Monday, December 14, 2015

Heart in a Box Review


Blurb:
Each heartbeat leads Joss closer a shocking truth that will change everything.

Joss Olstad wins the fight to switch from her private school to a public high to “find her pieces” she lost when the Indian artist father she never knew died. There, Joss struggles with a slutty friend, who flirts with her new love; Indian Culture Club girls who press her on her past, as well as her stoner mother’s lies back at home. Armed only with her handmade heart boxes that hold private messages, Joss’s search for identity leads her to a scary industrial section of Queens, and a shocking family secret that changes everything.

My review:
Joss Olstad found private school stale and stifling. As she starts at a public high school, she's determined to find herself amidst the diverse student population. Her hopes begin to crumble as one friend flirts with her boyfriend, the other Indiana girls act judgmental, and her hippie mother refuses to tell her anything about her father. Joss is losing herself even as she trying to find herself. A school project draw out the secret wishes of her heart, and she dares risk everything by going to discover a family secret that will either tear her world apart or make it whole.

This is my favorite young adult novel from Catherine Stine. It's an amazingly written story of a teenage girl trying to build her identity. Joss feels she cannot because she never knew her father or any of his history or family. I loved reading Joss' struggles in trying to find out who she is and how this helped her bloom into someone she did not expect. It's all at once genuine, sweet, heart wrenching, and wondrous. Sensational characterization and a tremendously moving story.

What a fantastic book for teens and adults. This should be on everyone's must read list!



Catherine Stine is hosting a Blitz Rafflecopter Giveaway with awesome prizes. Check it out on her blog here!

15 comments:

  1. Sometimes I read reviews for YA books like these, and I'm sad I can't share them with my daughter just yet. Soon!

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  2. Not a genre I read, but Catherine will be thrilled with your review.

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  3. Great review, anther book to add to the TBR list, but omg there are so many. Still, I can celebrate with Catherine for this sounds like a truly special one!

    Wishing you and yours a very Merry Holiday!

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  4. Doesn't sound like my cup of tea, but it's cool to see how much you enjoyed it. When YA is done well, it's definitely not just for teens.

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  5. Sounds like a good read. *slides off with credit card in hand*

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  6. Catherine's book sounds like a great read. Thanks for the review!

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  7. Great review for Catherine! This sounds like a good book!

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  8. Thanks to everyone for stopping by. Catherine's book is awesome and I don't usually read YA.

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  9. Awesome review! I have this one on my list already and now I can't wait to get to it. It sounds even better than I was hoping for. :)
    ~Jess

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  10. I adore YA. This sounds like one I'd enjoy. And the cover is cute too. :)

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  11. Great Review Christine. Love Catherine's cover!!! and it sounds amazing!

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  12. Interesting, I think most of us struggle with who we are at one time or another. :-)

    Anna from elements of emaginette

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  13. Great review! This sounds like such a moving story...

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