A review by booksalacarte
You, Me, and Our Heartstrings by Melissa See

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I appreciated reading about a MC with a disability and feeling challenged to expand my awareness of their experience. That Melissa See is an #ownvoices author, I was very excited to pick up this book! Many things were highlighted: disability/ableism, bullying, mental health/therapy, emotional neglect, panic attacks, and more with lgbt+ and diverse side characters.

The split POV didn’t really work, in my opinion. The voice of both the main characters were too similar, therefore confusing as a dual POV. I was very interested in the romantic tension in the beginning of the book. It seemed to be a great starting point, but then things very quickly moved onto the next dramatic plot point and I was left disappointed.

There was a definite pacing problem. I almost feel like there were flashpoints of plot that were set up, but the buildup and supportive writing to get to those points were not executed as fully as they could have been. Also, there was A LOT of different sub-plots in this 300 page book (like, a lot), each more dramatic than the rest, that took focus away from the main plot.

Over all, I was so excited for the representation, but found it not quite as fulfilling a read as I expected.
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