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Instructions for a Secondhand Heart by Tamsyn Murray has an enjoyable concept, but the characterization is lacking. I also found certain aspects of the book to be kind of creepy, and I didn’t enjoy the romance. This book had so much potential, but I ended up pretty disappointed.
Title: Instructions for a Secondhand HeartAuthor: Tamsyn Murray
Publisher: Poppy
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult Fiction
Publication Date: December 5, 2017
Rating:
onny knows better than anyone that life is full of cruel ironies. He's spent every day in a hospital hooked up to machines to keep his heart ticking. Then when a donor match is found for Jonny's heart, that turns out to be the cruelest irony of all. Because for Jonny's life to finally start, someone else's had to end.
That someone turns out to be Neve's twin brother, Leo. When Leo was alive, all Neve wanted was for him (and all his glorious, overshadowing perfection) to leave. Now that Leo's actually gone forever, Neve has no idea how to move forward. Then Jonny walks into her life looking for answers, her brother's heart beating in his chest, and everything starts to change.
Together, Neve and Jonny will have to face the future, no matter how frightening it is, while also learning to heal their hearts, no matter how much it hurts.
(Features select illustrations from "Jonny's" sketchbook.)
❃ I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. ❃
Instructions for a Secondhand Heart, Tamsyn Murray
This book has such an original concept! It tells the story of a boy who receives a heart transplant and befriends the sister of his donor. Neve is dealing with the grief of her brother’s death, and Jonny is dealing with the guilt of getting a second chance at life while his friend is still battling cancer. I enjoyed how the narration alternates between Jonny and Neve, allowing the reader to understand Jonny’s reasons for wanting to know more about his donor and Neve’s regrets from the day her twin brother died. The story is pretty complex and is definitely a whirlwind of emotions.
❀ Hard to Relate to the Characters
I’m not quite sure how I feel about Jonny’s character. I sympathized with him, and the challenges he faces are so real, but I found his actions to be kind of creepy. I understand his curiosity, but tracking Neve down and lying about the reason why is a bit unsettling. He shows up at a fundraiser she attends and sends her messages on Facebook, all while hiding his true relation to her and his motive. Even when he and Neve become friends, Jonny always seems to lead her on, and the constant back-and-forth got kind of annoying. I also didn’t enjoy Neve’s character very much. She is a bit whiny and gets overly jealous without knowing the full story. I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if the characters had been easier to connect with.
❀ Subtle Creepiness
My main reason for not loving this book is the subtle creepiness, but I also didn’t enjoy the romance. It seemed a bit unnecessary, and I would have preferred if Jonny and Neve had stayed as friends instead. Their forced relationship takes away from the impact of the story in my opinion, and the love triangle is kind of pointless. Instructions for a Secondhand Heart would have been much better without all the extraneous drama.
❀ An intriguing story
Instructions for a Secondhand Heart by Tamsyn Murray is an intriguing story about grief and a second chance at life. I have mixed feelings about the main characters, and I just couldn’t really connect with them. Jonny’s borderline creepy actions and the forced romance take away from the story, and I definitely feel like the book could have been better.
Quotes: INstructions for a Secondhand Heart
Book Beginning:
My name is Jonny Webb and I am a robot. Last summer, my heart stopped for three and a half minutes.
Friday 56:
I am a monster. I’m not sure even Iron Man would stoop this low. and he’s got a pretty shady track record where women are concerned.
About The Candid Cover
Olivia ❀ Canadian YA book blogger, Starbucks lover, & professional bibliophile.
This sounds like it could be a sad one. It’s really too bad you weren’t able to connect with the characters.
Yeah. It was something that I had higher expectations for.
Lovely review! This book sounds quite interesting, I really like the synopsis, but it’s a bit of a shame that you didn’t entirely love it…. I think I would find Jonny’s actions quite creepy as well, and it certainly seems like there is a bit of drama… and unecessary romance :/ that’s too bad, it sounded promising! thank you for the lovely review 🙂
I like the cover of this one, but I feel like I have read a lot of very similar stories, and this one just isn’t arousing any interest in me.