Tin Heart

by Shivaun Plozza

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Marlowe was born with a congenital heart condition, and after being very ill for many years, she had accepted her imminent death. All that changed one rainy night, when a car accident resulted in the death of another teen, and a new lease on life for Marlowe.

After receiving her new heart, Marlowe wasn't sure, who she was anymore. She had gotten used to being the dying girl without a future, but now she had a second chance. Marlowe spent a good part of the story trying to figure out who she was, but she did so, while dealing with the fact, that she had a future, because her donor didn't. She wanted, no needed, to know more about the donor, and another portion of the story was dedicated to her working through that.

I really felt all the emotional weight of this transplant. Plozzo did a wonderful job conveying the feelings and the inner conflicts Marlowe was battling with. She had to re-integrate into the world around her. She had to make new friends. She had to deal with her feelings of emptiness. She even had to deal with ridiculous twits, who teased her about her transplant (really?). But, everything she faced was a growing experience for her, and grow she did.

Plozzo won me over with this story, but her characters stole my heart. Marlowe was super complicated and dealing with a lot, so I empathized endlessly with her. But, her world was filled with such quirky and wonderful people for me to adore as well. Her mother was so over the top sometimes, but I admired her conviction and her unfailing love for her children. Her brother, Pip, was so, so precious. His love of Project Runway and crazy, inventive costumes was something I started to look forward to. He also loved so fiercely, and saw it as his duty to bring joy to the world. How could I NOT adore this kid.

And then, there was the butcher's son, Leo. You have to understand, Marlowe's mother owned a vegan store and they were staunch vegans - no gluten, no sugar, no meat, NOTHING! There is even a point where the mother says, "Honey, if you had brought home a conservative I'd be less disappointed." So, the fact that Marlowe and Leo develop a friendship and a romance was quite humorous, but you know what? I loved him. There was nothing cute about their meet-cute, but you could see the sparks, the banter was terribly fun, and seeing them realize they had more in common then they thought was very sweet.

Overall: A heartwarming, and often hilarious, look at one young woman's journey from dying-girl to her true self, which tugged at my heartstrings and left me with a smile on my face.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS