The Book of Broken Hearts

by Sarah Ockler

[Rowena]

The Hernandez sisters (Araceli, Lourdes, Mariposa and Jude) made a pact when Jude was 12 years old that they were completely done with everything Vargas. Reading back on it, I thought it was kind of silly but I understood why they did it. I mean, they went all official and swapped blood, lit candles and everything. Their blood ritual was legit and all these years later, Jude was scared of what her sisters would say when they found out that the youngest Vargas brother was working on their father’s motorcycle and Jude was getting really close to him.

Jude didn’t really understand the whole pact or the book of broken hearts that was passed down from sister to sister, a book that documented their broken hearts. Those older Hernandez sisters were a fierce and loyal lot. They hated the guys that broke their sisters hearts and two of those guys are Emilio’s brothers. So because Johnny and Miguel Vargas broke Celi and Lourdes’ hearts, the Vargas brothers were off limits. That whole family was off limits, to be exact.

But over the course of that summer, Jude and Emilio grow close. Emilio is helping Jude’s father come back to life. He’s bringing a smile to his face and joy to his life again which is rare these days. Jude will do whatever it takes to keep that smile on her Dad’s face for as long as she can. So Emilio stays. The closer they get, the deeper she falls and seeing her struggle with her loyalty to her sisters and her feelings for this Vargas brothers made for a really great story. As my daughter is fond of saying, “The struggle is real.” And it really was, for Jude.

Jude was dealing with what was happening with her father, the strain she can see her mother dealing with and dealing with her friends slipping away from her. On top of that, was her thing with Emilio.

I really liked Jude. I really, really liked Emilio. Emilio was so flirty spice and he was so carefree but you knew that there was more to him than what he put out for everyone to see. I really liked the emotional journey that we go through right along with Jude and I thought that Ockler did a fantastic job of writing Jude’s story. She wasn’t a perfect character but she was likable. And I was able to connect with what she was going through and how she was feeling.

I really liked getting to know her family and I liked Emilio, his friends and his mother. I loved getting to know each and every single character that we came across in this book and I’m so very glad that I read this book. It was entertaining, it was emotional and it took me to my happy place so overall, I loved it. I highly recommend this to lovers of contemporary YA, new adult and contemporary stories in general. It’s a good one.