Review: How to Build a Heart by Maria Padlan
A truly touching, thematic young adult book that looks at themes such as loss, bullying, friendship, race, and family.
The main protaganist is a Latin-American girl, Izzy Crawford, who is portrayed as living in a mobile home park, in a low socioeconomic area in Virgina, America, with her navy widowed mum and younger brother Jack. I loved how this book not only focuses on Izzy and her family, but also her friends that are portrayed in this book, such as Audrey and her social anxiety and fear of being bullied again, and Roz with her alcoholic mother and abusive mother's boyfriend. These issues are thoroughly explored, as well as the issue of race, as Izzy and her mother feel like outsiders in the American community due to being Latinas.
I found it really touching that Izzy tries to rally everyone around her, including lost contacts to help build a house, saving her from that 'forever moving because we're poor' fear, which she tries so hard to hide from her friends from her catholic school (of which she's on scholarship for). I enjoyed how Izzy doesn't come off as snobby, even though she goes to the catholic school, and befriends the unlikeliest of people, such as Roz, her cousin Mark, and Aubrey and Sam.
I found the romance in this book felt sort of like insta-love, however, it didn't detract from the vibes the book was giving me!
Rating: 4/5
Thanks to Algonquin Young Readers and NetGalley for an e-copy of this title!
The main protaganist is a Latin-American girl, Izzy Crawford, who is portrayed as living in a mobile home park, in a low socioeconomic area in Virgina, America, with her navy widowed mum and younger brother Jack. I loved how this book not only focuses on Izzy and her family, but also her friends that are portrayed in this book, such as Audrey and her social anxiety and fear of being bullied again, and Roz with her alcoholic mother and abusive mother's boyfriend. These issues are thoroughly explored, as well as the issue of race, as Izzy and her mother feel like outsiders in the American community due to being Latinas.
I found it really touching that Izzy tries to rally everyone around her, including lost contacts to help build a house, saving her from that 'forever moving because we're poor' fear, which she tries so hard to hide from her friends from her catholic school (of which she's on scholarship for). I enjoyed how Izzy doesn't come off as snobby, even though she goes to the catholic school, and befriends the unlikeliest of people, such as Roz, her cousin Mark, and Aubrey and Sam.
I found the romance in this book felt sort of like insta-love, however, it didn't detract from the vibes the book was giving me!
Rating: 4/5
Thanks to Algonquin Young Readers and NetGalley for an e-copy of this title!
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