ARC Review: The Book of Broken Hearts

The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler
2/5 stars
Simon Pulse, 2013
357 pages
YA Contemporary Romance
Scheduled to release May 21

Source: Received an e-ARC through the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I must say that I adore this cover! Before I started this book, I was telling my coworker about it as my next read and I mentioned that I couldn't remember what the plot was supposed to be about; however the cover was beautiful. If you do bookish manicures, I think it would be really cute to have eight nails purple and then two orange.

Unfortunately that is probably the element about which I can be most positive as this book irked me in a similar way as Bittersweet did. My strongest memory of Bittersweet, after almost two months, is that main character Hudson pushed aside her friend ostensibly in pursuit of a larger goal but mostly because of some cute guys who ran hot and cold. Similarly in this book, Jude pushes aside her friends, justifying it to herself as wanting to spend more time with her father who is suffering from early onset Alzheimer's disease but moreso because of the cute boy who has entered her life. I found Jude fairly insufferable due to this and as she is the narrator, that made reading this book difficult.

In a weird way though, I felt like the romance wasn't that front and center despite what the summary seemed to suggest with family taking up more space on the page but with nothing sinking into my consciousness and heart. I also found Jude a bit naive. She has just graduated high school and is all set for a great summer before heading off to college. But her father's loss of facilities (diagnosed by the doctors) dominates her thoughts instead and for some reason, she seems to think she can reverse it if she can just restore his old motorcycle (with the aid of Emilio Vargas, youngest brother of the boy who broke the heart of one of Jude's sisters). I understand not wanting to accept the negative prognosis from a doctor but I thought Jude just seemed really stupid not to recognize what was happening. Her dad was not going to magically get better because of this ill-conceived plan. I think that added to my frustration along with how Jude pushed aside her friends while grabbing every opportunity to hang out with this new boy.

As I continue to think about this book, I recollect that it is not only the cover I liked. I loved the cultural heritage of the characters. Jude's family is of Argentine descent and Emilio's is from Puerto Rico with food, music, and language references to these heritages. I don't know how much that added to the story but it was a unique element.

Overall: This contemporary did not wow me at all-it felt pretty familiar although the diversity of the characters is new and appreciated.

Other Opinions:
Angieville
Anna Reads
Jen Ryland/YA Romantics
Rather Be Reading

Bittersweet

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler
4/5 stars
Simon Pulse, 2013
378 pages
YA Contemporary

Source: Library

This book had a lot going for it: Sarah Ockler has a fine YA contemporary pedigree; I adore books with cooking/baking; and there are cute hockey boys (including one named Will!) After reading this though, my feelings about it, alas, are bittersweet.

Let's start with the good, which would definitely include all the food related moments. Main character Hudson makes cupcakes for her mom's diner and each chapter title is a description of a kind of cupcake. And these are no ordinary cupcakes; these are gourmet absolutely delectable mouthwatering cupcakes. I got a little bit hungry just reading some of the samples.

Another highlight is the yummy hockey boys. Although Will has his moments, the real star is Josh (who shares a name with hot Paul Rudd in Clueless so that's fine with me). I am way too old for high school boys but for a time, I was able to pretend that everything was age appropriate. There are also some really excellent friends in here, way better than Hudson deserves as she treats many people poorly.

A third highlight I should mention is the ice skating. Hudson was on track for figure skating glory before throwing it all away over the dissolution of her parents' marriage. A chance for a scholarship (and thus the ability to leave her tiny town for greener pastures) prompts her to get back on the ice and also entangles her with the hockey boys. This book was really fun for me to read as Ockler ably gets us to feel the ice and cold while I got to actually chill in the So Cal sun (seriously the best weather!)

The more bitter part would be just that everything felt a little too predictable like how Hudson was slowly losing sight of what means the most on her quest for the scholarship and just how overstuffed this book is. There are family, friend, romantic, and money troubles included as well as general teen anxiety over the future-I'm not sure that everything was as smoothly handled as it could have been had a few elements been taken out. I ended up really frustrated with Hudson especially in regards to the way she handled her sole friendship.

Overall: A tasty jam-packed treat for YA contemporary fans!

Fixing Delilah

Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler
Little, Brown and Company, 2010
308 pages
YA; Contemporary; Family
4/5 stars

Source: Library

Summary: Eight years ago Delilah's mother, aunt, and grandmother had a big fight causing the daughters to never speak to their mother again and for them never to return to the idyllic summer cottage where the grandmother lives.  Then comes her death and the reunion of the three Hannaford women as Delilah attempts to unravel the secrets of that summer and of her family.

Thoughts: This is my first Sarah Ockler although I definitely want to read Twenty Boy Summer.  The first pleasing instance in this book was the discovery that there is a character named Stephanie...who is alas dead.  However I liked seeing a story that was focused on family.  Delilah and her mother used to be close but her mother's work takes up so much time that their relationship is highly fractured.  Plus as Delilah acts out, their inability to communicate drives them further apart.  The summer spent preparing for an estate sale at the grandmother's house helps patch up part but does not completely heal their relationship, which I found very realistic.

Less realistic (and less pleasing to me) was the romance between Delilah and Patrick.  Patrick and Delilah had been best friends all those years ago and they pick up their relationship and fall for each in a way that was almost too perfect.  He's a great guy and I highly approve of the nice not-creepy guy with his own ambitions who wants to support his love interest in her pursuits (whenever she figures them out) being featured as the love interest.  But the fact that eight years later he still thinks of her and misses her seemed unrealistic, especially due to their age difference (two/three years).  Are we to seriously believe there were no other girls around who might have turned his head?  Regardless I did like Patrick a lot.

One very important issue in the book is mental illness, specifically depression as Stephanie and Grandmother had it and dealt with it in their own ways.  I feel like that's such an important topic and so easily stigmatized in today's culture. I thought Ockler handled it well and gave the reader insight into that depression while also creating characters who had other facets to their personality.

I was so excited about the family secret that tore apart the family because I figured out what it was way before the official reveal.  Of course I also thought Delilah way overreacted; however that reaction is in character for her even as I saw her actions damage her relationship with her mother and with her sort-of boyfriend Patrick.

One slightly off-topic question: Patrick has amber eyes.  I feel like I've read quite a few YA books where the boy has amber eyes-why is that so popular? I don't want to insult anyone with amber eyes but what's wrong with brown? or blue? or (cause I'm a sucker for it) a freckled redhead with green eyes?

Read as part of the Contemps Challenge