Laika Paperback – October 10, 2017

LAIKA's second person narrative draws you in with the nostalgic beats of a young adult survival story, kicked up to the pace of a thriller. But this is no Choose Your Own Adventure novel. You are tugged and pulled through suspense and uncertainty, questioning if streetwise Laika is as much a passenger as the reader.Kate Kort's effortless command of perspective plunges the reader into the immersive fear and disorientation of failing mental health, bringing the discussion of mental illness to the Young Adult audience. LAIKA attacks the chaos of mental illness with compassion, offering a message of understanding and hope to its readers. It is during fragile adolescence when so many, like fourteen-year-old Laika, feel the first terrifying signs of depression, anxiety, or even schizophrenia.Read LAIKA, then please share it with a teen in your life.

This is the second novel by author Kate Kort. Her first book, Glass, was a favorite of my book club so I was excited to read her new book, Laika. It did not disappoint. I loved it more than her first book. I found it to be gripping and insightful. I was pulled into this story of a young girl descending into schizophrenia and the people both inside and outside of her mind. I was left guessing throughout the book, what is real? What isn't real? What is going to happen to this young girl. I highly recommend this book and I have already ordered copies for my book club.

This novel is fascinating in both subject matter and style. Writing in the second person, allows Kort to invite the reader to inhabit completely, the mind of Laika, a 14-year-old homeless teen in the throes of paranoid schizophrenia. From this perspective a backdrop of foreboding is created on the very first page. The emotional intensity grows with the progression of her disease, making this a hard book to put down. Laika’s story highlights the reality of mental illness and the often present side-effects, addiction homelessness and isolation. Very highly recommended!!

I cannot say enough good things about this book!! Kate Kort creates characters that immediately draw you into their world. It was so interesting to look at things through the eyes of Laika. It was enlightening and thought-provoking...we really never know what the people around us are trying to survive. I had a hard time putting it down, and was very sorry to finish it...I didn't want to leave them all. I highly recommend this novel! One of my top 5!

I was anxiously awaiting Kort's second novel and was not disappointed! Yet again, her writing and characters pull you into their world...I couldn't put it down!

This book will both warm your heart and break your heart in the most true to life way. Like her previous book this saga follows a few troubled characters. Laika, by no fault of her own, stumbles through life as homeless with little hope or reason for a quick turn around until she crosses paths with another lost soul swimming in nearly the same fish bowl.Graham is the character that steals the show. He has own problems to deal with, divorce, holding a job and raising his own daughter. Laika spends most of her time living with mental illness and not even knowing she is mentally ill until Graham comes along. This story lets you tie up the loose ends on your own. Laika and Graham will stick with you after you have finished for awhile. This is perky quick uncomplicated read.Enjoy.

Kate Kort once again brings a dark piece of our lives to the surface for us to examine (or not examine) as we watch the daily challenges of a teenage girl alone in a large California city. Laika’s association with an adult who seems to understand her plight gives us hope of her finding herself. Many of us want to live the Disney dream where song and dance and happy endings are the norm. Kort brings to life the darkness, the fear and the feeling of hopelessness felt by so many who suffer various forms of mental illness. Kate’s characters are well developed and poignant. I saw pieces of them in my family and friends. I came away with a much better understanding of the deep levels of the illnesses that silently plague so many. With understanding comes compassion; with compassion, the need to reach out becomes necessary. It was interesting to watch how the characters reached for each other. It was difficult to put this book down as I experienced the dance of the two main characters. Extremely well written, well developed and filled with intrigue…Laika is a must read, especially for those who want a better understanding of how we are put together and how we seem to make it all work out.

Much like her debut novel, "Glass", Kate Kort's new book, "Laika", centers on characters with severe mental illness. This story is especially heartrending because the main character is a 14-year-old homeless girl with schizophrenia who has run away from her abusive father. Laika is in search of a long-lost aunt who she hopes will offer her safe haven, however, with very few leads, she is left to aimlessly navigate the streets of a large and unfamiliar city. In her vulnerability, Laika mistakenly trusts people who only take advantage of her, refuses help from the good-intended, and creates her own imaginary confidant who ultimately feeds into her biggest paranoias. Kort has made the skilled narrative choice to write the story in the second person, which forces the reader to feel Laika’s pain, confusion, and fear as if it were their own, and gives them a new perspective into the world of mental illness. Kort continues to impress and I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a well-written and complex read.