Mundie Moms

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Book Review: Instructions for a Broken Heart


By Kim Culbertson
Published By Source Books
Released On May 1st, 2011
Source: ARC from publisher for review
3 stars- It's a good read

Jessa’s drama club trip was going to be the ultimate experience: exploring exotic, enchanting Italy with her boyfriend, Sean – until she stumbles upon his makeout session with Natalie “Boob Job” Stone in the costume barn. Stuck with a front-row view of Sean and Natalie swapping kisses against the backdrop of the most romantic country in the world, Jessa’s best friend Carissa creates a travel care package called "Top Twenty Reasons He's a Slimy Jerk Bastard" – 20 envelopes with 20 different directives to help Jessa get over her “train wreck EX.” At turns hilarious and heartwrenching, Instructions for a Broken Heart paints a magical Italy in which Jessa learns she must figure out life—and romance—for herself.

Normally this kind of book isn't one I pick up and immediately sit down and read, but the cover, the Italian setting and a girl reeling from a broken heart peeked my curiosity and I had find out what happens.

After Jessa catches her then boyfriend and another girl, whom she calls big boobed Natalie making out their drama club's barn, Jessa is completely devastated, and broken hearted. To make matters worse she's stuck on their drama club's trip to Italy with them. Her best friend Carisa sends her off with twenty envelopes full of instructions in on to mend her broken heart. I liked the idea of the envelopes, but it quickly became apparent that Jessa' reaction to them caused her to do a few, dare I say stupid things. She is someone I liked at first, but quickly became frustrated with. For one, she does things while in Italy without thinking of the consequences of her actions or how it will make other people feel. I found it hard to relate to her moping over a guy who was obviously a jerk and someone it didn't seem she was with for every long. I can understand her feeling crushed and betrayed, she trusted him. The thing that bothered me the most was the fact she kissed her teacher. Sorry, I can't get over that, even though nothing, thank goodness came from that, but I'm still totally bugged by that quick scene.

Jessa is so consumed with her own grief that she loses herself, and becomes so self absorb with her broken heart doesn't even realize she has two fabulous guys in her life until it's almost too late... I really liked Tyler and Dylan. Tyler was there for Jessa through out the whole trip, supporting on her each of the missions Carisa wrote for her. He was loyal and honest with Jessa and her biggest source of support. Then there's Dylan Thomas who didn't have a lot of scenes in the book, but the ones he did have I liked. He surprised me with the bigger role he played in Jessa's story. Despite the things that bugged me about Jessa, I liked how much she grew on her trip. A lot of revelations on made on the trip, some I felt took away from her story, but she learned a lot about herself, she found things out about her best friend, and came to terms with the fact yes she was hurt by Sean, but she too had acted in ways that wasn't always honorable. She realized things aren't always what they seem, and everyone makes mistakes, it's part of life and growing up.

My favorite aspect of the book is the setting. I loved feeling like I was on a trip in Italy. I liked seeing the sights through the eyes of Jessa and getting a glimpse into what she was experiencing while there. Italy is a beautiful country with a rich history and it was the perfect place for Jessa to heal her broken heart. I'm a little torn about the book. I started off really enjoying it and then about half way through I became a bit frustrated with it. Is this book one I'd recommend? Yes, I still think it's a good read even though it's not a book I fell in love with. Kim's portrayal of a teen dealing with a broken heart was realistic, which I think teen readers will be able to relate to. Jessa's not a bad character, she just makes some pretty foolish mistakes, but who hasn't? She's a relatable character I think readers will enjoy meeting.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Labels