Hi everyone! This is my review for one of the Sunday Street Team’s November books, The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennet.
You can enter to win a copy of this book here.
The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett
Release date: November 3, 2015
304 pages
My rating:
Artist Beatrix Adams knows exactly how she’s spending the summer before her senior year. Determined to follow in Leonardo 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.
Jack is charming, wildly attractive . . . and possibly one of San Francisco’s most notorious graffiti artists. On midnight buses and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who Jack really is—and tries to uncover what he’s hiding that leaves him so wounded. But will these secrets come back to haunt him? Or will the skeletons in Beatrix’s own family’s closet tear them apart?
As far as contemporary young adult romance goes, this has to be one of my favorites so far. Since the goodreads synopsis gives you a good idea of what to expect, I’m going to jump straight into the review and skip the summary that I usually give.
I love the fact that this book has a strong artistic flavor to it. Both the protagonist, Beatrix, and her love interest, Jack, are artistically inclined, but in completely different ways. I also love that Beatrix is motivated and has a goal in sight which she stays focused on throughout the novel.
Both Jack and Beatrix have family issues that they have to deal with throughout the novel, and the support that they provide for one another is admirable; I enjoyed seeing the way that they were able to help each other during those difficult moments. I liked how no one in the novel is “perfect” and that even the characters that we assumed were honest and straightforward turned out to be hiding something. It’s fun to see a contemporary novel that still has plot twists and surprises.
This book deals with specific issues that I won’t go into because of spoilers, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a seemingly light book take such a dark and heavy turn. To me, that shows that you don’t have to sacrifice a good plot and meaningful message for a cute romance story; you can have both and still end up with a great novel.
Lastly, I liked the romance between the two characters. They were both endearingly cute and shy and a little awkward at times. They respected one another and understood that boundaries should only ever be crossed with permission. Neither of them tried to push the relationship in a way that made the other uncomfortable.
If you’re looking for a short and adorable love story that isn’t cliche or boring in the least, then I highly suggest you give this book a try.
Thanks for reading!
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.
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