I definitely enjoyed Melissa Walker's Unbreak My Heart. I thought it was a wonderful way to spend a summer afternoon. Clementine, the heroine, is an emotional mess when the novel opens. All will come to light as the story unfolds chapter by chapter, but, essentially she's lost someone really super-close to her, her best friend, Amanda, someone she's known and loved since grade school. Why are these two friends no longer speaking? (Or at least with words that can be repeated?!) Well, it has a little something to do with the notion of being betrayed. It's up to readers to decide just how much betrayal was involved and if Clementine is deserving (or not) of a second chance.
Unbreak My Heart is an intriguing YA book in that there are two stories unfolding at once. 1) The present summer (the summer before her senior year) where she is on a three month sailing trip with her parents and her younger sister, Olive. 2) The previous school year (her sophomore year) where readers see Amanda and Clementine and their friends and boyfriends. Readers, of course, know this is building to something allegedly BIG and SHATTERING.
The summer might be lonely, incredibly lonely, for Clementine, if it wasn't for meeting James, a cute red-haired guy with issues of his own. James and his Dad are sailing for the whole summer too. With James and tag-along Olive, Clementine does stop moping occasionally. And James does awaken something in her...
Read Unbreak My Heart
- If you're a fan of Melissa Walker, Sarah Dessen, Elizabeth Scott, Deb Caletti, Susane Colasanti, etc.
- If you're a fan of YA Romance, particularly YA Romances with an emphasis on music and playlists.
- If you're looking for YA novels with complexly drawn characters, particularly if you're looking for well-drawn families. Truth be told, it's rare for parents, sisters, etc. to get fleshed out. But I think she did a great job making this feel like a real family on a real vacation.
- If you're looking for YA novels that explore the tension of friendships and relationships.
© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment