Wow, there is so much going on here . . . I feel like an under-prepared hiker does after returning from a long hike they weren't really geared up or ready for. It was longer than I thought. The trails weren't very well marked. Some of the scenery was once in a lifetime, but to get there you have to go through some pretty quotidian territory. The characters started to irritate me after we'd been together too long. And so on, but it was an out of this world place to visit that I'd never been to before, and that's what we go exploring to see after all, isn't it?

My reading experience w/[b:The Children's Hospital|53169|The Children's Hospital|Chris Adrian|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388312470s/53169.jpg|209645] Reminds me of the time my sister once did a grand canyon day hike without water or practical shoes. I wish for this book I'd had a little see-through backpack like they send home with kinds from school to encourage literacy. They come with a cheap copy of the book but also some loosely related cheesy party favor type stuff to monkey around with when you don't feel like reading. The backpacks with the flimsy scientific instrument accessories are the best - I wonder how many budding Einsteins have just given up after their prisms didn't refract or their fake litmus paper turns the same color for everything?

My shiny little see through backpack for [b:The Children's Hospital|53169|The Children's Hospital|Chris Adrian|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388312470s/53169.jpg|209645] should have had in it: a couple maps (maybe a hospital floor plan before and after, plus a map of the protagonist's suburban neighborhood?), a time machine, a polygraph machine and maybe a bible.


That's about all I can say except that I'll remember some of the settings and adversities in this book for a long, long time and I bet you would too. Like that "I wasn't really ready for it hike" , everything you remember wont be pleasant and certainly wont make you proud of yourself but I bet you'll find yourself telling the story of your off the beaten path journey afterward to more than one person who is patient enough to listen . . . .

Just be glad [a:Anthony Burgess|5735|Anthony Burgess|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1430525307p2/5735.jpg] didn't write this and [a:Chris Adrian|12177|Chris Adrian|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1281734139p2/12177.jpg] did because some of this stuff could scare you forever in it came from other hands.