistant at the hospital and knows just how bad things look for his friend. The personal guilt combined with the hostility he feels from his best friend's parents make Clay determined to investigate exactly what happened to Joey that night. There was some sort of party. Was Joey really just drunk or was it drugs? And if so, what kind of drugs and where did he get them?

Readers are taken along on the wild ride as Clay tries to solve the mystery, do what he can to keep his friend comfortable, and hang on to his own job. Teens will appreciate that S. A. Harazin writes on a realistic level and doesn't try to baby them. The direct, honest approach will attract teen readers and have them recommending this one to their friends. show less