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

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Dealing with grief is not easy. I haven’t read too many books that dive into magical realism and I think this was an interesting introduction. Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich did a great job tackling grief from a young person’s perspective. When our loved ones cross to the other side, we’re stuck here sorting out our feelings. For some, pressing forward can be easy and for others it can be a bit difficult. When it comes to grief, there is no timeline or a rule book. No matter how you battle grief, losing a loved one is always going to change you in some fashion. My favorite thing about this read is that although Harriet was the main focus, we were able to get a glimpse of other people that were also affected by the death of her brother. 

Side note: I loved that the author chose the color blue for the cover. I’m sure the creative choice was mainly because the main character loved swimming/the water. However, through research I discovered that the color blue represents sorrow. But it can also represent calmness, serenity, and peace. I think this book was the perfect representation of the color blue because it captured every emotion of the color. 
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