Kirkus Reviews

Six months after Mom's death in a car accident, Sam copes with a new disability from that accident, a cryptic boy, family dysfunction, and peer violence.Sam walks on crutches now. Pain regularly "whiplashes" up her leg, bringing with it shards of memory from that "firestorm of glass and steel"—the accident she doesn't remember. Her brother gets high and screams back and forth with their perky sister, while checked-out Dad eats junk food. Enter new boy Eliot, all "pale mystery, sharp-cheekboned stares, and supercilious slouching"—and verbal prickliness. Eliot has congenital insensitivity to pain—he feels no physical pain—but he also exhibits social peculiarity (far beyond awkwardness, well into hurtfulness) and emotional wounds; some of Tims' definitions of disability, trauma, and accountability are murky. Likewise with the antagonist: Anthony (a "magazine-blond, Polo-wearing" drug dealer with a Yale scholarship and a "coffee-soft polite threat voice") commits extreme violence wearing an expression of "nothingness" but is also merely "a boy scared of losing his image." Because she didn't save Mom, Sam's determined to save Eliot, however he acts. Her first-person voice is funny and absorbing. In this "upper-middle-class town in the whitest state in the country," whiteness is standard except that Mom was half Hawaiian (a detail that's never explicated). Wry and engrossing, though jumbled. (Fiction. 13-16)

ALA Booklist (Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

Samantha Herring has lived in physical and emotional pain every day since the crash that took her mother's life. When she returns to school, she has to find new ways of reconnecting to her classmates while also adjusting to altered family dynamics. Then she meets Eliot, a classmate who doesn't feel physical pain due to a medical condition. Samantha quickly befriends him ch to Eliot's surprise, since he's never had friends d hopes to protect him from his recklessness. As her friendship with Eliot grows deeper, Samantha begins to handle her pain and confront her memories of the crash. Tims' sophomore book captures the emotions of young characters dealing with loss, pain, and depression. Similar to S. A. Harazin's Painless (2015), the novel features delightful and distinctive characters, each with their own individualized way of dealing with tragedy. The mood is lightened by refreshing, welcome bursts of humor, creating a heartfelt package that many will enjoy.

School Library Journal (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

Gr 9 Up-his novel takes a well-worn but effective page from the handbook of rare disease and disaster YA romances. In this somewhat predictable but ultimately satisfying love story, Samanthastill coping with the death of her mother and the permanent injuries she sustained in a car accidentmeets Eliot, who lives with congenital analgesia, a disease which leaves him unable to feel pain. Eliot and Samantha have some serious walls up as a result of their respective traumas, and their friendship-turned-romance seems partially born out of a need to protect someone outside of their own personal tragedies. The relationship is backlit by Eliot's role as the school's number one bullying victim which is perpetrated by resident drug dealer Anthony, a childhood friend of Samantha's who is revealed to have played a key role in her mother's death. Crisis is followed by crisis as the bullying escalates; but with a climactic and teary ending, the walls between the two protagonists start to crumble and healing begins. This novel will satiate the needs of the myriad fans of the box-of-tissues at your side teen drama. VERDICT Purchase where Jennifer Niven's and Nicola Yoon's books are popular.Joanna Sondheim, Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, New York City

Voice of Youth Advocates (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Six months after the car accident that claimed her mother’s life and Sam Herring’s ability to walk unassisted and without pain, Sam is struggling to find the new normal. This is no easy task as her brother, Rex, uses her pain killers to get high; her father, in a daze, barely functions; her sister is on a memory-cleaning bender; and Sam has no friends to speak of. However, life begins to look better when Sam finds kinship with the mysterious Eliot Rowe. Perfectly awkward and the only other loner at school, Eliot offers Sam a new perspective on pain: he literally cannot feel it. As Sam helps Eliot interact with the world, Eliot helps her confront repressed memories of the accident. When she uncovers the shocking truth of that afternoon, Sam must decide whom to protect: her family or the other driver. The Art of Feeling explores the nuances of grief and chronic pain through Sam’s first-person narration. Lost and disconnected, her family struggles with the absence of her mother and the loose ends of a hit-and-run accident. The author capably explores issues of identity and belonging entangled with chronic illness and disability and touches on the complexities of depression and grief. Sam and Eliot are both unique and likable, and readers will readily connect with them. While there are moments that feel unrealistic, the plot is fast-paced and compelling enough to appeal to a wide-range of readers.—Courtney Huse Wika.