Disclaimer: I have been provided with a proof copy by Hot Key Books in exchange for an honest review. This has not changed my review or opinion in any way.
Goodreads | Pre-order on Amazon
Donating your heart is the most precious gift of all.
Adam is a teenage boy who lives with his mum and younger sister. His dad has left them although lives close by. His sister no longer speaks. His mum works two jobs. Adam feels the weight of the world upon his shoulders.
Then his grandfather dies and in doing so he donates a very precious gift – his heart.
William is the recipient of Adam’s grandfather’s heart. He has no family and feels rootless and alone. In fact, he feels no particular reason to live. And then he meets Adam’s family.
William has received much, but it appears that he has much to offer Adam and his family too.
To put it simply, this book is unlike any I have ever read before. The writing is unusual, the characters are different, the setting is one not often used and the whole concept is one I would love to see more of.
I love the mixture of writing – it was extremely clever in structure. We jumped from different characters viewpoints, between prose, story and sketches. This book really stands apart in many ways, and above all, it intrigued me.
We dive right into the story, and I will admit that it confused me slightly. To be thrown into a characters life is a lot to take in – and I didn’t understand everything straight away! But the pure difference of this book made me want to carry on and find out more about the people this story follows. I wanted to understand.
On the subject of the confusion, I’d say that’s the only bad part of this book. Although much of it becomes clear as the story unfolds – some things were a little misty. One that stood out to me, for example, was the age of William. I thought he was not much older then Adam, and then I found out he was around the age of Adam’s parents. I liked this feature a lot, as it showed the unimportance of age, but I wish it had been clearly stated earlier in the story.
This book holds a lot of meaning. It talks about things many YA novels don’t – abuse, depression, illness, mental health and race. I love the way this book explored nationality and I felt some of it directly related to situations in some communities here in the UK.
I felt Adam’s story really demonstrated the need for equality, and I wish we had more of that. It really struck a chord with me, and reminded me the real importance for stories like this to be told.
A lot of things in this book felt important. The need to stand up for others and stand together. The longing to support others in their times of need. The need for love among those who are quiet, who are loud, who are different in appearance and age and backgrounds and personality and race. The need for love among all.
☽ ☽ ☽ ☽
4 out of 5 moons
The Books are Everywhere 