The Unlikelies

The Unlikelies

By: Carrie Firestone

Grade: B+

Sadie Sullivan is expecting a boring summer as all her friends have graduated and gone onto other things and she’s left behind. That all changes when Sadie steps into save a child in distress and becomes a hometown hero who joins up with the other heroes and actually winds up spending her summer helping people.

I admit I’m not big on contemporaries but I gave this book extra points because the idea is just so damned sweet. The whole way in which they are able to help people is a little out there but no more so than most. And I’m sorry but it was just nice to see a group of kids brought together because of humanitarian passions who used their time to actually, you know, try to help people.

I also loved that it started out small. The anti-trolling, anti-online bullying was something I could totally buy and wish more people would do actually. As things went on and they expanded their reach I did like the fact that the book touched on people who just didn’t want help or people who really couldn’t be helped.

Which for me was also part of the downside because I wish somethings could have been touched on with more depth. The main person they wind up trying to help is suffering a heroin addiction. I thought the author mostly does well with that as we see it from her friend’s perspective not hers. But again it’s pretty surface. Sadie has a borderline obsession with the family of the child she helped through much of the book but that doesn’t really go anywhere.

I really liked Sadie, her voice, her family and generally her story. I wasn’t big on the romance itself yet it was not a major part of the story, at least until the end. And I did think the teasing, the miscommunication and the way it came about was interesting. As a whole I liked the whole group but I definitely feel like some got better characterization than others.

So all in all this was a nice summer surprise. It has some issues definitely but honestly the story and the idea of the Unlikelies was such a lovely one I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Recommend: Yes. But definitely keep in mind the heroin addiction and Sadie is beaten in the beginning when she helps the child.