Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Review: The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance The Anatomical Shape of a Heart Cover
ISBN: 9781250066459
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N
Jenn Bennett Reading Order

Artist Beatrix Adams knows exactly how she’s spending the summer before her senior year. Determined to follow in Da Vinci’s footsteps, she’s ready to tackle the one thing that will give her an advantage in a museum-sponsored scholarship contest: drawing actual cadavers. But when she tries to sneak her way into the hospital’s Willed Body program and misses the last metro train home, she meets a boy who turns her summer plans upside down.

Jack is charming, wildly attractive…and possibly one of San Francisco’s most notorious graffiti artists. On midnight buses and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who Jack really is-and tries to uncover what he’s hiding that leaves him so wounded. But will these secrets come back to haunt him? Or will the skeletons in Beatrix's own family's closet tear them apart?

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart is a completely charming, utterly addictive, and – best of all – wholly unique story that’s sure to make you smile. Bex and Jack are wonderfully quirky and their spirit and heart make the pages of their book fly by.

Bex is a rising high school senior who hopes to be a medical illustrator. It’s a competitive field and she hopes to win a museum-sponsored scholarship contest by drawing real cadavers. But when she misses the last train home, she’s stuck taking the night bus. It’s there she meets Jack, another rising senior who is unlike anyone Bex has ever met. Jack is handsome, quick-witted, and unique. He’s also a notorious graffiti artist with a major secret. Their chance meeting and flirtation leads to more and soon the two are having breathtaking adventures and falling harder for one another than either could have imagined.

It’s easy to like Bex and Jack. They’re both smart, refreshingly different characters with big hearts that carry a few scars from the past. I won’t spoil the story by revealing what they’ve been through, but author Jenn Bennett gives both her protagonists fully fleshed-out histories and families that are important to the story. In fact, every character is fully-realized and beautifully drawn, imperfections and all.

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart isn’t all late-night escapades and cadaver drawings – there are family struggles, heartbreak, and consequences that have to be faced. The book tackles mental issues, divorce, and more. Most of all, the story has hope. Hope gets our hero and heroine through the dark times and makes you believe they can face any challenge on the road ahead. I loved the sense of realism imbued in the story. Ms. Bennett does a great job of mixing it with the breathless fall into love and the heady sense of adventure and freedom Bex and Jack feel when all of San Francisco is laid at their feet. Jack and Bex’s romance is joyful and completely spellbinding. I dare you not to fall for them and their tale.

Jenn Bennett is an auto-buy author for me no matter what genre she writes in. The Anatomical Shape of a Heart is Ms. Bennett’s first foray into the young adult genre and makes me believe there’s nothing she can’t write. The Anatomical Shape of a Heart made me laugh, tear up, and smile. I absolutely adored Bex and Jack and their quirky, witty, captivating romance is one I’m sure to enjoy again and again.


Note: In the UK, Australia, and New Zealand The Anatomical Shape of a Heart is titled Night Owls.

FTC Disclosure: 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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