The premise of “Hearts Unbroken“ sounded amazing. We have Louise Wolf, our female main character, who is a Native teen trying to deal with high school and the problems that come with first love. She’s a confident girl who doesn’t take shit from her boyfriend when he insults Native people in front of her and just dumps him via email, also because she’d much rather spend time with friends and family or on the school newspaper anyway.

When I first read the synopsis of this book, I knew immediately that I wanted to read it and hoped it would be as good as I thought it would be. But unfortunately, books sometimes just don’t live up to their synopsis.

I want to start with what I liked about “Hearts Unbroken” before I get into what bothered me about it and lead to my low rating. First of all, this book deals with such an important and interesting topic that we just don’t see a lot in literature. I loved how the main character, her family and other characters were Native Americans. As a European, I have to admit that I don’t know a lot about this group of people that unfortunately is just so underrepresented in literature and I really enjoyed learning more about their culture. Second of all, this was also such a quick read. I pretty much flew through it and if I’d had the time to just sit down and read it in one go, I think I could’ve easily finished it in under three hours.

But that’s already everything that I had on my list of positive things about “Hearts Unbroken” and everything else about this book was pretty disappointing. My biggest problem with this novel was definitely the writing. This may sound harsh, but if this hadn’t been an ARC, I don’t think I would’ve ever read the novel because at the end of its first page, I already knew that the writing just absolutely wasn’t for me. “Hearts Unbroken” was very poorly written which I think was also the main reason why I just never really got into the story.

Furthermore, I also really disliked how short most of the chapters were. Usually, I’m someone who definitely prefers shorter chapters over long ones, but Smith just often tended to end chapters at very important points and just threw the reader into a completely different scene which really interrupted the reading flow. Also, the chapters that were longer were usually just longer when Louise did interviews for the school newspaper and while I found some of her articles quite interesting, I often felt like I was just reading someone’s summary of their journalistic work instead of a proper novel about Louise’s life.

One last thing I then really had a problem with concerns the characters in this book. Firstly, there are way too many characters in this novel. In almost every chapter new characters - that ultimately aren’t even important to the story - are introduced and at the end of the book, I still hadn’t fully understood who was who. Secondly, there was also zero character development for many of the main characters in this book which was quite sad because I feel like if Smith hadn’t added quite as many characters to the book, she would’ve easily had time to focus more on those that were important for the actual story the novel tells.

So altogether, this was a book that deals with a very important topic but that is just very poorly written. If this had just once again been about some random topic you find in so many other YA contemporaries, I would’ve without a doubt only rated this one star. But due to the premise of this novel and because I definitely learned some interesting things while reading it, I decided to give it two out of five stars.

dnf but not for lack of trying, my review copy was just really wonky and unaligned. would like to pick up a copy from the library and try again. loved what i read so far, but hard to rate something you couldn't finish.

Hearts Unbroken is the story of Louise Wolfe, a Native teenager, Muscogee Nation. She deals with all of the normal teenage angsts-boys, friends, hormones, etc., but she also wrestles with what it is to be a Native person, the “Hollywood Indian” that is commonly used in the narrative of Thanksgiving and other historic events and on sports teams, what it means to be a Native person in America.  She is navigating how to deal with the misappropriation of her culture and how to reconcile what she knows with what she sees in her world.

I really enjoyed this YA novel. It is fiction, but loosely based on real accounts from the author’s own experience.  I really loved Louise and her family, and I enjoyed the narrative as a whole. I especially found the relationship between Louise and her Lebanese-American boyfriend compelling in that within the context of Louise's relationship with him, she must confront her own biases and stereotyping. 

I liked this book and thought it was a fast read. I did think it times it seemed a little over-simplified and predictable--in terms of how conflicts were resolved. However, it gave me a whole lot to think about, and overall, I think it is a great place for young people to start in understanding the Native experience in America. I think what stood out to me most is my own participation in the misappropriation of Native culture. This book made me realize how important it is to fight the stereotypes of the "Hollywood Indian" portrayed in American culture and to refuse to accept this misappropriation.

Don't miss this: There is a great author’s notes section where Smith explains how the book came about and how she researched and included some of her own story into the book. I found this portion of the book especially enlightening.

“1. Don’t bother me unless you’re on fire. 2. Don’t catch on Fire.” – Hearts Unbroken.
Hearts Unbroken is about Louise, a Native American girl in high school, and the novel’s voice feels just like that; as if Louise is a real girl and she’s right there telling you about her world. There is no purple prose, no drawn out paragraphs, just real talk and that’s what makes Louise’s voice great to read even when she’s the one in the wrong. It’s also Louise voice that holds the book together.
The story itself starts too early, but the opening scene solidified my love for Louise. Her boyfriend says some derogatory comments about Native Americans, and she breaks up with him in the coldest way possible; an email! From there the summer passes like a laundry list of events that focus on unintentional or blatant discrimination. Only one of those events has any effect on the story’s overall plot, and it would have been difficult to get through if Louise voice wasn’t interesting to read. These events could have been better inserted in the main plot’s sequence of events.
When school starts, we get to the real point of the plot: the diverse casting of the Wizard of Oz.
“L. Frank Baum is remembered as someone who created a magical world with very different characters coming together as friends. But he was like the Wizard. His public image doesn’t match the reality of who he was. Baum was a terrible man who hated American Indians and wanted us all killed.” – Unbroken Hearts
Jealousy over the diverse casting fans racists thoughts and learned prejudice. Anger spreads out of the school and all the way to the local church. Petitions are signed to return the cast to the “traditional” aka white, casting. Threatening letters and vandalisms test Louise and her family’s strength, becoming an almost daily part of life. I was rooting for the play’s success and for the fall of these hateful people, and couldn’t put the book down.
I’d rate this book 4/5 stars. It was hard to put down, especially after things heat up between Louise and Joey. It’s an easy read, with a real world voice, and one a scale of 1- leave it on the shelf to 10- buy the hard copy, kindle, and the audio, I’d rate this an 8. Read it for the voice. Read it for yourself, because everyone needs to hear the #poc, #ownvoice story and see the world outside of their own upbringings.

Posted at www.bickeringbookreviews.com on October 3

Summary: Louise Wolf thought she was in love with her football star boyfriend, Cam, but when he mocks Native Americans she knows she has to break up with him.  Louise tries to piece her life back together by joining the school's newspaper and life starts looking up when Louise begins to connect with new student, Joey.  But Louise is pulled into a school scandal when her younger brother, Hughie's, casting in the school's production of The Wizard of Oz angers parents who don't like the fact that a Native America was cast in a lead role.  Louise and Joey team up to report on this issue that is so much more than just a high school production.

Review: I had such a mixed reaction to this book.  The basic story of a Native American girl trying to find her place in a suburban public school is a story that needs to be told especially by an author that is Native America.  Louise and the prejudices that she faces feel very realistic and the kind of stories that need to be told.  However, there was something about this book that didn't quite work and managed to hit all of my pet peeves triggers.  The tone of the book didn't really feel like it fit the story.  The message is so important however the narrative voice felt very much like what you would encounter in a fluffy teen novel.  The tone and subject matter just felt a little disjointed and lessened  the impact of the book's message.  Also, the romance between Louise and Joey was at time sweet but at other times had me questioning why Louise would try so hard to keep a boy that, at times,  felt unkind.  Yet, even with these issues the books underlying examination of what it's like to be Native American in today's society makes the book worth reading.

A contemporary young adult book featuring a First Nations main character, this was an interesting book that had a lot of potential and was not afraid to tackle some very difficult subjects.
Louise Wolf is a senior in high school, navigating the waters of her first real relationship, when a casual remark by her boyfriend reveals that he is not the guy she thought he was, Suddenly single, on her own terms, she decides to devote more time to her work on the school newspaper, where she is paired with new student Joey, While their relationship is somewhat abrasive at first, controversy soon sees them presenting a united front. The school's production of The Wizard of Oz soon becomes a bone of contention with some parents and students, simply because the teacher has given some prominent roles to ethnically diverse characters. As hostility increases, and a campaign of bullying and vandalism escalates to dangerous levels , Louise and Joey become closer, while Louise is determined to support her younger brother, who is one of the targets of the bullying campaign.
This book really had a lot of potential, and I admire the way the author tackled some very difficult subjects, but I found the writing style detrimental to my enjoyment of the book as a whole. The whole thing felt very disjointed, rapidly jumping from one thing to another without any real attempt to connect them for the reader, and quite often this happened at a point where I was expecting to really dig in to what was going on between the characters. It was disappointing that every time it felt like it was time to really get into a topic, e.g. following an argument between two characters , the action cut to something completely different, It's a pity, because I loved Louise as a character, in fact I loved her whole family.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Well done YA with some many fantastic teaching opportunities for us. I loved the own voices aspect, as well as the many topics brought up that kids have to face in high school.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

Conceptually, Hearts Unbroken had a good plot and setting to discuss micro-agressions, racism and bigotry faced by minorities in a predominantly white community. Louise's family had moved to the neighborhood a while back, and in her senior year, she has joined the Journalism club at school and her little brother has been picked to play a major role in the school play. The community's opposition to the casting including children of color in main and major roles starts a wave of discussion regarding the way minorities are treated in the town. And on a personal level, Louise's dating life is being very cautious of the boys she dates after the last one made insulting comments about Native Americans.

The thing that this book fails at, however, is the writing itself. Right from the start, I was troubled by the style - in which scenes are anecdotal in form, and and end abruptly in the middle of conversations, then skip ahead to another scene without any proper flow in between. Also, every time a new character is introduced, Louise goes on a tangent telling us about their personality, what they do, who they are, etc, which is distracting and to be honest, reads like this is more of an essay than a story. At times, even the surrounding descriptions happen right in the middle of dialogue, and since this is Louise in first person, it makes you wonder why she is ruminating about the surroundings in the middle of a serious conversation, when that could have been described BEFORE it. The way it was all written just made this a frustrating experience in reading.

On the topics, though, it hits relevant notes. It talks about micro-aggressions as well as outright bigotry. It shows how the oppressors make others too bend to their pressure - as was in the example of the PART threatening non-compliant people by hurting their businesses. The adults in the book also participate in the conversation, as in the case of the teachers who call out white extremists, and the culture of rejecting any change in the status quo, including how the language is coded to hide outright racism. The addition of the occasional articles from the school newspaper, The Hive, was a smart decision because it, at times, progressed the plot better than any prose could have. I liked that it challenged even Louise's inexperience and occasional self-centeredness, but the thing with her boyfriend was more of a 'misunderstanding as a plot device' than an actual attempt to balance her personality construct. Also, because the writing is at fault, all the above discussion comes across more like a sermon, and a checklist of racial things to tackle, rather than a proper nuanced discussion of racial insensitivity in daily life.

Bottomline - good concept and relevant discussion, but the writing fails it badly.

This was one of my most anticipated books for 2018 and I'm so sad that I wasn't a fan of it. Since this book touches on such an important topic, I had such high hopes for it and it didn't live up to them at all.

The writing wasn't good in my opinion and felt more like I was reading a to do list than a story. Things would be said that would upset Louise and instead of a conversation being started to talk about it, she would just get upset and then the scene would end. The characters in the story weren't likable at all. Usually I can look past that, but with story having unlikable characters along with poor writing made it not for me at all.

I wasn't a fan of the romance at all. The chemistry wasn't there for me at all. It definitely seemed to pop out of nowhere. Teens can fall for each other quickly, but this one just seemed too unrealistic.

While the story had promise, it never delivered. Was definitely hoping for more from this because of the topic it was centered around.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. The writing was just so jarring for me.

The storyline is great. It is like home for me because I grew up in Oklahoma and am enrolled member of a tribe there. I enjoyed reading about places and things that are familiar to me, but the characters and plot were really hard to get into because the writing was just not working for me.

The book deals with some tough issues, a person of color is cast in a role in a school play that gets people riled up and ultimately teaches them lessons about prejudice and racism.

It is a much needed book for the world. More books like this should be out there. Unfortunately, this one didnt connect with me in a way I would have liked it to.

I was provided an ARC by NetGalley, and I'm ever so grateful to have had the chance to read this book, and I can't wait to recommend it to our teen readers. I loved this book for so many reasons, but especially for Lou, the main character and a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, as she struggles with love, discrimination, family, and friends. The word "struggle" was key to this book, as Lou didn't get through things easily. She faces micro-aggressions and discrimination from her soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend as well as from friends and parents. She doesn't handle the break-up well and isn't always there for her friend, Shelby. She makes missteps with her new boyfriend, Joey. Lou was so real. I loved the relationship with her brother, Hughie, and the fact that he was a theater kid. The school play gives Leitich Smith the chance to educate her readers. As the school prepares to mount the play, "The Wizard of Oz," readers discover that L. Frank Baum was a racist. At the same time, the theater department chair comes under fire for her decision to cast the play in an inclusive fashion. Hughie struggles with his newfound knowledge about Baum and whether he should remain a cast member or give up his hard-earned and well-deserved role as the Tin Man. This book was such a great blend of Own Voices, romance, high school drama, journalism, realistic teen fiction....everything about this book just seemed real and honest and necessary.

I don't know why I could not get through this book... It took a great deal of effort to reach the 100 page mark... The topic/plot is soo great.. but.. IDK.. whats the problem.. it feels one dimensional.. So I am DNFing the book.

This book is an important exploration of what a Native American teenager experiences. Louise loves being with her other Native family members and friends, but also struggles to maintain that identity in the face of prejudice at school and among white people in general. Her struggle between the two worlds is realistic, along with her fear of being rejected for who she is. I loved Lou as a character. The plot could have been a bit stronger as it tried to tackle a few too many issues at once, but I look forward to recommending this to teen readers.

There are a lot of entry-points for readers to be able to relate to the storylines in Cynthia Leitich Smith's Hearts Unbroken. Briefly summarized, these entry-points are tribal affiliation (and being a minority exposed to casual and sometimes blatant racism), school drama-production and student journalism. I recommend this book especially for older teens, perhaps 9th or 10th grade and older.

This book touches on such an important matter and underrepresented voice; however, I feel that if this had been about anything else, it would not have been published. The writing was poor: it read like a laundry list of things that happened with moments of dialogue to break it up. Nothing was fleshed out. Within the first ten percent of the book multiple Native American stereotypes had been mentioned (by a white character making a comment about it), and Louise would be upset and then end scene. I know people go around saying racist or insensitive comments but this was just weird and seemed like the author was doing a sort of info-dump of all negative things people think about regarding Native Americans.

I would have loved to seen Smith pick one or two of the issues presented and develop a strong story and character around that instead of trying to tackle all of the racial things people say in one go.

Reading this made me realize how little I’ve read where the MC is Native American. If anyone has suggestions, let me know!

This is a fantastic book with a strong female lead who knows who she is and refuses to compromise herself or her culture for a relationship. I love how this Cynthia Leitich Smith takes on microaggressions in a way that fits organically into a larger story while still getting across how it feels to be the target. Hand this to fans of Hate, Love, and Other Filters.

I couldn’t get into this... Maybe it was the writing, maybe the characters or even both.. I can’t really place it. I appreciated the effort though, and it had a promising concept. This just didn’t live up to my expectations; it wasn’t really for me unfortunately.

I need more books like this. More books about Indigenous American teens written by authors who are #ownvoices. Excellent book.

I really loved this contemporary YA romance with a Native (Muscogee) heroine! I love the complicated intersections at play here--and I love that as a reader, we 100% get why Louise is a little bit self-righteous, and I love that we get to see her learn to see where other people are coming from a little bit; but never to give up her own pride in her culture or her desire for justice.

It's also a great read for fans of teen journalists & teen theater kids.