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raynebair's review against another edition
4.0
Warning: Tissues required when reading. Oh, this book was so heart-wrenching!
ilovebakedgoods's review against another edition
3.0
About a 3.5 to 3.75 star rating but not quite 4 stars. I'll re-read it when I'm not so sleepy, so I can see if my rating is based on my energy level. Sweet book, though.
dreamerfreak's review
5.0
What a heartbreaking and uplifting story. Knowing how much of the author's own life went into this tale only makes it more poignant. I don't feel like I really have the words to do this story justice, but I did plenty of crying along with some giggling. So much love between not just Julian and Simon, but all the characters. Not just a romance, but a story about finding family.
suze_1624's review against another edition
4.0
More of a 3.5* for me.
Having read Aaron and Spencer by the same author, I was prepared for deep angst and heart ache and I was reading expected doom to arrive any moment. However, I didn't get that from this story.
Whilst the drama belongs to Robbie's story, because of his initial diagnoses, the roller coaster was expected, with the highs of him developing as a baby mixed with the lows of unexpected health scares. And I think as a baby, he had no voice in the story so all the heartache was via Julian.
The hope in the story was between Julian and Simon, from tentative beginnings to full on support for each other. It was quick but I felt that the extenuating circumstances made it believable that they would come together so quickly.
I didn't find the homophobic elements terribly worrisome (Dr Dane and Mum) as I thought a good lawyer would sort the Doc out and Simon's Dad sounded like he would finally step up to the plate.
A tale that shows the devastation that chronic illness can bring, and the lasting impacts on all e family.
Having read Aaron and Spencer by the same author, I was prepared for deep angst and heart ache and I was reading expected doom to arrive any moment. However, I didn't get that from this story.
Whilst the drama belongs to Robbie's story, because of his initial diagnoses, the roller coaster was expected, with the highs of him developing as a baby mixed with the lows of unexpected health scares. And I think as a baby, he had no voice in the story so all the heartache was via Julian.
The hope in the story was between Julian and Simon, from tentative beginnings to full on support for each other. It was quick but I felt that the extenuating circumstances made it believable that they would come together so quickly.
I didn't find the homophobic elements terribly worrisome (Dr Dane and Mum) as I thought a good lawyer would sort the Doc out and Simon's Dad sounded like he would finally step up to the plate.
Spoiler
I did get worried when Simon questioned the fate of one of Julian's characters, finding out she died. I thought this may be a prewarning of Robbie's fateA tale that shows the devastation that chronic illness can bring, and the lasting impacts on all e family.
the_novel_approach's review against another edition
5.0
Anyone who knows the story behind the story of A Heart for Robbie knows this is a novel that’s very close to JP Barnaby’s own heart, and reading this novel with the bias of a parent is heart-wrenching. Reading this novel with the objectivity of a reviewer is uplifting. Reading this novel simply as a human being, parent or not, is an emotional paradox. It’s an odd juxtaposition to look at a book from such divergent points of view, but it’s one of the things that makes A Heart for Robbie a beautiful experience—as a parent, I empathized with Julian Holmes and the agony he experiences throughout the journey to save his son; as a human being I felt so much compassion for Julian’s experience and the horrific possibility of losing a child, all the inadequacy and helplessness and anger and terror that goes along with it, especially the overwhelming guilt of knowing that another child must die in order for your child to live; as a reader I was elated the author was able to rewrite the ending she didn’t get in life, and give her characters all the joy and happiness that can be found when miracles happen. But that’s the true beauty of fiction, isn’t it, the ability to give a happy ending to the realities that aren’t always so benevolent or forgiving in real life?
The emotional contrast that works so well in A Heart for Robbie is the love story not only between a father and his son but also between Julian and Simon Phelps, the hospital’s insurance coordinator and a man who, for reasons of professional ethics, should’ve been off limits. Though Simon never denies his sexuality to himself—he’s fully accepted that he’s a gay man—he very much hides it from his co-workers, friends, family, and I have to confess that I worried a bit about how JP Barnaby would work that conflict into a story that was already so heavy with emotion, but the answer is that Julian and Simon falling in love was woven into the story perfectly, giving the plot the balance it needed between hope and heartache. When Simon finally meets Julian and the two men realize there’s a spark there, the fact that Julian is able to find happiness during one of the most terrifying ordeals any parent can face was the perfect contrast to Simon’s fear of coming out. When Simon is given the opportunity to put things into perspective, it was a moment that made me want to cheer for him.
A Heart for Robbie isn’t what I’d call a light summer read, but it is a story where light is found in a dark time. There are so many things that make this book highly recommendable: JP Barnaby makes certain that all the while she’s breaking your heart just a little, she’s also working hard to stitch it back together again, which is very much what she does for Julian. There is no angst for the sake of angst, but there is love for the sake of love, hope for the sake of hope, and happiness for the sake of a parent’s love for his child. There are tears and there are smiles, there are smiles through tears—Julian’s, Simon’s, and yes, maybe I shed a few myself, but there’s no better way to get to a happily ever after, as far as I’m concerned, than to feel my way to it one word at a time, and that’s what this book does.
The emotional contrast that works so well in A Heart for Robbie is the love story not only between a father and his son but also between Julian and Simon Phelps, the hospital’s insurance coordinator and a man who, for reasons of professional ethics, should’ve been off limits. Though Simon never denies his sexuality to himself—he’s fully accepted that he’s a gay man—he very much hides it from his co-workers, friends, family, and I have to confess that I worried a bit about how JP Barnaby would work that conflict into a story that was already so heavy with emotion, but the answer is that Julian and Simon falling in love was woven into the story perfectly, giving the plot the balance it needed between hope and heartache. When Simon finally meets Julian and the two men realize there’s a spark there, the fact that Julian is able to find happiness during one of the most terrifying ordeals any parent can face was the perfect contrast to Simon’s fear of coming out. When Simon is given the opportunity to put things into perspective, it was a moment that made me want to cheer for him.
A Heart for Robbie isn’t what I’d call a light summer read, but it is a story where light is found in a dark time. There are so many things that make this book highly recommendable: JP Barnaby makes certain that all the while she’s breaking your heart just a little, she’s also working hard to stitch it back together again, which is very much what she does for Julian. There is no angst for the sake of angst, but there is love for the sake of love, hope for the sake of hope, and happiness for the sake of a parent’s love for his child. There are tears and there are smiles, there are smiles through tears—Julian’s, Simon’s, and yes, maybe I shed a few myself, but there’s no better way to get to a happily ever after, as far as I’m concerned, than to feel my way to it one word at a time, and that’s what this book does.
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