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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
This is not a Catholic schoolgirl gone wrong, it is a Latinx military child living in poverty with loss she hasn't come to terms with, fighting to keep her old family and circumstances and her new found friends and surroundings from coming together as they build something new. Izzy doesn't want to be someone's poster child for the poor, she also doesn't want people who are stuck in their bad situations to weigh her down, and why would she? What she learns about herself, her father's side of the family, and the relationships that truly matter is a fantastic story! Yes, there is a cute romance angle, nothing graphic. There is also a difficult child abuse angle - if school bullying, suicide, alcoholic parents and mental and physical abuse are triggers there are graphic scenes, fair warning. But I feel they are important to the story in that they highlight the differences and similarities in upbringing and family response to outright vs. latent abuse. I cried for all the right reasons.
My friends at Algonquin Books told me about How to Build a Heart about a year ago, and I have been highly anticipating it ever since. You see, like many of us, as a sixteen-year-old I felt lost. My family had moved the year before, one of many moves. I am drawn to stories like this because they are deeply relatable, which makes them comforting, even healing at times. I found those things in the beauty of Maria Padian’s storytelling.
Izzy’s father passed away six years ago, and ever since, her family has moved from town to town, but never close enough to her extended family in North Carolina and Puerto Rico.
This time the family lands in Virginia. Here Izzy finds some peace. She likes her new school, and her family is selected by Habitat for Humanity to receive a new house. As soon as Izzy feels at home, secrets come out in the open.
How to Build a Heart covers heavy and important topics like racism, abuse, and mental health. It’s a timely story with so much goodness in it, too. I’m keeping all the secrets… a secret.
If you’ve ever felt like an outsider for any reason, there is much to relate to in Izzy’s story. How to Build a Heart is poignant, comforting, and inspiring with a lovable main character and an overall feel-good vibe.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
Izzy’s father passed away six years ago, and ever since, her family has moved from town to town, but never close enough to her extended family in North Carolina and Puerto Rico.
This time the family lands in Virginia. Here Izzy finds some peace. She likes her new school, and her family is selected by Habitat for Humanity to receive a new house. As soon as Izzy feels at home, secrets come out in the open.
How to Build a Heart covers heavy and important topics like racism, abuse, and mental health. It’s a timely story with so much goodness in it, too. I’m keeping all the secrets… a secret.
If you’ve ever felt like an outsider for any reason, there is much to relate to in Izzy’s story. How to Build a Heart is poignant, comforting, and inspiring with a lovable main character and an overall feel-good vibe.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
How to build a heart is one of the best feel good books I’ve read in a while. I’m telling you, this is the book we’ve been waiting for.
It’s kind of stereotypical; poor girl, rich boy and lots of prejudice, but it feels so good. It’s comfortable and sometimes that’s exactly what you need.
The characters are built up nicely, you know just enough about them and they seem very realistic. The scenes are good, the story is tied together very well and I’ve enjoyed every second of this book
It’s kind of stereotypical; poor girl, rich boy and lots of prejudice, but it feels so good. It’s comfortable and sometimes that’s exactly what you need.
The characters are built up nicely, you know just enough about them and they seem very realistic. The scenes are good, the story is tied together very well and I’ve enjoyed every second of this book
This might be one of my favorite stand-alone books I’ve ever read. I loved everything about this book, from characters and their relationships, the setting, the plot and the ending of course. A 5 star read.
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This definitely was an interesting book to read, a little different from the ones I usually pick up. It was enjoyable but I wouldn’t say I loved it. I did like Izzie though.
Actual rating: 4.25! How to Build a Heart was exceptionally truthful in many ways, exploring topics like family, self-discovery and racism. Padian's writing will surely take you back to your bittersweet teenage years. It was touching, emotional and relatable. I finished reading this book with a feeling I've never encountered with another; I felt as though my heart was buttery and bursting with content. (And also like I've had too much caffeine - I mean this analogy in a good way.)
How to Build a Heart
I’m still kind of torn about my rating for this. There are so many elements that I really loved (themes like real vs found family, race, poverty, friendship and many more, the side characters and the writing style) but I disliked so much about the actual plot that it - unfortunately - did not become a new favorite.
This book had the potential to be a YA contemporary that could impact many people but instead it had - like so many other YA contemporaries - a main character that would’ve had pretty much no conflict with anyone at all if she just hadn’t lied. All. The. Time.
Can we just please finally get a different problem in a teenager’s life than other people finding out that they had been lied to and being mad at that teenager?
I thought How to Build a Heart really didn’t need a cliché “plot twist” like that and could’ve easily worked with other problems the main character was facing to create a worthy climax.
I see a lot of potential in the author’s writing but was disappointed in this one.
3.25/5
I’m still kind of torn about my rating for this. There are so many elements that I really loved (themes like real vs found family, race, poverty, friendship and many more, the side characters and the writing style) but I disliked so much about the actual plot that it - unfortunately - did not become a new favorite.
This book had the potential to be a YA contemporary that could impact many people but instead it had - like so many other YA contemporaries - a main character that would’ve had pretty much no conflict with anyone at all if she just hadn’t lied. All. The. Time.
Can we just please finally get a different problem in a teenager’s life than other people finding out that they had been lied to and being mad at that teenager?
I thought How to Build a Heart really didn’t need a cliché “plot twist” like that and could’ve easily worked with other problems the main character was facing to create a worthy climax.
I see a lot of potential in the author’s writing but was disappointed in this one.
3.25/5
Starting this book off, my expectations immediately lowered because I found the friendship between our MC Izzy and her best friend Roz to be a little over the top. Once I found my way into more of the story though, I absolutely loved the family dynamics as well as the romance and the new friendship we find between Izzy and another character.
This book wasn't perfect. There's a lot of lying in this book and I think there's also a little bit too much forgiveness towards one character. I understood all of the reasoning and meaning behind the idea that this person is dragging you down and I don't feel like we got a true resolution from that.
With that said, this book pulled at my heart strings in so many ways and I felt like for the most part, all of these characters felt extremely real. I loved the scenes towards the end with lots of extra characters.
Trigger Warnings for this book:
-abuse
-gun violence
-parent death (off page)
-drug/alcohol abuse
This may not be a complete list, but these are what stood out to me. I say definitely give this a chance. It wasn't perfect, but it was extremely good!
This book wasn't perfect. There's a lot of lying in this book and I think there's also a little bit too much forgiveness towards one character. I understood all of the reasoning and meaning behind the idea that this person is dragging you down and I don't feel like we got a true resolution from that.
With that said, this book pulled at my heart strings in so many ways and I felt like for the most part, all of these characters felt extremely real. I loved the scenes towards the end with lots of extra characters.
Trigger Warnings for this book:
-abuse
-gun violence
-parent death (off page)
-drug/alcohol abuse
This may not be a complete list, but these are what stood out to me. I say definitely give this a chance. It wasn't perfect, but it was extremely good!