DNFed it. It was hard to get through and not nearly as interesting as I thought it would be. I wouldn't recommend this to my audience, especially considering I couldn't get through it. The novelty of what happened wore off really quickly and it just fell flat. It didn't hook me or make me want to care about the MC.

I really tried to give it a chance but I couldn't get through this book. The summary sounded so interesting and I was excited to receive a copy, but it wasn't gripping or interesting enough to keep me hooked.

This book was very... strange to me. I really wanted to like it, but it honestly disappointed me in many ways.

This book explores Rosa after she receives a brain transplant so that she now has the body of a different girl. It's a very unique premise and that's one of the reason I was excited when I got approved for the e-galley. Rosa is lost - wondering if she's still her or if Sylvia, her donor, and the original owner of the body she now inhabits, is a part of her that she'll never be able to shake.

"What will I become? If I fall in love or strike a person, will she be doing the loving or hitting, or me? If I sleep with someone, without her consent, could it classify as abuse?"

First off, if you're looking for a book that features a main character with a disability, I suggest venturing elsewhere. There's barely any mention of her life pre-Sylvia.

Yes, I know that the blurb mentions that she gets a new body, but I figured we'd get some information about what state she'd been in before. Instead, there were vague mentions of a "nerve disease" and it seemed like from the first few pages that she was quadriplegic (although she mentions moving her hand slightly?). But after that, she gets the surgery, and there is barely any mention of whatever condition she had. (Of course, the blurb does mention that she's quadriplegic, but it's missing from the actual book).

This is forgivable to an extent, since I gleaned from the blurb that the book wouldn't be about her illness anyway. The real thing that ruined the book for me was the main character and her reckless, dangerous decisions that put her in harm's way time, after time, after time.

This girl clearly had no regard for anything but her "mission". With her new body, she visits the town and friends of her donor and interacts with them, not considering what kind of pain that would put them through. She leaves her hospital, where she was not discharged, without telling her family where she was going, and runs off with this guy she barely knows (though the romance was swoony - we'll get to that later) and doesn't consider her own safety.

I'd call her selfish, but she didn't really care about her mental well-being either. The doctors specifically warn her that finding out a bunch of details about the donor would mess with her psychosis. Does she care? Not really. When she gets dizzy spouts and faints, does she tell her doctors? Nope. [SPOILER: This is apparently explained as side effects of her medication later on, rather than the mental trauma she put herself through but she a) didn't know this at the time and wanted to keep exploring and b) didn't even fully believe it once she found out. END OF SPOILER]

Two things made this book somehwhat enjoyable for me: the ending and the romance.

As I said before, the romance was pretty sweet. Joe is a cute guy, a nice guy, a bit of a pushover, but he really cares about Rosa's well-being. He's also a writer, a journalist to be specific, and I thought that was very cute as well.

The ending helped to salvage this book for me. For the majority of the story, Rosa makes reckless, impulsive, and dangerous decisions, but in the end she finally seems to learn how to think things through. I found myself enjoying the last 15% of this novel, as she starts to make amends with Joe, her family, and herself.

I'm sad that I couldn't enjoy this book. Not only that, but it's pretty forgettable. I'm writing this review just days after finishing, and it took me a while to remember the character names. Unfortunately, despite my hopes, She, Myself, and I, just wasn't for me, and I don't recommend it.

This novel was..... interesting. The concept is really good and I was intrigued because of it. An experimental brain transplant? Rosa gets a whole new body?! Could that even work?!? It is more than understandable that Rosa would want to know who Sylvia is, what her life was like and who Rosa is now, but I wanted to know so much more about what was going on. 

Three major things stood out for me as I read. Firstly, I wish we got to find out more about what Rosa's nerve disease was, a bit more backstory on how she got to the point of needing a miracle, and a bit more understanding of how the transplant happened (I'm a bit of an anatomy geek so I kept thinking about how difficult it must be to transplant only the brain and what that would entail). Secondly, I really enjoyed the road trip aspect of the book, especially since it makes sense that Rosa would want to go out and discover the world around her, but I found it a bit unrealistic that she would run off with someone she barely knows. That being said, I thought their relationship was cute but better suited for a friendship than a romance. 

Lastly, I got the impression that Rosa felt that she had no life and no opportunity because she was disabled. The full-body transplant is always referred to as a new lease on life, or that her life is just starting, but what we know about Rosa's disease is that it first showed signs at 10 and it progresses till she's 18. As we don't find out a lot of information of what life was like for Rosa pre-transplant, there is a slight implication that she had no life because she was disabled.

At the end of the day, it was an interesting but slightly weird read, based on a really interesting idea.

This novel follows the story of Rosa, a young woman who becomes a quadriplegic after being diagnosed with a nerve disease, as she gets a brain transplant. In her new body, Rosa has to now deal with the struggle of finding out about who Sylvia, the girl whose body was donated to save her life, was; but most importantly, she has to decide whether she's still herself or if she's a mere intruder in someone else's body.

At first, I wasn't sure if this book would be for me. The synopsis really caught my attention, but as I started reading it, I became afraid that it would turn out to be more of a middle-grade story. I'm going to be honest and say that besides reading the synopsis, I knew nothing else about the book. Not about the author, the genre, what the expected audience is... Instead, I decided to dive into it as soon as I got it. And I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the turns the author took with this story.

Rosa definitely goes through an incredibly hard situation, and her actions and thoughts were, for the most part, completely realistic. In the terms of what her life is like, I can't relate at all. But Emma Young was able to bring this character to life in a way that was believable, and she managed to accomplish the seemingly impossible task of making our protagonist relatable. I know that, if I was in Rosa's place, I would have struggled with the same things she was struggling. And I dare say, would probably have had the same exact thoughts at times.

I really enjoyed Rosa and Joe's relationship. They were both such great characters, and their interactions always moved the story forward. There were very few times where I felt that a scene was being dragged on. And it was mostly at the beginning, where the back story and medical procedures were being described. I love how sweet and understanding Joe was. He's definitely one of my, if not the one, favourite characters in this novel. I also really liked the twists and turns the story took. It was really interesting to follow Rosa on this journey to discover her true self.

However, there were a few things that I didn't like; hence why I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5. First of all, some of the descriptions were... too descriptive; particularly at the beginning. I don't want to give a specific example, but sometimes there would be two or three adjectives/adverbs describing something that was even that crucial to the scene. some of the descriptions could've definitely been shortened.

I would also have liked to hear more about Rosa's life before. And how she felt towards her nerve disease, and how her life was like. There were bits and pieces of information, but nothing too concrete on her feelings about it. It would have also been good to hear about her adjustment to her new body. Not in the sense of being in another person's body, since that was what the whole plot was basically about, but in the sense of being able to walk again, of being healthy again. It wasn't addressed as much but I believe it is a pretty important thing in her life, the whole reason that she had surgery in the first place, but instead we only got a few scenes from the months that she was in the hospital. I'm not saying I wanted the hospital period of the story to be longer (I actually think it could've been shorter since things only started to get going once Rosa met Joe), but I wanted to know more about her adjustment in that sense.

Also, another little thing that bothered me. Rosa repeatedly mentions that she wasn't pretty, but the blond girl on the cover is definitely pretty and some might say that she's even prettier than the brunette, who is Sylvia. So that kind of contradicts the story a little bit.

She Myself and I was a very entertaining read and I definitely recommend for you guys to pick it up once it is published (September 5, 2017 - North America). I am really glad ABRAMS Kids - Amulet Books allowed me to read this really cool story to review for you guys.

This book was WEIRD. SO SO SO WEIRD. The entire concept was so incredibly unique I knew I had to read it. It had so much potentially be an amazing book, but it was honestly just so freaky and weird to me I couldn't really get past that. I mean as of right now, something like this has never been done, although I have read articles about a potential head transplant happening sometime in the near future by an Italian doctor or something. I definitely tended to overthink and freak myself out while reading this. And if it had been toned down a little bit in the weird factor, I definitely would have enjoyed it more. Three stars though for creativety and character development.

NetGalley Review
Truly, a one of a kind story of a journey of self-discovery, self-esteem, and self-acceptance.

Rosa takes life to a completely new meaning and reminds readers to live each day as if it were their last. As the first ever recipient of a full body transplant, Rosa discovers what it truly makes her unique despite her new appearance. Psychological and physical problems embower Rosa to keep fighting and to find what she is living for.

I fell in love with the premise of this story. Young brings about questions that are often too complex to receive a straight answer. But the answers really depend on the person. I can’t remember the last book that made me stop and question everything.

For a young adult book to touch on this topic is rare. Yes, there are many self-discovery books out there for young adults. However, nowadays they mostly revolve around a fantasy background. I don’t read contemporary books very often, but there are a select few that I would read again in a heartbeat. She, Myself, and I is one of those books.

She, Myself, and I follows 18-year-old Rosa, the first ever recipient of a full-body transplant. Rosa suffers from a terminal nerve disease that’s controlled her life since elementary school. While the surgery involves months of rehab, it’s her only hope to not only survive, but to live the life she never would’ve had otherwise. In the months of adjusting to her new body, Rosa becomes obsessed with the girl whose body has become hers. Her journey to discover more about Sylvia leads her on a journey of self-discovery as well. Rosa must learn who she is in this new body and make peace with what she’s gone through to live.

I was initially intrigued by the premise of this story and the psychological drama. What makes a person? Our brains? Our souls? Our bodies? Rosa grapples with this throughout the novel, and it makes for a really compelling read. Rosa is incredibly descriptive of her surroundings, in part, I feel, because she’s spent so much of her life unable to go out in the world and interact with people. She sees the world in a unique way that was really enjoyable to read.

Rosa’s search to find out more about Sylvia’s past was completely understandable, despite the fact that her doctors and her parents encourage her to move forward. I enjoyed the road trip aspect of the story, although I did find it somewhat unbelievable that she’d run away with Ethan, a journalist she meets in the park across from the hospital. I wasn’t completely sold on her romance with Ethan, but I enjoyed their relationship. Ethan is a well-developed character who loves other people’s stories, so it’s understandable that he’d be interested in Rosa despite not knowing the truth of her situation.

Although I personally enjoyed the book, I believe it could be problematic for disabled readers. Because the story focuses mostly on Rosa’s life after the surgery, we don’t get a good representation of her life with a terminal nerve disease. Because the story gives her a new lease on life, it implies that living with her disability meant that Rosa couldn’t have a meaningful life. Additionally, I didn’t feel I had a good grasp of who Rosa was before she winds up in Sylvia’s body. There wasn’t enough medical information to the story, in that we don’t really know much about the progression of Rosa’s disease or the first-ever full-body transplant surgery. I think the story could’ve been more compelling if it had focused more on Rosa’s past; at the same time, the ablest ideas—that living in a disabled body is inherently awful—would be even more pronounced if we had more of Rosa’s past.

Ultimately, while I personally was able to enjoy the book, I can’t fully recommend it, particularly to anyone with a disability or chronic illness. While an able-bodied reader might be able to enjoy Rosa’s identity journey, I don’t feel that we particularly need any more stories about able-bodied people, or that we need miraculous recovery stories for disabled characters. I’m giving this 3 stars for the writing and storytelling, but I honestly don’t feel good about recommending this book.

A wonderful take on this "what if..." scenario. I felt like I was there with Rosa as she struggled with her identity, more than most teenagers would ever have to!
I enjoyed seeing the relationships with her family, especially the playful nature between Rosa and her brother, Elliot. A thrilling read for those who like a touch of speculative fiction and a bit of romance too!

She, Myself, and I by Emma Young is an innovative take on the identity narrative. This YA book follows protagonist Rosa as she attempts to reconcile who she is after an experimental brain transplant.

Having dealt with a debilitating nerve disease in her original body, Rosa experiences both a physical and emotional transformation after her brain transplant. She meets a young journalist, who grapples with his own demons, who helps her navigate this enormous transition.

Young is able to develop strong secondary characters with Rosa’s brother, parents, other patients, and Rosa’s body donor - Sylvia. While our current medical advances make this story impossible today, it is not a huge stretch to think about the ethical considerations that could come up in the future.

This book is worth checking out when it is released in September 2017 by fans of YA fiction.