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avisreadsandreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-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? Yes
3.0
I liked the main character and the story was interesting (though the romance was definitely a secondary plot point), but the writing felt a bit disjointed and I had trouble keeping all the characters straight.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Racism, Xenophobia, Bullying, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Islamophobia and Religious bigotry
Minor: Homophobia, Biphobia, and Genocide
heather667's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Cultural appropriation, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Genocide and Bullying
Minor: Biphobia, Alcoholism, and Homophobia
cantfindmybookmark's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
melissa_renee's review against another edition
2.0
Two stars simply because it is covering topics that need to be talked about and it references very specific things from my childhood in Oklahoma. But man. The writing was not great. It was really hard to get through. Very disjointed and just kept throwing negativity at you with no real direction or growth. It also threw in a “spicy” scene at the end and it just felt wrong and misplaced. I only finished it bc I am reading it for a class. But I would have DNF’d this one.
laura_cs's review against another edition
5.0
"Ya'll keep breathing ... Every breath is a victory."
Louise's heart is not broken when she breaks up with her first boyfriend, not after he disrespects Native Americans while in the same breath stating that he has Cherokee in his blood. (It's where his vain mother claims to have gotten her cheekbones.) Her heart is not broken as her family receives anonymous letters telling them to "Go home" when all her younger brother wants to do is play the Tin Man in the school production of The Wizard of Oz. Her heart is not broken when her brother reveals Baum's views on Native Americans, when he starts to question whether or not he should abandon his dream of being in the play in light of the new information.
There is a strength in Louise's heart that makes her keep going, keep learning, keep fighting. She is by no means perfect. She makes mistakes, her victories are hard-won, she says things she regrets. She owns her mistakes, makes apologies, realizes she can do better as a person, as a friend, as a sister, a daughter, a girlfriend. But she is human, relatable, wonderful, strong. We need more people like Louise in the world. Girls with hearts unbroken.
This is perhaps one of the most powerful book I've ever read. It made me angry for all the right reasons, but also sad because of those reasons.
All of the casual racism. "Off the reservation." "Bottom of the totem pole." The not-so-subtle implication that all Native Americans are alcoholics. White models walking down the runway in feathered headdresses. Children dressing up as tomahawk-carrying 'Indians' and their mothers as 'Pocahotties'. Mascots. God, even the school counselor--while discussing the relationship between sexual bullying and race, to a Native American young woman--says in regards to Indigenous women, "They did call it the Wild West, after all."
I'm not sure what made my stomach churn more: all of the ways people can and are racist towards Native Americans, or knowing that the author is writing, reflecting, her experiences as a Native American woman. That this happens every day to women like her, to the young women that are the real-life Louises.
This morning, I found on my Twitter feed a news announcement from ALA . A 10 year old Mi’kmaw girl--a girl who will someday become a high school senior like Louise--found in her elementary school library a book that had the phrase "I am an Indian and I will scalp you." My heart goes out to this young girl, and I pray that her heart will remain unbroken. I hope that, in a few years (this book is Teen for a reason!), Hearts Unbroken will find its way to her.
I am white, like most professionals in the field of library science. I am getting my degree knowing I have to do better, be better than many of my predecessors, especially in this regard. There is a need for vigilance in collection development and management to weed out books with harmful stereotypes. One of the smaller themes of this book was that educators--professionals, like librarians, who have college degrees and years of education--learned that they could do better, be better. In a letter to the editor, a teacher referred to the events that transpire as a "wake-up call". Make the world a better place.
Elizabeth Warren, there is not enough aloe in the world for that burn.
Louise's heart is not broken when she breaks up with her first boyfriend, not after he disrespects Native Americans while in the same breath stating that he has Cherokee in his blood. (It's where his vain mother claims to have gotten her cheekbones.) Her heart is not broken as her family receives anonymous letters telling them to "Go home" when all her younger brother wants to do is play the Tin Man in the school production of The Wizard of Oz. Her heart is not broken when her brother reveals Baum's views on Native Americans, when he starts to question whether or not he should abandon his dream of being in the play in light of the new information.
There is a strength in Louise's heart that makes her keep going, keep learning, keep fighting. She is by no means perfect. She makes mistakes, her victories are hard-won, she says things she regrets. She owns her mistakes, makes apologies, realizes she can do better as a person, as a friend, as a sister, a daughter, a girlfriend. But she is human, relatable, wonderful, strong. We need more people like Louise in the world. Girls with hearts unbroken.
This is perhaps one of the most powerful book I've ever read. It made me angry for all the right reasons, but also sad because of those reasons.
All of the casual racism. "Off the reservation." "Bottom of the totem pole." The not-so-subtle implication that all Native Americans are alcoholics. White models walking down the runway in feathered headdresses. Children dressing up as tomahawk-carrying 'Indians' and their mothers as 'Pocahotties'. Mascots. God, even the school counselor--while discussing the relationship between sexual bullying and race, to a Native American young woman--says in regards to Indigenous women, "They did call it the Wild West, after all."
I'm not sure what made my stomach churn more: all of the ways people can and are racist towards Native Americans, or knowing that the author is writing, reflecting, her experiences as a Native American woman. That this happens every day to women like her, to the young women that are the real-life Louises.
This morning, I found on my Twitter feed a news announcement from ALA . A 10 year old Mi’kmaw girl--a girl who will someday become a high school senior like Louise--found in her elementary school library a book that had the phrase "I am an Indian and I will scalp you." My heart goes out to this young girl, and I pray that her heart will remain unbroken. I hope that, in a few years (this book is Teen for a reason!), Hearts Unbroken will find its way to her.
I am white, like most professionals in the field of library science. I am getting my degree knowing I have to do better, be better than many of my predecessors, especially in this regard. There is a need for vigilance in collection development and management to weed out books with harmful stereotypes. One of the smaller themes of this book was that educators--professionals, like librarians, who have college degrees and years of education--learned that they could do better, be better. In a letter to the editor, a teacher referred to the events that transpire as a "wake-up call". Make the world a better place.
Fact: he's not a citizen of any of the Cherokee nations. He can't name a single Cherokee ancestor who was. I profoundly doubt he's even a distant descendant.
Cam's entire basis for conveniently claiming Cherokee heritage is a combo of uninvestigated family mythology and the fact that his occasionally insufferable mother is proud of her bone structure. He'd never identify as Indian when it could cost him something. (Hearts Unbroken, pg. 8)
Elizabeth Warren, there is not enough aloe in the world for that burn.
theresa__13's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
bickie's review against another edition
At the start of the book, I thought it would be mostly about Lou and Cam's relationship, but Lou dumps Cam (via email) and moves on. I was struck and impressed by Lou's solid sense of herself and her values. She also models communication and apology, though I wasn't sure what to make of her note to Joey, which she says she spent a lot of time on. Short chapters and impressionistic style. Addresses white supremacy/racism in a fictional suburban town in Kansas not far from Lawrence where there are not a lot of people of color, but there are enough so that the cast of the play/musical every year should not ball all white.
menkswald's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
bri_kess's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
hayleybeale's review against another edition
4.0
When Native American Louise’s Kansas high school theater announces a “color-conscious” production of The Wizard of Oz, the prejudices and lack of awareness of some of the school’s majority white community become apparent. See my full review here.