Author: Heather Demetrios
Also by this author: I'll Meet You There
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Genres: Romance, Young Adult Fiction
Publication Date: December 18, 2018
Rating:
This is a book about the dark side of love: the way it kicks your ass, tears out your heart, and then forces you to eat it, bite by bloody bite. If you’ve felt this way, you’re not alone…
In this powerful collection, YA authors answer real letters from teens all over the world about the dark side of love: dating violence, break-ups, cheating, betrayals, and loneliness. This book contains a no-holds-barred, raw outpouring of the wisdom these authors have culled from mining their own hearts for the fiction they write. Their responses are autobiographical, unflinching, and filled with love and hope for the anonymous teen letter writers.
Featuring Adi Alsaid, Becky Albertalli, Libba Bray, Heather Demetrios, Amy Ewing, Zach Fehst, Gayle Forman, Corey Ann Haydu, Varian Johnson, A.S. King, Nina LaCour, Kim Liggett, Kekla Magoon, Sarah McCarry, Sandhya Menon, Cristina Moracho, Jasmine Warga, and Ibi Zoboi.
❃ 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. ❃
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Review: Dear Heartbreak by Heather Demetrios
Dear Heartbreak by Heather Demetrios is a unique concept for a YA book. The format is an interesting compilation of letters from teens that have important questions about terms of the heart. Many of the responses written by the YA authors are surprising and provide teens with a sense that they are not alone in their feelings.
❀ Fantastic Responses
Anthologies, or in this case, letters, are extremely hard to rate and review because each one is different and distinct. Dear Heartbreak is arranged as a collection of letters written by teens in the hope that theirs will be chosen by an author to respond to. There are so many fantastic responses in the book. Some are very dark and hard to read. A common question that comes up is why it is so hard to find someone to love.
❀ Respectful Letters
The answers back to the teens are from the authors’ personal experiences. Some of my favourite responses to read were from Becky Albertalli, Sandyha Menon, and Kim Leggitt. All of the letters back were respectful and held lots of advice from their own lives growing up.
❀ Worth a Read
Dear Heartbreak by Heather Demetrios is definitely a different style of book that is well worth the read for some of these personal stories from our favourite YA authors. The letters that were chosen to be answered are well written and full of questions that many teens have about heartbreak. It is the perfect book for anyone looking for some advice about love and life.
About Heather Demetrios
When Heather Demetrios isn’t traipsing around the world or spending time in imaginary places, she lives with her husband in New York City. Heather has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a recipient of the PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award for her debut novel, Something Real. Her critically acclaimed novels include I’ll Meet You There, Bad Romance, and the Dark Caravan trilogy (Exquisite Captive, Blood Passage, Freedom’s Slave). She is the editor of the forthcoming anthology of epistolary essays, Dear Heartbreak: YA Authors on the Dark Side of Love, which features letters from real teens.
About Lori
Avid reader. Contributor to The Candid Cover. Educator.