A review by nmcannon
How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow

hopeful lighthearted 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

How to Excavate a Heart was a holiday read for our sapphic book club. Our members come from a variety of faith traditions, and one lived with a family obsessed with the Hallmark Channel. How to Excavate a Heart’s blurb offers a refreshing perspective on the cliche winter holiday tale. Arlow’s work delivered.

The saving grace of Shani’s winter break is a paleoichthyology internship at the Smithsonian. The rest of her life feels tattered: her first college semester was rocky at best, her relationship with her mom has some serious growing pains, and her girlfriend broke up with her. What was supposed to be a mini-new start immediately sours when she runs over someone walking their dog. That someone ends up being May, a prickly lost soul with her own family troubles. After some initial tension, the pair get on like a house on fire…which is not what this winter break was supposed to be about!

How to Excavate a Heart is a great, realistic queer teen romance. Often I feel out of step with YA, but Arlow found me. Both Shani and May are their own individuals, and they grow in organic ways. By novel’s end, they’re not out of the woods, but the path forward is clearer. Some of our book club members were put off with how Shani flirts with a younger barista in order to get free coffee. The recurring schtick is treated as a joke. While I wasn’t bothered, even I expected Shani to show character growth in this area. 

If that’s the only quibble I can muster up, trust that How to Excavate a Heart is a good book. I want more Shani/May. I want more fun fish facts. I honestly want to read a book about Shani’s grandma and her friend–they’re incredibly vivid on page, despite the grandma being dead. Where is the cute-tastic sequel?
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