Review: Unbreak My Heart

UNBREAK MY HEART
Melissa Walker
Bloomsbury USA

Clementine doesn't love the idea of spending the summer stuck with her parents and younger sister Olive on their sailboat, but it's better than the alternative of staying home as a social pariah. Ever since Clem fell for her best friend's boyfriend, she's been frozen out by her friends, especially her best friend, who's forgiven the boyfriend. Because of this, Clem's perpetually sad and feeling pretty anti-social despite her family's best efforts to cheer her up. And even when she meets the happy-go-lucky James (who's spending the summer sailing with his dad), it's hard for Clementine to let go of her past and her sadness enough to capture something that might be good.

The narrative of Melissa Walker's latest novel is split between Clem's summer of sailing with her family and meeting James, and the past school year when she found herself falling for Ethan, her best friend's boyfriend. And though this sort of back-and-forth storytelling doesn't always work, this book really pulls it off, managing to make both storylines interesting, engaging, and obviously connected. You need the backstory of what Clem did in order for her present situation to carry the same amount of weight.

The story is full of realistic, likable characters, especially within Clementine's family. Her younger sister, Olive, is relentless in her quest to cheer Clem up while James' happy attitude adds a lightness to the situation. That said, despite the cuteness of the characters and their interactions, I found myself wanting a bit more depth here. James' and Clem's relationship in particular is quirky and sweet, but also felt a bit lukewarm to me. In fact, I feel bad saying this, but I preferred Clem and Ethan, as I felt that Ethan was a better-developed character and the two of them just worked for me, despite how ill-advised they were.

Which brings me to the crux of this book: the (broken) relationship between Clem and her best friend. I'm such a sucker for books that tackle this particular topic and Walker handles it with the right amount of heartbreak. It's completely believable to me that Clem would be cut off from her family and essentially a brooding mess at the start of the story, not because of Ethan, but because she'd lost her best friend. While I wanted a bit of a resolution between Clem and her best friend, the rift was handled well and realistically, especially with the many drafts of a letter that Clem kept trying to write throughout the summer. For the most part this was a cute book, but every so often, with certain turns of phrase, it soared above "cute" or "entertaining" and right into "perfect."

Review: Small Town Sinners

SMALL TOWN SINNERS
Melissa Walker
Bloomsbury

Now that Lacey Anne, good church girl extraordinaire, is old enough to get a "real part" in her church's annual Hell House, she tries out for one of the more emotional roles - that of the Abortion Girl. At first what she wants (an awesome Hell House) is simple, but when she finds herself attracted to a boy her dad might not approve of and realizes she doesn't agree with all of her dad's decisions, the black-and-white way Lacey Anne views the world starts to shift. I hadn't heard of a Hell House before hearing about this novel and finding out about them was a bit jarring, to say the least. The basic premise of a Hell House, if I understand it right, is a sort of "haunted house of sins" to try and scare people away from sin and into following Jesus. And this Hell House is especially gruesome. So to be honest, knowing what this book was about and that the main character was a very strict good girl, I was wary going into it. I have a hard time with characters who do a 180 when it comes to personality or beliefs and was afraid that the increidbly-good Lacey Anne would fall into that camp. So I went into this book with some hesitation.

If I'm being honest, I almost didn't review this book; the main character (especially in the beginning) reminds me so much of a girl I was best friends with for years and it was hard for me to get past the many similarities. That said, my original expectations for the characters - particularly that best friend Starla Joy was going to be a rebellious girl who didn't live up to Lacey Anne's good-girl standards - quickly went out the window. Lacey Anne's friends, aside from some mild, superficial differences, are as squeaky-clean as she is. They've all signed abstinence pledges, the girls wear purity rings, and everyone gets along well with their families. Lacey Anne's dad is the Youth Pastor and she's never had a reason to disagree with what he says or believes.

But as the church begins to prepare for its annual Hell House, Lacey Anne finds herself rethinking some of the things she'd always taken for granted. She feels a kinship to the new boy in town, despite the fact that he says the Hell House isn't his thing and despite her father not approving. Ty, she reasons, is a good guy. He goes to church, he lives his life right... but he also makes her question issues that her and her friends had always taken for granted. He makes her think. There was a lot in this book. Not only Lacey Anne's romance and questions of faith and religion, but other sub-themes that shone. Are all sins equally as bad? Is doing drugs as bad as murdering? There was also a sub-theme of gender inequality and double standards that I absolutely loved.

What struck me most about this book is that despite dealing with very heavy, controversial topics (abortion, homosexuality, religion, etc) the story never feels message-driven. It's always very much about Lacey Anne, her changing faith, and the friends she cares so much about. The characters aren't stereotypes and despite their often black-and-white views, there's a very human element to everything that happens. And while I initially expected Ty to be the quintessential "bad boy," he was anything but. He was thoughtful and loyal and believed in both God and questioning. Without giving too much away, I think that Ty is one of the best love interests and characters I've come across in quite a while. His relationship with Lacey Anne is sweet and realistic.

This book brings up a lot of questions that Lacey Anne must deal with and I loved that although her faith was tested, she was determined to persevere and answer the questions for herself. However, I do wish that there had been some indication of where she stood - by the end of the book - on certain matters. Questioning is wonderful, but sooner or later you have to find answers to those questions and while I understood and appreciated why things were left open-ended (for starters these questions take quite a while to sort out), I found that I did want a little more resolution.

Honestly though, that's a small thing and this was a great book that dealt with the topic of religion fairly and faith positively. Whatever your beliefs, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this thought-provoking and well-written book.