A review by styleandsavings
You're Breaking My Heart by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 Thank you Partner, Hear Our Voices Tours for the gifted copy

Harriet Adu and her family are grieving the tragic death of her older brother. They cope in different ways: her father travels and is rarely at home, her mother fixates on cooking and cleaning, and Harriet swims at the local college’s swimming pool. One day, she has an unbelievable sighting underwater! Alisia, a new girl at school, is the only person who seems to get Harriet by sharing the same interests and making her feel like less of an outsider. When Harriet decides to confront what she saw in the pool, her cousin Nikka and Harriet’s brother’s best friend Luke join her on the journey.

I really felt for Harriet, because not only did she feel grief and guilt about her brother, she had also been teased for years for not being like the “cool kids”. She knew she was smart, but didn’t feel pretty or as well-liked as her cousin Nikka. I think this book did a good job of capturing the comfort of being around someone who has known you since childhood and shares memories but also the discomfort of feeling that you can’t fully grow up or reinvent yourself. 

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA with diverse main characters and magical realism.