"806" was a really surprising novel about KT (aka Katie) who has been exhausted by her mother's relationships, which frequently fail and cause all sorts of problems. She wants to find her father, who she hopes will provide the things her mother can't. KT is an aspiring rockstar with her friends in the No Name Band and rebels in every way she can- dying her hair blue, trying to get a tattoo... From her father, she wants to find someone more stable and to get a better picture of herself in the process. However, in her search, she learns that her father is a sperm donor- number 806 at the CryoSperm bank. Who is donor 806 and how can she find him?
She begins on a website, where she finds out she has two other half-siblings. Gabe, or as she calls him Abracadabra, is a stereotypical nerd. He's afraid he'll never find love and can't figure out how to talk to the opposite sex. He has untold numbers of allergies which lead him to wear breathe-right strips all the time. He is also studying magic. His parents sound really fabulous- super-supportive and loving. Her other half-brother is Jesse, or Swimmy as KT thinks of him. Jesse is the stereotypical jock- tall, blond, good-looking and a competitive swimmer. His mothers are getting divorced and he has to choose where to go- he's hoping to make a third option out of whoever his father is.
Their journey is not as straight-forward as it seems, and they really begin to feel like siblings along the way. Their relationships are really the stand-out part of the book. The first 2/3 of the book were amazing, and I absolutely loved it! The last 1/3 got a little strange, and we lost some of the human element. It became very surreal. I won't say more than that to avoid spoilers, but I would have given the first 2/3 5 stars and the last 1/3 2 stars, so I am weighting the average accordingly.
My biggest problem with the book is that KT has a stalker that is portrayed as "cute" for not taking no for an answer and following her everywhere. Unfortunately, this is all too real but should be handled more seriously in a book for teens. If someone says no, this should be an acceptable answer and repeated no's should not be an invitation for stalking. I wish there was some support for this instead of an eventual giving in. This is really not okay in my opinion.
Overall, it's a sweet journey of finding yourself and family you didn't know you had. I wish they could have removed the stalker, as it wasn't at all necessary to the overall plot and didn't aid the journey in any way.
Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through bookish first/netgalley. All opinions are my own.
She begins on a website, where she finds out she has two other half-siblings. Gabe, or as she calls him Abracadabra, is a stereotypical nerd. He's afraid he'll never find love and can't figure out how to talk to the opposite sex. He has untold numbers of allergies which lead him to wear breathe-right strips all the time. He is also studying magic. His parents sound really fabulous- super-supportive and loving. Her other half-brother is Jesse, or Swimmy as KT thinks of him. Jesse is the stereotypical jock- tall, blond, good-looking and a competitive swimmer. His mothers are getting divorced and he has to choose where to go- he's hoping to make a third option out of whoever his father is.
Their journey is not as straight-forward as it seems, and they really begin to feel like siblings along the way. Their relationships are really the stand-out part of the book. The first 2/3 of the book were amazing, and I absolutely loved it! The last 1/3 got a little strange, and we lost some of the human element. It became very surreal. I won't say more than that to avoid spoilers, but I would have given the first 2/3 5 stars and the last 1/3 2 stars, so I am weighting the average accordingly.
My biggest problem with the book is that KT has a stalker that is portrayed as "cute" for not taking no for an answer and following her everywhere. Unfortunately, this is all too real but should be handled more seriously in a book for teens. If someone says no, this should be an acceptable answer and repeated no's should not be an invitation for stalking. I wish there was some support for this instead of an eventual giving in. This is really not okay in my opinion.
Overall, it's a sweet journey of finding yourself and family you didn't know you had. I wish they could have removed the stalker, as it wasn't at all necessary to the overall plot and didn't aid the journey in any way.
Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through bookish first/netgalley. All opinions are my own.