Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Publish Date: November 3rd 2015
Page Amount: 304 pages
Price: $17.99 Hardback
ISBN: 125006645X (ISBN13: 9781250066459)
Synopsis:
Artist Beatrix Adams knows exactly how she's spending the summer before her senior year. Determined to follow in Da Vinci's footsteps, she's ready to tackle the one thing that will give her an advantage in a museum-sponsored scholarship contest: drawing actual cadavers. But when she tries to sneak her way into the hospital's Willed Body program and misses the last metro train home, she meets a boy who turns her summer plans upside down.
Learn more about the book at Goodreads!
Learn more about the book at Goodreads!
About the Author:
Jenn Bennett is the author of the Arcadia Bell urban fantasy series with Pocket and the Roaring 20's historical paranormal romance series with Berkley. She lives near Atlanta with one husband and two pugs.
LOVE is not a strong enough word to describe my feelings toward this book.
I am a romantic person. I love watching the sappy, romantic movies around the holiday time, where for some odd reason, the girl always ends up getting with the guy of her dreams. While I find these movies sometimes predictable, my heart is lost in each and every one. I guess you could say I always love romantic stories.
The Anatomical Shape of a Heart did not disappoint. Jenn Bennett hooks the reader from the very first page, crafting a story full of suspense, disappointment, heartache, and romance that the reader will never want to end.
To say that I love this book was a definite understatement.
For one, I thought the characters were absolutely flawless. Don't get me wrong, Bex and Jack each have their own very complicated web of problems to sort through, but I instantly connected and bonded with each of these characters.
Bex, or Beatrix, Adams is a teenager who always knew what she wanted to do as a living. Medical drawings and diagrams spoke to her, and she decides to use her God-given talent to pursue her dreams of some day drawing diagrams and pictures for medical textbooks. However, in order to get there, she has to start from somewhere. Her local museum is sponsoring an art competition, in which the winner can receive a $10,000 dollar scholarship to the university of their choice. For Bex's family, this might be one of the only ways that she can go to the university of her dreams. After all, her father's lack of child support is not helping the situation.
Bex meets Jack one night on the way home on the Owl Bus; a transportation that Bex describes as "a form of transportation you don't really want to use unless you have to, or maybe not even then." Jack is mysterious, and his black hoodie, pants and hat don't help his image. But when he drops a can of spray paint on his way off of the bus, this spikes Bex's curiosity.
You know what they say, curiosity kills the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. You will understand what that means when you read the book.
Sadly, I can't say much more about the plot of the book without giving away massive spoilers of the plot. But, what I can say is that the plot is paced perfectly. There was just enough "downtime" and development of the characters between all of the conflicts that I felt like I really got to know Bex and Jack, and to understand some of what they were going through. I really feel like I know these characters personally, like they are my friends.
Like most of the good books that I read, I can also see pieces of these characters in my friends and even my family. I see Bex's passion for making art and following her dreams through my cousin, who is currently attending SCAD university and being one of the best student's that they have. I can also, however, see the terror and anxiety that Jack faces every day through my friends when they are having a rough day, whether it is due to lack of sleep or other stress outside of school. It takes a lot for a book to make me connect examples to my real life, but this book did it seamlessly. I didn't even have to think about it. I could just see my life in these characters. I think that is a very valuable connection.
(Ironically, there is a character named Dr. Sheridan in this book, and I was shocked and also pleased to see that my name was being used in a book, even if the character was not me. Maybe this hRaelped to kickstart the connection, maybe it didn't. But I still thought that was a very fun fact to share.)
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book, and I am very happy that I signed up for the Sunday Street Team for this book and the lovely author!
I do have to say though, that this book does have some sexual elements, especially in the second half of the novel. I am not necessarily as comfortable reading about these things as other teenagers my age (which is okay), but I found this bearable. By that, I mean that when I sensed these scenes and themes coming on, I could skim the pages and even skip them without feeling that I missed a giant piece of the story. But, for this reason, I also will suggest that this YA book is for older readers, and not for the younger readers that YA can appeal to.
I know I have been saying this a lot about all of these books that I have read this year, but I really do think that this book is stellar. The Anatomical Shape of a Heart is by far one of the best books I have read this year, and the story will definitely not disappoint any young adult reader. This romantic, fluffy and admirable book is filled with heartbreak, regret and secrets as well, appealing to any kind of reader. This book is real life, and that is truly what I love about it. If you like romance, this book is for you. If you like mystery, this book is for you. If you like books about mental illness, this book is for you. This book is sure to please every reader that stumbles upon his pages, and I really did enjoy the read.
Will you RISE to the challenge and read it?
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.
Here is the GIVEAWAY! This giveaway is street-team wide, meaning I am not responsible for the distribution of the prize. If you win the giveaway through entering on this blog, and you encounter problems or difficulties, you can feel free to message me and I will pass on your concerns to the appropriate person.
Good luck! :)
A Rafflecopter Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveawayThank you so much to Nori and the Sunday Street Team for providing me a digital ARC of this book to review! This does not affect my review of the book in any way, shape or form.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment on our blog posts! I will always try and get back to each and every single one of your comments! Please feel free to leave suggestions for new books to review, as well as comments on the individual reviews themselves. Again, thank you so much for stopping by!