The Thing with Feathers is a brilliant coming of age story. What's more is the main character isn't the same cookie cutter kind of YA heroine. Or she isn't exactly like them anyway. Emilie is your every day teenage girl, but for one thing. She has epilepsy. It's because of this that Emilie has spent her formative years homeschooling instead of immersed in a traditional school environment.

Living her fairly secluded life suits Emilie. She enjoys studying on her own in her pjs, reading her books, and watching an inordinate amount of movies. Plus she has her therapy dog Hitch, her mom, and the little girl next door to keep her company. What more could she ask for?

Naturally this is the part of the story where everything gets set on its axis and Emilie finds herself at odds with everything she's come to depend on in life- comfortable anonymity. At the strong suggestion of her therapist, Emilie unwillingly transfers from her life of private solitude to the halls of the area's public high school where her therapist believes she will find some much needed connection to the outside world.

For Emilie this is so far beyond her comfort zone she can't even see straight. To be forced into a new environment where everyone is a stranger and she might have a seizure therefore outing herself in front of the whole student body, well that just doesn't appeal to her at all. Yet if she doesn't at least give it a shot she her mom won't even consider going against the doctor's orders.

Emilie must find it within herself to bravely confront her issues and fears head on. If she makes a few friends in the process that won't be so bad, she thinks. She just has to keep herself under the radar for a few months, then mom will let her transfer out. Should be easy enough; that is until she discovers she might actually be liking it. Can she pull it off and blend, simply be like everybody else? What about her epilepsy? Can she gather the courage to share her deepest, darkest secret with those around her? And if so, what will they think of her once she does?

The Thing with Feathers is a quick paced read sure to delight whether you fall into the marketed YA category or not. Be certain to check it out!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced review copy. 🙂

When Emilie Day’s mother forces her to attend high school after years of homeschooling, she’s convinced her life is over. She was perfectly content with hanging out in her PJs with her service dog as her friend, occasionally hanging out with the little girl next door.
The last thing she wants to do is hang out with a bunch of teenagers who view her as a freak because of her epilepsy. What if she has a seizure and embarrasses herself?
Yet, despite her best efforts, a couple students manage to penetrate the wall Emilie builds around herself.
This book was a delightful surprise for me. I loved Emilie’s sarcastic edge to the thoughts and comments she (mostly) keeps to herself. She’s struggling with the loss of her father, her illness, and being forced into a world she wants no part of. When she opens herself up just a little, there is the smallest light in her dreary life and you want it to grow.
Yes, McCall Hoyle uses some familiar high school clichés—Emilie even notes them through movie references—but those are quickly dispelled as Emilie gets to know her fellow classmates better.
This book is about living, about friendships, first loves, and family. It’s about letting go of anger and fear and believing there’s more to life and reaching for it. A wonderful and uplifting debut novel for readers looking for clean YA fiction.
***I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

The Thing With Feathers is a lovely debut, which ties in Emily Dickinson poetry in a really fun way. When her mother insists she return to public school, Emilie Day is wary of how her seizure disorder will affect her in a new environment, and isn't quite sure how to navigate the social landscape of high school after years at home. Emilie's voice was very compelling, and the writing is great all around. I think teens will find Emilie instantly relatable.

Plus, Chatham is very swoony ;)

I haven’t seen too many books out there about epilepsy, so I was so glad to discover The Thing with Feathers, a novel that depicts this condition in a realistic way. I loved the complexity of the story and the main character’s personality. However the book would have been much better without the insta-love and clichés. This is still an enjoyable story, though, and I would recommend it to those interested in learning about what it’s like to live with epilepsy.

This book is such realistic depiction of life with epilepsy! It tells the story of a girl who attends public school for the first time after years of homeschooling. She is afraid to attend in case she has a seizure at school and is afraid to tell anyone about her condition in case they judge her. The Thing with Feathers does an excellent job depicting what living with epilepsy is like and tackles some other serious topics along the way. This is such an inspiring read that is sure to stick with the reader.

I loved the main character, Emilie. She is an English nerd, and she is just so relatable. I loved her sassy and sarcastic attitude and her ability to stay strong. Emilie has some very real fears about opening up to new people, making her a complex character. I loved watching her slowly make friends with classmates and adjust to public school. Emilie is definitely a character who is easy to root for.

My only issue with this book is the plot. The “homeschooled girl forced to go to public school” is a concept that I see so often, and with a story like this one, I would have preferred something less tired. There are also quite a few clichés in the book, not only with the plot, but with the characters as well. For example, the first student Emilie meets is your typical blond heartthrob. This results in insta-love, which takes away from such an inspiring story. I really would have enjoyed this book a lot more if it was less clichéd.

The Thing with Feathers is an inspiring read about a girl living with epilepsy. I loved the main character and her reliability. While this is an enjoyable story, the numerous clichés take away from the overall effect, and the book would have been better without an overused concept.

DNF at 20% due to slow pace and the use of the stereotypical mean girl who was used to compare against the MC and make her look better

I really enjoyed reading this book about hope and perseverance. It reiterated that everyone has their own struggles that they may be hiding from the world, but sometimes they are best shared so others can support us and ensure our safety.

Emilie Day has been homeschooled since her dad died and she was diagnosed with epilepsy. Her best friend is her seizure dog. Then her mother enrolls her in public school, and Emilie is forced to interact with the world. In addition to being befriended by Ayla who wants her to join the staff of the school literary magazine, she is paired with star basketball player Chatham York for a project on Emily Dickinson and he talks her into tutoring him. Now she must decide whether to confide in them about her condition or keep silent. As she begins to recognize that everyone has issues (Ayla’s mother abandoned her and Chatham’s sister is autistic), Emilie takes a leap toward friendship and first love.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.
Love, Love, Love this book. Best teen book that I have read in 2017. This had great writing, great story, and great characters. I really cared about what was going to happen and I was really involved in the side stories too. Great!!!!

I liked this book. It wasn't amazing, but it was different and enjoyable. Seeing the world through the eyes of a disabled teen--especially one who is not visibly disabled--is a not-common-enough theme in YA literature. The intersections of mourning, grief, and balancing life with epilepsy where a refreshing change in the ridiculously sad-saturated world of teen novels. Yay for bright glimmers of hope, golden retrievers, and protagonists realizing that other people are flawed too.

The romance was a little annoying at times, but it was bearable even for me, a vehemently anti teen romance curmudgeon.

Emilie has been seizure free for three months, so her mom and doctors have decided it is time for her to transition back into public school. Emilie is nervous about this change because she doesn't want to be ostracized for her condition and she can't take her best friend and seizure dog with her. Emilie soon finds herself experiencing the normal teenage life, but she hasn't told anyone about her epilepsy and she fears that the others will find out and judge her. Emilie will need to learn to trust if she wants to continue to grow.

This was a solid fluffy novel. It offered several meaty layers to the plot, but they could have been developed better. I did enjoy the characters and the easy flow of the book.

'The Thing With Feathers' pulled me in whether I wanted to be pulled in or not.

Epilepsy is a tricky subject to write about, and as someone with a parent who has epilepsy, I avoided reading this book. I was afraid I'd read it and say, "Ugh, this is so inaccurate."

The issue is, epilepsy is so shrouded in mystery that one person's "Ugh," could be another person's, "OMG, that's my life!"

Give 'The Thing With Feathers' a shot, if it piques your interest at all.

I'm sticking to my 4-star guns, though, only because the main character does that thing. That thing a lot of YA authors assume teens do, where she's constantly going on about how she doesn't want to make connections with people, because she totally hates the idea of having human connections and friends and a life. I understand that, especially with something like epilepsy, making friends or connections can be scary. But there's a difference between portraying a character as being scared of making friends, and just constantly repeating "I CAN'T have friends, because I'm different."

Overall, though, this story is heartwarming. The subject is important. Give it a shot.

The Thing With Feathers is a sweet and simple story of new experiences, facing fears, and learning to reach out and trust others.

Emilie Day is beginning her first day at public high school after years of being home schooled. Her mother believes school will be good for Emilie's emotional and social well being - sure, if you don't take into account all the things that could go wrong. Emilie is worried that her new classmates will find out about her epilepsy - but worse would be if she has a seizure at school in front of everyone. Determined to keep apart from everyone, Emilie isn't prepared for her charming classmate Chatham York or the friendly girls from the lit mag. Soon, Emilie will have to chose if hiding her secret is worth risking her new-found friendships.

The Thing With Feathers gives young adults with epilepsy an important voice in this novel. It is wonderful to see it so openly discussed. I can totally understand Emilie's feelings of fear and her reluctance to disclose her diagnosis to her classmates. High school is brutal. But Emilie's preconceived ideas that everyone else has the perfect life while she alone is different are quickly challenged. As she opens up to her classmates, she learns that they too face broken families, heartbreak, or other challenges.

Chatham is your stereotypical YA golden boy - blond, surfer, and well liked by all. He very quickly charms Emilie. Their attraction is pretty instantaneous, which develops as they work together on their English project. Unfortunately, as Emilie keeps her secret from him for so long, it is hard not to feel as if their relationship was founded on half-truths and didn't have the depth it could have.

In addition to her fear about exposing her epilepsy, Emilie struggles with anxiety, grief over losing her father to cancer three years ago, and her changing relationship with her mother. Emily Dickinson's poetry is referenced a lot, drawing parallels between her and Emilie. I enjoyed Emilie's grand gesture at the end, but would have loved if this was followed by more intimate discussions with her friends to repair the bonds of trust.

The Thing with Feathers was a very quick read, clean, and suitable for young adult readers of all ages.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

This is an amazing book, I've never read a book like this before. The characters and the whole concept of the book were great.

High school junior Emilie will no longer be homeschooled instead she will start public school. Now she lives in fear of having a seizure in front of everyone. Regardless of her fear, she still promises her mom that she will try public school for three months. Hopefully she can keep her epilepsy to herself and no one else will find out. While in public school she becomes friends with Chatham who she is partnered with for an English project and Ayla the leader of the lit mag. Emilie soon discovers there is more to life than just books and movies. The writer creates a beautiful setting that takes place along the North Carolina coast. The story line and character are well meshed together creating an amazing story of love, friendship and hardships. This book will hold your attention until the last page. A true must read!

This was an interesting look into the life of someone with epilepsy. Prior to this, I didn't think of how hard it would be for a teen to have this complication in his or her life, maybe because I grew up with a couple people with epilepsy, so it never seemed like a strange thing to me. Regardless, I liked Emilie's uncertainty about opening her life to people beyond her family and her doctors. The only reason this wasn't five stars for me was because Chatham's interest in Emilie seemed too quick and a bit contrived. This will be a sure mover in my library and is on my purchase list.

---

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


---

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


---

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


---

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


---

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

Thank You Net Galley for the free ARC.

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

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

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