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A review by julie_reads15
Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland
3.0
Summary
Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland is a contemporary young adult novel about how messy and complicated first love can be.
Henry is a 17-year-old teenager who has never been in love, but he's convinced he knows what it looks like.
When Grace walks into his drama class late on the second Tuesday of senior year, dressed in boys' clothing, looking unclean, and walking with a cane, she's not the kind of person Henry expected he would fall for.
Henry and Grace are assigned as editors of the school newspaper. Forced to work together, they get to know each other and Henry discovers there's something broken about her, and he's convinced he can help her put the pieces back together again.
Henry soon learns that the road to first love isn't as smooth and as easy as he expected it would be. It's complicated, messy and bittersweet. With Lola and Murray, his two quirky best friends by his side, Henry navigates the tumultuous journey of senior year.
Review
I liked how the novel wasn't an average love story. I think it realistically portrayed the emotions of how messy, complicated and bittersweet first love can be.
I like books that allude to a character being a manic pixie dream girl, but I didn't like how this book outright stated it. It's not something that should be stated in a book.
I liked the sense of mystery surrounding Grace. I kept reading in order to find out the answers to her secrets. However, it annoyed me how she was leading Henry on. She made him suffer in order to minimise her suffering.
I didn't like how Henry ignored Grace's mental illness by pretending she was the person he wanted her to be.
I really liked Lola. I loved her personality and I thought she was a great best friend to Henry. I also liked Sadie, I thought she was a great older sister to Henry.
The stereotype of Murray being an Australian immigrant who always spoke in Aussie slang felt forced and cliche.
The novel was brimming with pop culture references. I enjoyed the ones I understood. However, there were quite I few which I didn't understand so I couldn't enjoy them.
I liked the ending, it was realistic and relatable.
I recommend this book for anyone who's 14 years and older and wants to read a bittersweet coming of age novel about first love.
Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland is a contemporary young adult novel about how messy and complicated first love can be.
Henry is a 17-year-old teenager who has never been in love, but he's convinced he knows what it looks like.
When Grace walks into his drama class late on the second Tuesday of senior year, dressed in boys' clothing, looking unclean, and walking with a cane, she's not the kind of person Henry expected he would fall for.
Henry and Grace are assigned as editors of the school newspaper. Forced to work together, they get to know each other and Henry discovers there's something broken about her, and he's convinced he can help her put the pieces back together again.
Henry soon learns that the road to first love isn't as smooth and as easy as he expected it would be. It's complicated, messy and bittersweet. With Lola and Murray, his two quirky best friends by his side, Henry navigates the tumultuous journey of senior year.
Review
I liked how the novel wasn't an average love story. I think it realistically portrayed the emotions of how messy, complicated and bittersweet first love can be.
I like books that allude to a character being a manic pixie dream girl, but I didn't like how this book outright stated it. It's not something that should be stated in a book.
I liked the sense of mystery surrounding Grace. I kept reading in order to find out the answers to her secrets. However, it annoyed me how she was leading Henry on. She made him suffer in order to minimise her suffering.
I didn't like how Henry ignored Grace's mental illness by pretending she was the person he wanted her to be.
I really liked Lola. I loved her personality and I thought she was a great best friend to Henry. I also liked Sadie, I thought she was a great older sister to Henry.
The stereotype of Murray being an Australian immigrant who always spoke in Aussie slang felt forced and cliche.
The novel was brimming with pop culture references. I enjoyed the ones I understood. However, there were quite I few which I didn't understand so I couldn't enjoy them.
I liked the ending, it was realistic and relatable.
I recommend this book for anyone who's 14 years and older and wants to read a bittersweet coming of age novel about first love.