How to Build a Heart by Maria Padian, 352 pages. Algonquin Young Readers, 2020. $18.
Language: R (129 swears, 0 “f” + Spanish swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS – OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Izzy puts up a strong front to keep her home life and outside life separate, but she can’t keep it up forever. The carefully constructed partitions start to fail as good things enter Izzy’s life. Which is more important: her image or her happiness?
Readers have to get used to Padian’s fluid manipulation of the timeline, which I got annoyed with for a while in the middle of the book, but it all works out if readers stick with it. The ending tied up all the loose ends, but I wish that Izzy had been written to face the music regarding the last loose end that was tied up so that she could continue her character development. I felt like her arc was cut short by the easy out that Padian gave her.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
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