Wow. The summary of this book immediately drew me in.
Teen photographer? Scared of losing their mind?

The author did an amazing job of portraying and describing each character in this book. The characters were easy to relate to and easy to follow. The premise of the book was unique, and the author touched down upon sensitive subjects.

Mental health is a serious topic that so many teenagers need help with. We need to do a better job of accurately displaying mental health issues / conditions so it becomes even LESS taboo than it is now.

Len and Sage are two teenage girls that have nothing in common. Their story unfolds to show the true power of friendship.

Sage is a volleyball superstar at her high school until the day she passes out after a big game. Two doctor appointments later, she finds out that she has a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The thickening of the heart muscle that is very dangerous and the number one cause of sudden death among athletes. She has to stop playing volleyball or else she can die. It was Sage’s unspoken but well-known dream to go to Penn State, one of the best women’s volleyball programs in the country. Her parents absolutely worship sports and go to all of her games. Her younger brother is also an up and coming football star.

Len is considered a weird basketcase at high school and doesn’t have any friends at school. She has OCD and is an extreme germaphobe but does not realize it. She wears baggy clothing and gloves at all times. Her grandmother who she was very close to has dementia and living in a nursing home that her parents cannot afford. She is avoiding talking to her sister Fauna and her wife Diane anytime they call. Len is a gifted photographer. Her photography teacher Ms. Saffron pushes her to compete for the Melford scholarship and if her photos win, she gets a full ride to college.

This was a powerful story of friendship and growth through pain. The characters were very likable and different, the problems were very authentic and relatable. Although there was some heavy material, the writer had a light approach to it that makes it okay for the target audience. I think the message in the novel is very inspiring.

Two unlikely teens form a true friendship. That really doesn't do this story justice. Its so much more!
We have Len, who is on of the artsy types (she's a photographer) and isn't really understood by her peers. She's bullied, and striving for a scholarship.
Sage, is a super star volleyball player who just received life changing medical diagnosis that will change everything she had planned for herself.
These two couldn't be more different (on paper) but when they come together in the book, they work. This is a great story about friendship. Real friendship. This is a must read for all teens who are searching for that one person who gets them.

An #ownvoices intriguing read..loved the friendship and everything so far, more updates to come. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC copy

A painful and oftentimes intense portrayal of how trauma can change the trajectory of your life. I found both POVs relatable, although I especially appreciated Sage's chapters - her passion for sports really came through strongly (speaking as someone who Does Not Get sports at all!) and I liked the way her changing dreams were grounded in her narrative throughout the book rather than being sprung at the end. I also liked the portrayal of adults: while both girls had loving parents, they weren't perfect, and when necessary, each girl found another trusted and knowledgeable adult with whom to speak. I will say that I found the climactic scene at the volleyball game a little melodramatic; I'll trust that the author did her research and that the portrayal wasn't totally outlandish, but the whole "inches away from death!" thing had me rolling my eyes a bit.

A solid YA contemporary, especially for readers looking for books focusing on friendship rather than romance.

Between 3 1/2- 4 stars. I'll round up. I ended up enjoying this story. Two high school students are given challenges that almost break them. Len is a photographer who is dealing with a past that is making her life almost impossible to live as she starts showing OCD tendencies. Sage is the star of the volleyball team who is given a diagnosis that curbs her college and professional dreams. This unlikely pair come together to give each other the strength they need to accept and overcome these seemingly insurmountable obstacles. I think the author did a good job showing what OCD looks like (it was neat to see that she was sharing from her own experience and had reached a point in her journey where she could write about it). It was painful to watch both of the girls struggle through these trials, but I like how raw and real they were. A good look at mental health and how it is possible to come out on the other side as victor.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book for my honest review.

4.5 stars. This book was very compelling! Anytime I put it down, I found myself thinking about the main characters, and I couldn’t wait to start reading again. Sage and Len are very well-written characters; I felt as though I was experiencing the same complicated emotions they experienced throughout the story. The author’s note says that this book is an #ownvoices story, which makes me appreciate the book even more; the author did such an incredible job of allowing the reader to climb inside the heads of her characters.

I really loved seeing the friendship develop between the two main characters. Both are going through some really hard, life-changing situations, and both need someone who understands a little of what they are going through.

I took off a half star for language; there were swear words sprinkled throughout the book, and I prefer books with little to no swearing because swear words jolt me out of the story.

The only thing I didn’t care for was the meditation spirituality that Len’s family believed in. There’s an aspect of it that is needed for the story, so I understand why it’s there, but I still didn’t like that part of the story.

Content:
Swearing: moderate
Romance: there is a lesbian couple referred to occasionally. Neither of the main characters is in a relationship.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thought that this book was really powerful in describing ways to deal with grief, loss, and difficult news. Both characters felt a little bit flat at the beginning of the book, but the author did a really great job filling out their characters as the story went on. I enjoyed the exploration of mental health within this story. I enjoyed the overall character arc. Both characters were dealing with things that I cannot personally connect with, but I still felt connections to the characters themselves. This was a really enjoyable and powerful YA contemporary that balanced serious topics with moments of joy and levity.

This fantastic exploration of identity, friendship, and mental health will be welcome in high school libraries as the author has written main characters that truly reflect the struggles of today’s students. Highly recommend.

This is one of the books which drew me in based on the cover (I know, you can’t judge it by that, but it does seem to indicate the ones I’ll like). “The Edge of Anything” is the debut novel by Nora Shalaway Carpenter, a North Carolina based writer who previously worked as an editor and is a yoga teacher. 

Sage and Len are seniors in High School, with very different lives. Sage is an all star volleyball pla
yer, headed straight to the best school on a full scholarship. Len lives in a rundown house where her family are struggling to make ends meet, let alone thinking about the photography scholarship she could apply for. 

You may have guessed that their paths cross, at some point - I won’t tell you anymore than that because I don’t want to spoil it for you. 

The characters are well drawn and sometimes surprising, and I genuinely rooted for both girls as they navigate  through an important time of their lives, with the added pressure of family commitments, expectations and mental health issues.

I actually thought  this was quite a short book, and having read it on a kindle, it’s quite hard to tell sometimes beyond how fast the percentage is increasing. Although now I’ve checked Amazon it’s 368 pages long - more than I thought. I think this might be in part to the story - I felt that while the relationship between the girls was well done, it didn’t go much deeper than the initial idea. I wanted to know what happened with the scholarships, which you don’t find out. I wanted to know how the volleyball championships turned out, which you also don’t know. I think this might have been part of the point - the bigger subject is that of the connection between girls, the impact the relationship has on them. 

I also struggled with the descriptions of the volleyball - I don’t know what a ‘setter’ is, so it was hard for me to imagine the plays, which are quite detailed. I think if you do know volleyball, it would be quite cool to see that written in a book, as it’s not really a common sport in fiction.

One of my pet hates are stories which have a ‘Big Thing’ in them. A past transgression or mistake which one or more characters refers to cryptically throughout before finally revealing the issue. It’s a large part of why I hated “God of Small Things”, and can be equated nowadays to the facebook status from that person : “sigh. Another terrible thing happened today - why can’t I catch a break?”. This novel has that Thing in it, and while the reveal was well done, I had almost lost interest by that point. 

While I enjoyed reading this novel, I wish there was more detail and the story was a bit ‘rounded’. I know it will find an audience with YA, as it’s rightly aimed at, especially those who struggle with mental health conditions and choosing the college they’re going to. 

Thanks for NetGalley for the platform, and to publishers Running Press for the copy.

The general plot and concepts of the book were so interesting - teenage girl with OCD after trauma, athlete who can never compete again, unlikely friendship, etc. But it just seemed to feel shallow from start to finish, I never really connected with not only the characters but the events that were happening. There was a lot of suspension of disbelief in terms of convenient things happening, and the most interesting thing to me was never resolved (the art scholarship plot).

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of THE EDGE OF ANYTHING by Nora Shalaway Carpenter in exchange for my honest review.***

Len, an outcast with OCD and bullied by her classmates, harbors a horrible secret. Volleyball star Sage keeps her recently diagnosed heart condition hidden from her friends. The teens strike up an unlikely friendship that may help both overcome their obstacles.

THE EDGE OF ANYTHING, an enjoyable yet predictable read, kept me interested enough to finish in an afternoon.

I had a lot of empathy for Lennon and her crazy father who believed positive thinking could cure cancer and other unscientific methods as primary, not secondary, lines of treatment. Without hid unintentional brainwashing, Len’s issues would have been less severe.

Sage touched me too. I could easily see how she wanted to believe ‘it won’t happen to me’. Her lies, both understandable and frustrating, also made sense as she wasn’t able to be honest with herself, how could she be with others.

THE EDGE OF ANYTHING represented OCD and mental health accurately. I loved Sage googling Len’s symptoms. Everyone thinks she’s an expert after attending Dr Google’s Medical School. Len happened to be right and helpful.

I felt no tension reading THE EDGE OF ANYTHING, no surprises. Younger YA readers and those interested in mental and physical health will enjoy THE EDGE OF ANYTHING.