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A review by lucyjunee
Fierce Fragile Hearts by Sara Barnard
5.0
Wow.
I loved this.
This is the sequel to a beautiful and stunning novel I read last year, focusing on female friendships, growing up and mental illness.
As of now, I have read all of Sara Barnard's books and I can confidently say I absolutely adore every single one of them, she is definitely one of my favourite authors and this is one of my favourite books she’s wrote.
The core of this book is about relationships. Whether they be familial, platonic or romantic, each and every single relationship between all of the characters are incredibly developed, lovely and unique. The exploration of this topic was so well done and I was drawn in and rooting for every one of them to work out. Barnard flawlessly executed the complexities of realistic bonds and I loved reading about them as they develop and grow.
Our protagonist, Suzanne was beautifully done. The writer is just so incredible and writes so deeply that these characters feel like people. Suze is so flawed and messy but this adds a layer of authenticity and it made me fall in love with her.
Not only that, but Caddy and Rosie were still the same but completely different. There’s a two year gap between the first instalment and this novel so evidently through their teenage years, they have grown as people and definitely changed but due to the end of the first book, Suzanne feels like she’s stuck in the past and hasn’t been able to grow with them. I found this so fascinating to read about and I really enjoyed it.
Barnard manages to effortlessly juggle a myriad of unique and interesting subplots from Suzanne building a relationship with her elderly neighbour, Dilys, to her muddling her way through the beginning of adulthood and trying to maintain friendships, deal with trauma and mental illness and trying to balance work. I found this all so entertaining. Most young adult books focus on characters of a younger age but the protagonist in this book is now nineteen which is a very underrepresented part of adolescence so I thought this was completely intriguing to read about.
Another thing I really loved was the mental health representation. Although I can’t speak for the accuracy of the portrayal for post-traumatic stress disorder, I believe the depression rep. was spot on. It was fantastically done and I thought it was phenomenal. Mental illness is barely discussed even though it effects one in four people daily so I loved seeing it being brought to attention.
In conclusion, this book was absolutely brilliant. I loved every second of it. Barnard is undeniably talented and I would read anything she produces. If you’re looking for a stunning piece of literature focusing on character growth and dealing with life after trauma, this is one I’d definitely recommend but be cautious of the content triggers which include: suicide, depression, abuse, trauma, stroke and death.
Love, Lucy x
I loved this.
This is the sequel to a beautiful and stunning novel I read last year, focusing on female friendships, growing up and mental illness.
As of now, I have read all of Sara Barnard's books and I can confidently say I absolutely adore every single one of them, she is definitely one of my favourite authors and this is one of my favourite books she’s wrote.
The core of this book is about relationships. Whether they be familial, platonic or romantic, each and every single relationship between all of the characters are incredibly developed, lovely and unique. The exploration of this topic was so well done and I was drawn in and rooting for every one of them to work out. Barnard flawlessly executed the complexities of realistic bonds and I loved reading about them as they develop and grow.
Our protagonist, Suzanne was beautifully done. The writer is just so incredible and writes so deeply that these characters feel like people. Suze is so flawed and messy but this adds a layer of authenticity and it made me fall in love with her.
Not only that, but Caddy and Rosie were still the same but completely different. There’s a two year gap between the first instalment and this novel so evidently through their teenage years, they have grown as people and definitely changed but due to the end of the first book, Suzanne feels like she’s stuck in the past and hasn’t been able to grow with them. I found this so fascinating to read about and I really enjoyed it.
Barnard manages to effortlessly juggle a myriad of unique and interesting subplots from Suzanne building a relationship with her elderly neighbour, Dilys, to her muddling her way through the beginning of adulthood and trying to maintain friendships, deal with trauma and mental illness and trying to balance work. I found this all so entertaining. Most young adult books focus on characters of a younger age but the protagonist in this book is now nineteen which is a very underrepresented part of adolescence so I thought this was completely intriguing to read about.
Another thing I really loved was the mental health representation. Although I can’t speak for the accuracy of the portrayal for post-traumatic stress disorder, I believe the depression rep. was spot on. It was fantastically done and I thought it was phenomenal. Mental illness is barely discussed even though it effects one in four people daily so I loved seeing it being brought to attention.
In conclusion, this book was absolutely brilliant. I loved every second of it. Barnard is undeniably talented and I would read anything she produces. If you’re looking for a stunning piece of literature focusing on character growth and dealing with life after trauma, this is one I’d definitely recommend but be cautious of the content triggers which include: suicide, depression, abuse, trauma, stroke and death.
Love, Lucy x