I wanted to write my review properly because when I first downloaded my file was broken so I couldn't review it. But since then I tried to download again and the file was fixed but I forgot to change my review. So here it is. It is a bit late but it is here :)
I loved the first book in this series. Cancer is a really strong word for me and I tried to avoid all the time but I really enjoyed the first one and this second book was really good too. The story deals with their struggles in this world as a cancer survivor. I loved the cameos from Brave Enough. This book was perfect as a standalone but I highly recommend reading both of Kati Gardner's first novel too.

Both Jase Ellison and Mari Manos are cancer survivors, but approach their current lives very differently. Jase hides the fact that he was sick when was younger, but as an amputee, Mari can't hide her past. When their paths cross outside of Camp Chemo, both Jase and Mari have to face their fears, their truths, and their feelings for one another.

What I liked: this story was incredibly educational, and I appreciated Mari as a MC. She felt real, and normal. I think sometimes we read books with a female lead that seem so unattainable in real life, but Mari was a breath of fresh air.

What I didn't love: sometimes the story got bogged down with technical details. I appreciated the clear view into the struggles of childhood cancer, but sometimes I got lost in the details.

I think this book is clearly written for young adults - it felt a little too young for me (as a grown adult).

In Kati Gardner's sophomore novel, Finding Balance, our main character, Mari Manos, is a cancer survivor amputee, but she does her best to not let it get in her way. Choosing to move about with crutches instead of a wheelchair or prosthesis, Mari's been doing fine. That is, until the day the fight happens.

Her parents get called in and the principal at her schools tells the Manoses that Mari's choice is a liability - causing her to fall TWICE that very day, and she can either use a wheelchair or a prosthetic, but those are her only choices. Her parents immediately remove her from the school instead.

Now, Mari is going to a fancy prep school on scholarship, and one of the familiar faces she sees on her first day is Jase Ellison - her almost-kiss from Camp Chemo that summer! But Jase pretends he doesn't know her - because he's never told his friends that he had leukemia as a child.

This book really looks at different perspectives of childhood cancer. Mari, with her amputation, can't exactly hide hers, while Jase keeps his swept under the carpet. The challenges Jase and Mari face are different and in trying to deal with each other, they clash often even as their feelings for each other grow. The characters are wonderful and the plot interesting. It's a great read and I am going to go back and read Gardner's debut, Brave Enough, which features characters also included in Finding Balance, but you don't have to be familiar with book one to read book two - it works well as a standalone.

Finding Balance by Kati Gardner is the 2nd book in the Brave Enough series. I really enjoyed this book, I learned a lot about childhood cancer. Two teenagers have know each other since they met at Camp Chemo years ago. Jase doesn't remember having cancer, and Mari has a daily reminder since she lost her leg to cancer. When Mari transfers to private school where Jase goes, he pretends he doesn't know her. As these two teenagers go through all the emotions of surviving and dealing with their cancer, this book really sucked me in. I highly recommend this wonderful young adult romance, and looking forward to reading other books by this author.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

TW: ableism, car crash, hospitals</p>

First of all, can we all appreciate that cover? I can't think of the last time I saw a cover that had an image of a person with a disability.

Ok, now into the proper review. This book follows two teenagers who survived cancer. Jase was a toddler when he recovered from cancer and only thinks about cancer when he goes for medical check-ups and the summer camp that is specifically for kids who have/had cancer. Mari had cancer later in her life and the effects of her cancer are more obvious as she had most of one of her legs amputated. Usually they only interact in the summer, but because of ableism from her high school, Mari switches schools and just so happens to go to school with Jase.

And that’s when my problems with the book come in. I'm going to cover what I didn't like about the book first and then end on a good note with what I enjoyed.

Unfortunately, my main problem was with one of the point's of view, Jase. He is a near irredeemable asshole. Despite the fact that he and Mari have something like a summer fling going, in school he ignores her, because he doesn't want to be associated with someone who visibly went through cancer while he can hide the fact that he is a survivor.

And, okay, teenagers can be bad people in order to maintain social standing, but this lasted for far too long for me to root for their relationship. He doesn’t apologize until halfway into the book and before that, he keeps pushing her to accept his lame attempts at being friendly because, again, he hasn’t apologized for ignoring her. Not only did he ignore her, but he let some grossly ableist things slide from his friends.

(This paragraph will have spoilers for why Jase is acting like an asshole, but I kind of have to talk about it. Skip this paragrpah to get to the non-spoilery stuff.) Jase doesn’t want anyone to know he had cancer because he was bullied in middle school for it. So, while I’ve never heard of a kid getting bullied for having cancer, I get that middle schoolers are the absolute worst and some are probably terrible enough to have said that type of stuff. However, I just didn’t empathize with him because I was rooting for Mari way more. She’s currently going through ableism and despite knowing what being bullied for cancer-related reasons can feel like, what does he do? Basically nothing for half the book!!!!</p>
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<p>One comment on a side character that isn't necessarily positive or negative Lindsay. She is everything bad about white, rich, abled people in one person and I’m not saying that the ableist crap she spewed was unbelievable, but to have her be the only person saying ableist things was just a bit too much. The whole school is full of rich abled people, I feel the author could’ve had the ableism coming from multiple people.</p>
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<p>Now, I really liked Mari's stories. Her plot lines, besides her romance with Jase, is about her dealing with grossest ableism from classmates and ableism from both the high school she was enrolled in and the one that Jase is currently attending. She’s dealing with the inner turmoil of her comfort versus society's comfort and whether that means she should try using a prosthetic leg. She’s also dealing with how ableism affects her ability to succeed in school. </p>
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<p>But also her character isn't completely focused on her disability. Like I said, she does have a romance with Jase that was kind of good near the end. She also has a job at a bookstore and a supportive family. Basically, Mari was my favorite in this book.</p>
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<p>I rated this book three stars. I would have rated it lower, but that didn't feel entirely fair, as I did really like Mari's stuff and later on in the book, I was kind of rooting for the relationship. However, all of my problems were with Jase and how Mari reacted to him. I understand they are friends at camp, but it took far too long for him to apologize for what he’d done wrong and for the romance to start for me to be as invested as I'm sure the author wanted me to be.</p>
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Thank you to Netgalley and Flux Books for my eARC of Kati Gardner's 'Finding Balance'.

I was initially drawn to the book because when I was in school my close friend passed from Leukemia. I have also had family members these last couple of years fighting forms of Cancer and I welcomed any book that might give a perspective about this cruel disease that would help my children.

Finding Balance was everything I could have hoped for in a book that deals with topics that are often not in the forefront of any novels never mind those for a younger audience. I had moments of laughter, and moments were I cried; the emotional rollercoaster had me at every turn and I know without doubt I would and will read this tale again along with the first book by Kati Gardner.

It is an insightful read both during both the good moments and the bad and it was apparent that this story truly mattered to the author and that it was a true labour of love. The scenes at 'Camp Chemo' were wonderful and showed how anyone can feel more 'themselves' when surrounded by others who truly understand what they have gone through. I think all too often, childhood Cancer is shown about the fragility of the sufferer and not so much the survivor who simply wants to be who they are or where before they got sick. I couldn't help but laugh at how our two main protagonists were your typical teenagers who had crushes on one another - especially how Jase doesn't even register the fact Mari is an amputee, she is just his friend and her only have one leg doesn't affect how he sees her. I confess that there were smiles and tears as it is abundantly clear that to him, she is still so beautiful to him - as it should be.

Although Finding Balance's main characters are both Cancer survivors I liked how there was so much more to the story than just that. You saw how people judge others all too often by how someone looks than rather who they are; something we are all often guilty of doing.

It was interesting seeing Mari's battle in regards to whether she should have another prosthetic leg or be as she is when we meet her using her hot pink crutches and having her old prosthetic as a 'very expensive doorstop'. Her refusal to essentially make others more comfortable with her disability by going through the painful process to be fitted for a leg had me cheering her on. She is only sixteen but a true warrior and very comfortable with who she is and what she needs to make her life better. I found myself wanting to hug this fictional girl and cheer her on as she acknowledges how she is so much more than a leg that hasn't been there longer than it was. Her vulnerabilities are obviously still there but she fights through them and is an excellent role model for anyone who finds themselves in that situation.

I felt for Jase whose demons linger in the back of his mind and make him reticent to be truthful to his friends. His determination to keep the two parts of his life separate from one another is a hard thing to do but also a very human thing when we're afraid. His Cancer doesn't so much haunt him but the cruelty of children who don't fully understand, (thinking it is contagious for example). However, he does deserve everything he gets when he treats Mari the way he does and I can guarantee you will feel the same.

I am wary of ruining the story with too many spoilers, but I will say that if you want an emotional insightful and wonderful story of love, of life and the fragility of being human? Finding Balance is a must for your to be read pile. I am eager to read more from Kati Gardner.

—Thank you to Flux Books and Kati Gardner for the ARC!—

“You said something one time: that you were in control of your story. It stuck. This way, I’m in control of mine.”

If there’s one thing this story is about, it’s about adapting and being able to be in control of how life treats you. Neither Mari Manos or Jase Ellison have had easy lives by any definition. Throughout the book, we see Mari transition into a new school because her previous one did not accommodate to her as she and her family expected. She now attends Atlanta West Prep, the same school as her Camp Chemo crush, Jase Ellison. It’s a difficult transition to her as everyone speaks about her one and a fraction of legs as if she’s not there. She doesn’t get the chance to explain herself because people believe that her physical appearance explains everything enough for her, that she’s a girl who had cancer. Meanwhile, Jase Ellison has had the privilege to hide away his past of leukemia after his rough time in middle school. It goes as far as Jase pretending to not know Mari, which strikes a major drift between the two of them.

Throughout the novel, we explore Mari and Jase’s pasts, families, and futures. By all means, I would not consider this to be a typical book and that is a good thing. While this may be a story that has a typical trope of “ignoring your crush/friends-to-enemies-to-lovers”, I believe it’s the characters that make the book. Author Kati Gardner writes her experience into this novel especially, as she is also a cancer survivor and amputee. Nowhere does she write that Mari or Jase are lacking because of their previous conditions or setbacks. In fact, I’d say Mari is greater than life and is much more relatable than other characters from books I’ve read. Being able to see Mari and Jase’s interactions with each other was adorable, and being able to see their interactions with their families created a sense of wholeness and authenticity.

I have not read Kati Gardner’s previous book, but “Finding Balance” works as a spinoff/sequel to her last one. This book includes characters from her first book, but this book works fine on its own. This is also the first book I’ve read from Gardner and I’m glad that I have had the opportunity to review this book in advance.

There are some setbacks, however. I wish the novel could have been more concise with the dialogue and in the same sense, more intentional with the events. Some of the events with Lindsey and her friend group seemed over the top at times, and it wasn’t enjoyable. While it’s not completely perfect, I would still recommend this story to others because it teaches you that nothing can ever be taken for granted! Congratulations to the author for another book, and I hope to see more great things from her.

2.5 stars.

I had high hopes about this story. A teenage amputee with a history of cancer? That’s not a normal character I read about, so I was definitely excited about that.

And Mari was amazing. She maturely accepts and deals with her disability and has adjusted well to having a single leg and walking with crutches. She thrives at her yearly summer camp for cancer survivors and has made lifelong friends there. One of them is Jase.

When she transfers to Jase’s fancy and expensive high school, she thinks she’ll have a built in friend to help her adapt. But N.O.P.E. Jase…Jason at school…hasn’t told any of his classmates about his cancer and doesn’t want anyone to know that part of his history. So he claims to have never met Mari on her first day of school.

Turns out Jase is a mean girl.

And the rest of the book is basically Jase being a dick and Mari accepting his apology. Over and over. By the end I didn’t feel that Jase was truly apologetic or had learned from his mistakes. That boy needs to develop some empathy.

All my problems with this book were Jase and his mean girl friends. Mari and her family were the only bright spot.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

Me, who just finished this book, and don't know what to do with myself:

See, this is why I love reading books. Books can expose you to different perspectives from various people, opening your eyes to the world.

Finding Balance (a book so perfectly titled), is a book that follows our two protagonists: Jase and Mari. Mari is a cancer survivor who had to have one of her legs amputated to live. Jase, another cancer survivor, is from a wealthier background and attends a luxurious private school but also suffered his own share of trauma from his battle with cancer. The unlikely pair met at a summer camp for cancer kids, and the rest is history. The book utilized these two character's experiences and interactions to show how these strong individuals battle sickness, and the unjust judgment people like them would have to face after overcoming their own individual health obstacles.

One of the important things I learned from this reading experience is that people like Mari are not asking for a lot, they just want to live their lives in peace. Just leave them alone. Don't go out of your way to "pity" them and get a life and not go out of your way to make life harder for them (seriously, I don't get people like this). Not to add on, there are so many instances that I can see pissing a lot of people off. I am going to make the logical assumption that many (if not all) of Mari's experiences are based on first-hand experiences from the author (since Mari's physical characteristics are based on herself), which makes it so much sadder. The fact that people would label people "diseased" and view them as some sort of disgusting creature because they are going through medical conditions that they cannot control and is not even contagious is infuriatingly ridiculous.

Let's delve further into our center stars: Jase and Mari. I enjoyed reading through their perspectives. You know how a lot of times, the author would utilize miscommunication to create conflicts between the two protagonists to keep the story going? And just how annoying that is because we as the readers get frustrated due to the illogical nature of the situations? That did not happen here (thank god). Mari is mad at Jase because Jase lied about his situation at school and needs to pretend he has nothing to do with Mari to keep his secret. Sounds like a typical jerk, right? Well, here's the thing. Mari being upset with Jase was completely understandable, and her attempts at avoiding Jace felt very realistic, logical, and most importantly: not forced. But I also understand Jace's reasons behind what he is doing, and can sympathize with him with his own bad experiences with judgmental people. Specifically, I feel like I can relate to Jase because if I am in his situation, I would do the same thing too.

Ultimately, I am so glad I get to read this book. Even though the topics in Finding Balance is not what I usually read, it's a very thoughtful book that I take seriously and can learn something from. So I'm very appreciative of this reading experience.

Mari Manos and Jase Ellison are both cancer survivors. Mari can't hide that fact because it took one of her legs, and Jase hides his past from everyone. Both have attended Camp Chemo, a summer camp for kids fighting cancer, and love it. But when Mari transfers to Jase's school, she could bring his carefully built image down. Will they both be able to move on?

Finding Balance follows the separate lives of Mari and Jase as they journey to accept themselves and their pasts. It is an emotional story with realistic characters and a unique plot, and transported me into the world of Mari and Jase almost instantly.

Mari lost her leg during her fight with bone cancer, and has struggled to move on ever since. How can she, when she looks at herself everyday, and her missing leg reminds her of all that she's lost?

I enjoyed her story, and I really felt Mari's thoughts and feelings, from her fierce anger to her many worries. She was a relatable character, and I liked reading as she learned and grew.

Jase, on the other hand, I did not like as much. He was inexplicably rude to Mari at the start. I could see why he wanted to hide his past from everyone, but he could be such a jerk at times. In the end, he redeemed himself to me and showed that he was a good person deep down.

To sum it up, Finding Balance was a sweet, heartfelt read that is all about creating balance in your life, being ourselves, and moving on. The plot was well-paced, but some parts dragged on, and it was predictable, but I still loved the characters. I hope to read more from Gardner soon!

Thanks to Flux Books and the Favourite Pages Club for sending an ARC of Finding Balance in exchange for an honest review.

FINDING BALANCE is a YA contemporary romance that follows Mari and Jase. Mari had osteogenic sarcoma when she was 10 and had a complete amputation of a leg as a result. She was left without any residual tissue, which makes a prosthesis uncomfortable and challenging. As a result, pretty much everyone notices her disability right away and pries into her life. When her public school says that she must use a wheelchair or prosthesis instead of her crutches, Mari is shocked- what they are asking would make her life so much more difficult and is completely unfair.

Her parents find another solution, enrolling her in a private school on scholarship, where they are willing to be more accommodating. Mari is excited to see that her almost-kiss friend from Camp Chemo attends the same school, but she is shocked when he ignores her and pretends not to know her. He tells her that he doesn't want anyone to know that he ever had cancer, so he pretended not to know her. He also allows his friends to say horrible things about her- even in her hearing range. Despite all of this, Mari is understanding and willing to accept his apology. However, things may not be so simple.

I really enjoyed learning about Mari and what life can be like with a visible disability- as well as how cruel people can be and the horrible (and untrue) things they can say. The author has a similar story, and so, this book is quite educational to the reader as to this experience, and highly valuable as a read for teens.

The romance was tough to buy into, as Jase is really cruel to Mari in quite a large portion of the book. We do get context on why he has such strong fears about this (past bullying), which is helpful if you are inclined to forgive. I think Mari deserves so much better, but this is a personal opinion. I loved Mari- she felt so real. I also appreciated the conversations both characters had with their parents, that provide some learning opportunities and well-thought-out epiphanies.

As a small point, I did get confused during some of the book with regards to the characters, as there are a lot (and parents are sometimes, but not always, referred to by their first names), but this may have been because I did not read the first book in the series. About halfway through, I was having an easier time following who was who.

Overall, I think this is a great read, not for the romance, but for the strong story of Mari, her experiences and the way that people treat her. Viewing the world through her lens (and the author's) is a valuable experience.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Finding Balance by Kati Gardner was so sad but so good. I had never heard of the author or this book but I would definitely be willing to check them out in the future. Thanks to the publisher and to netgalley for the advanced copy!

Kati Gardner's novel is a breath of fresh air in the narrow cancer-kid/romance sub-genre. It's blunt and honest as the story unfolds between cancer survivors Jase and Mari. They'd been flirting forever at their summer camp for kids with cancer (Camp Chemo), yet the story really ramps up when Mari transfers to Jase's private school. Shortly after her diagnosis, Mari had her leg amputated and she has adapted to life as a survivor fairly well. Her battle is more with the bullies and school administration that display casual cruelty when addressing her disability. Jase's bout with cancer was when he was very young to the point where it is a vague memory, and there is no visible evidence of his diagnosis. While this may sound like his story is the lesser, the opposite is true. It's actually rather interesting to see him try to understand this piece of his life and how to be transparent about what is ultimately a chronic health condition (he tries and fails to hide this part of his past to his school friends, even after they meet Mari). The story is not saccharine and layers in some strong social messages about this community. If you have children or teens who are learning about cancer and/or disability, this is a great book to provide them so that they actually get informed and not shown these issues through a rose-colored lens..

I loved this book. Thought it was adorable and had a great narrative voice. The only thing that threw me was that it was told in third person which I am not used to seeing as much in young adult, but once I got over that it was a good read

I was able to get the first book in the series from Netgalley and I thought that it was a beautiful book, you can check out my review here. These books can also be read as a standalone.
This book follows Jason and Mari they both have something going on in their life. Mari is a force to be wreckin with because she is an amputee, Jase had leukemia, and he does not want anyone to know/find out when he goes to high school because of how he was treated in middle school. for the most part of the book I has hating him because of how him and his gf were treating Mari, but in the end, he was able to come around.
This book just like the last one, has a beautiful message of all the struggles that someone with cancer and being and amputee must go though on there daily life.
I cannot even imagine what the author is going though because this series is personal to her.

The premise of the this book reeled me in and it didn't disappoint. This is the first time I've read an Ownvoices book of a cancer survivor and though I am not able to relate, I was touched. It was a nice perspective to see. Jase's behavior in the beginning didn't sit well with me, there were times when I thought he acted quite immature. Mari, on the other hand, I really loved. She was strong and stood her ground even when the world saw her in ways she didn't want to be seen. The other characters' (like Lindsay) spitefulness felt forced to me. And I wanted to see more of Mari's family dynamics; they were all very good characters. I also loved the way the topic of cancer and disability were handled, which made it wholly different from the other young adult cancer books. I found this book to be more character-driven than plot-driven, so I wouldn't recommend if you prefer the latter. I wasn't a fan of the writing and some dialogues here too, but I didn't think it was bad; the pace was good. Overall, I thought this was a nice, sweet, and short story of love, acceptance, and forgiveness.

This was such a good book! I finished it in no time at all. The book beautifully balanced a touching, wonderful message with adorably fun scenes of family, friendship and love. It's a book about how we put together the pieces of our own stories and accept ourselves within that. Mari and Jase are such excellent characters to follow, and I love the way that disability is portrayed through each of their eyes. For Mari, who had her leg amputated years ago, her disability isn't something she can hide, which you can imagine makes going to a new prep school with super privileged, ignorant kids a "fun" experience. But while everyone else thinks that being a cancer survivor consumes her obviously miserable life, Mari is a typical girl with many typical teenage worries, and she's such a relatable character. I really loved her character, as well as her adorkable friends and family. Then there's Jase. Sometimes Jase will do something very jerkish and make me want to shake him by the shoulders, but I think his own internal battles are well shown throughout the book. I like his portrayal of what it can be like living with an invisible disability, especially when the worst of it was from when he was too young to remember, and he struggles to figure out what role that plays in his own personal story. Overall I thought this story was cute, inspiring, and engaging. I also learned after reading it that it's technically part of a series, although it's written as a standalone and there's no need to read the first book to enjoy this story, as there are different central characters who make periphery appearances in this novel. I basically read this book in a day and highly recommend it if you want a nice, touching read. 5/5

I had no idea that this book was part of a series. The summary seemed very interesting to me, and that is why I requested the book. Unfortunately, it seems that the publication date was bumped forward to September due to the current situation in the world, but that gave me some extra time to read it, and here I am!
The characters in this story were strong and the writing itself was also very strong, and I really felt for the main character who has lost her leg due to cancer. It's interesting, because I have not read any good representation of people that have experienced amputation due to cancer, or any other reason, and this was great!
I would definitely recommend it!

Finding Balance
by Kati Gardner


North Star Editions
Flux
Romance | Teens & YA
Pub Date 29 Sep 2020


I am reviewing a copy of Finding Balance through North Star Editions/Flux and Netgalley:




When Jase was only three he had acute lymphocytic leukemia, it’s not something he remembers. His cancer diagnosis only crosses his mind twice a year once at his yearly check up at the Oncologist Clinic,and when he attends Camp Chemo in the summer. No one else in his real life outside his family knows about his past, especially not his friends at Atlanta Prep.





Mari Manor cannot hide the fact she had Cancer. She wakes up each day, grabs her pink forearm crutches and starts her day. She loves Camp Chemo, it is there she met Jase, and developed a healthy crush. At Camp she doesn’t need to explain her amputation to anyone.




Jase never wants to reveal his past. But after Mari transfers to Atlanta Prep, the school Jase attends, he knows that it could blow his cover. The last thing he wants is to blow his cover but he cannot ignore the way he is attracted to Mari. What Mari wants is to be looked at as a girl, a person, she wants people to see more than her disability.


But how exactly do you move on from Cancer, when the world doesn’t let you?




I give Finding Balance five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a copy of this book. I was thinking I was going to absolutely love this book but I ended up not really enjoying it as much. I felt like the characters were very flat