The characters are fully developed and very detailed. To be honest, I am not sure if I liked this book or not. It was just kind of off in some areas that to me took away from the storyline. Hard to explain. This would be a book I would tell people to read and let me know what they thought about it, as I am sure I would get a variety of different answers. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving this book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

Heart Sister is the heartwarming/wrenching story about a twin sister taken away from her twin brother and the rest of her family too soon. Minnie is the light of her twin brother Emmitt’s life, and when she dies in a tragic accident he feels like his own life has been snuffed out. But, Minnie and her wonderful family gave the ultimate gift of organ donation, and soon after her gifts were disbursed Emmitt receives an anonymous letter from one of her recipients. Emmitt learns to appreciate life anew because of these “organ siblings,” and he decides to track down and film all of his sister’s recipients as a gift to his struggling parents.

I loved this book. A lot of you may know that I used to work in histocompatibility; performing all of the blood tests necessary to pair donors and recipients. It was some of the most rewarding work I’ve done to date, and I’m both proud and humbled to say that I’ve saved so many lives through the generosity of complete strangers. I urge you all to give the ultimate gift and become organ and tissue donors. I loved this story because it shows donation in such a positive light; that box that you check renewing your license holds so much hope, and strength. This story puts the process into perspective, and I hope it inspires people to check that box. The characters are well written and flawed, which is true to life, and often times Emmitt is forced to realize that no one is perfect, yet everyone deserves the right to live.

I recommend this to young readers, older readers, anyone who loves a cute story, and those who are on the fence about organ donation. Donate life!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during that 2nd attempt, I have only managed to make it halfway through so I'd rather stop here and state that this book just wasn't for me.

My second completed book of #2021! #HeartSister is a touching YA story about a teenager who loses his twin sister in a horrible unexpected accident. He is enraged and devastated that his sister, who is still breathing, is being used as an organ donor. He cannot accept it; he's horrified by it. His parents are so grief stricken, this story really made me feel all the feels. In this story he starts seeking out her organ recipients (please dont attempt this in real life kiddos)in a quite illegal manner, but the lessons he learns and the people he meets helps him understand the importance of organ donation and how much of a HERO his sister was (and his parents) for being an organ donor. This is a subject near and dear to my heart. I believe so strongly in being an organ donor & I encourage everyone who's able to be registered as a donor. Too many people die waiting for transplants!
This story hinges on grief, love, heroism, bravery, empathy, and gratitude. I've given it 4 stars on Goodreads. Much thanks to @Netgalley & @orcabook for providing me with this ebook for review!

This book gave me all of the feels. I laughed, I cried, I loved and I lost. While it took me a while to get through this book (I have a hard time reading sad things continuously), I pushed through and was able to finish this book. It was so heartful and emotional. I absolutely loved following Emmitt’s journey in finding his sister's organs and their recipients. It was such a powerful story and one I won't soon forget.

Heart Sister was an odd book. I can’t say that I disliked it, but I’m not sure I really liked it either. I was intrigued by the premise – a teenage boy’s twin sister tragically dies and donates her organs. Emmitt tries to track down each of these “organ siblings” in order to make a video to show to his parents, his way of putting his sister back together. The subject matter of this book could have been a very powerful, emotional read and since I have never read a book like this before, I was excited to dive in.

I also want to note that while I have no experience in this subject, the author does and I think that adds some substance to this story. In his acknowledgements, he reveals that his brother was a recipient of a donor heart so this book must have been very powerful for him to write and I have a lot of respect for that.

When I read books, I want to feel things. I want books to make me feel anger, sadness, joy, and this book wasn’t able to elicit any of those emotions for me. I felt the story was lacking in character development and dialogue. Minnie was dead before the book started so I never felt sad about her death and while there were some flashbacks I was not really able to connect with her. She had a really odd hobby of roadkill taxidermy and while it was mentioned I didn’t understand Minnie enough to understand why this was a passion of hers. The other characters were fine, I enjoyed meeting each of the organ siblings and seeing what kind of people they were – some people were grateful and some were not what Emmitt expected. There could have been some really powerful dialogue in these situations and it honestly all fell a bit flat for me.

One of the aspects of the book I really appreciated was the structure. Emmitt wants to find all of these “organ siblings” in order to make a video with Minnie asking them questions. I do wish I could have seen the finished video, it sounded really powerful! Although the video was Emmitt’s main motivation, I appreciate how he realized this was his way of working through the grief of his sister’s death.

This was an okay read with an interesting subject matter. I would be interested to read more on this topic even though this particular story fell a bit flat for me. It was a story about grief, loss and giving life again.

*deep breath in* *deep breath out*

I just finished HEART SISTER and I am so NOT OKAY! My heart is somehow warm and fuzzy and bleeding and shattered.

Minnie, who we never meet, is completely alive through her twin brother’s memories of her. She was so full of life it is no wonder there was a gaping whole left in everyone who knew her when she died.

But Emmitt is hoping to fill that hole for his mother through collecting the pieces of Minnie scattered through the people who received her donated organs. The cover of the book is his representation of Minnie’s body, which he plans to fill as he meets his “organ family”.

I was completely blown away by the grief and hope and loneliness that this author has created. Truly a must read if you want your heart strings pulled and your tear ducts empties out!

A story about loss, and the twin brother who is determined to find a way to help his family move on. Heart Sister kept me eager to find out if Emmitt's plan to reach out to all of his deceased sister's organ recipients would pan out. Creative and filled with adventure, this is a story that kept me turning the pages all night until I reached the end.

Review will post on blog on Sep 22, 2020.

This book had a wonderful premise, and I enjoyed reading it. However, the main character Emmitt is just not very likable. I can't understand what he's going through, losing a sibling, and I hope I never will understand. But he does some things that are just not okay, and I don't feel like the book really touched on those things.

What I DID like was the realistic portrayal of depression, and treatment. I liked Becca a lot. The hospital scenes were the best ones, I think, even if Emmitt is breaking rules left and right. I liked the subplot with Joey. Honestly, every other character in this book is perfectly likable...it's Emmitt that just doesn't seem to think about others.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“The power in the view from the mountaintop is from the climb.”

Heart Sister is an emotionally raw but hopeful story. It discovers powerful messages of the impact of healing through love, to be grateful for life, and that there is always light although everything seems dark.

This is the story of Emmit Highland, who recently lost his twin sister, Minnie, to a car accident. He is devastated by her death, but he and his family receive news that Minnie had signed up to be an organ donor. Emmitt decides that the best way to help his parents heal and make Minnie whole once more is to track down every one of the organ recipients and create a film that captures the spirit of his sister.

Emmitt has a strong passion for film and virtual reality, and wants to honor his sister one last time. He has a fierce loyalty to his family and will not give up until he is successful. Emmitt’s idea to make a film of Minnie’s organ recipients demonstrates his willingness to bring people together to tell a story.

Although Minnie was already gone when the book started, she was brought to life through Emmitt’s film. She had depth and a unique outlook on life, so much that she was full of it, and breathed life into others, through taxidermy and by donating her body to others. Minnie was an amazing person, and her spirit had a major impact on the story.

The secondary characters were also so multi-dimensional, deeply-layered, and had complex personalities. It made it feel like I knew them inside and out. I loved how each person had their own unique story to tell, and how they conveyed it in their own way. Emmitt’s film was deeply important to them and was a tribute to life.

This book was a beautifully written story of grief and loss. It had the perfect combination of dark and light, and was full of life. The characters were well-developed and relatable, and I loved watching them learn and grow. Heart Sister is an intricately woven story that will resonate with you long after you read the last words.

A heartwarming and sorrowful tale, Heart Sister tells the story of Emmitt, a boy who has to put the pieces of his family back together after his sister's tragic death. Emmitt decides that the way to help his family is to meet all the people who got their organs because of Minnie's death, trying to make his sister whole once more. The story shares an important message of the struggles of loss and the extreme measures we sometimes go to find closure, but we can't always be satisfied with what we truly want. I think the novel gives a good lesson of being willing to find closure while also knowing you cannot find the perfect way to do so.

Some of the actions of this book are not exactly ethical, given that Emmitt breaks patient confidentiality in order to meet his organ siblings, but I understand why he does it even if it rubs me the wrong way. The author's note in the book also gives the story an extra layer of importance and makes it feel more personal. The writing style is digestible despite the heavy topic and I think it does a good job of portraying the different ways people grieve.

While the story is sweet and provokes the emotions it's trying to, I didn't find myself particularly attached to the characters. In the end, I felt more moved by Emmitt but he wasn't a character I was necessarily rooting for; I felt more like I was passively just watching what he was doing. He is by no means is a bad character, I just couldn't feel a strong attachment to him. I think part of this has to do is that we're being thrown into the aftermath of Minnie's death right away and Emmitt's search for his organ siblings. I feel as though a partial build-up would've helped me feel more connected to the twins.

The author utilizes 'quirky' characteristics on the siblings that both intrigued me and made me sort of shrug. I did enjoy the author's implementation of VR into Emmitt's interest and the unique "script" writing style at certain parts, yet I also questioned Minnie's interest in taxidermy. It doesn't take away from the story but using traits that are considered "too quirky" can sometimes make a character feel as though the author is trying too hard to make them "different." That being said, I do think it is executed in a way that makes her quirkiness important to the plot and doesn't make you cringe; I just have a personal reservation when it comes to traits that feel purposefully put in to make a person seem "strange." But Minnie's light shines in the book and the author is impactful in the way he makes her known only through the stories her family can tell; it makes me feel like the true outsider I am supposed to be (much like the organ recipients).

I was put off by the slight sub-plot of this strange romantic tension between Emmitt and one of his heart siblings. Obviously, the fact that they are referred to as siblings is what makes it suspect. Nothing really becomes of it (thankfully) but I believe we could've done without it, even if it's used to explain how little the heart sibling has lived.

The story is filled with heart (literally) and feels real. Minnie's impact is felt throughout the book and the author does a great job of showing the lengths a mourning brother will go to find closure and to fix what appears broken.

One thing I love about books from this publishing company is that usually the topic of the book is one that isn't usually discussed. For this book, the subject is about being an organ donor and what that's like as someone who lost a person who was a organ donor and someone who received an organ.

Emmitt is trying to hold on to his sister in any way he can. His mother cannot cope with what happened to her daugher. His father stays busy working and doesn't want to talk about what happened. Every person deals with grief in a different way and this book does a great job of showing that.

This book is written in first-person and it comes from Emmitt. The way he finds his sister's organs is quite questionable but it's understandable to want to hold onto something. I did like the interactions between him and the receivers. There was definitely some good moments about alcoholism, changing/growing, and just getting a second chance at life. We don't realize how lucky we are until our life is in jeopardy.\

I'm not going to lie, this book was a very emotional read. I had tears every now and then. I have never had to lose someone in this way but I have lost someone close to me and its easy to understand grief. This book will definitely punch you in the feels.

Overall, if you want an emotional read or just one that talks about organ donors then I'd recommend this book. It's an important topic and one that isn't talked about enough.

While some of the actions taken in this book are not quite ethical and the reasons for which we have these rules in place for privacy become quite clear, for a grieving sibling all you want is answers and a connection to the person you lost. I have to admit that after the dedication I flipped to the author’s note in the back and knowing that the author experienced the flip side of this story enriched the reading experience for me. While Emmitt got some of his answers, he didn’t get all of what he really wanted, which was his sister back. He still had to grieve. But knowing that his sister gave this amazing gift to people she didn’t even know is a real message of hope.

This synposis was incredible but I don't feel like the book itself lived up to the hype I had given it. It was still a good book but it wasn't what I expected. I would still recommend this book but only in association with other books like "Five Feet Apart".

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Heart Sister in exchange for an honest review.

This book tore me apart. I found myself tearing up over and over again but I'm not quite sure if this book is sad. Which is saying a lot considering it centers on a 16 year old boy who just lost his twin sister, but Heart Sister is just such a raw, emotional, hopeful story.

Emmitt's sister, Minnie, was so full of life that her favorite hobby was shoving bits and pieces of it into others. Minnie was a 16 year old taxidermist, wanting to breath life back into roadkill to give a renewed sense of life to the dead. It's only natural that she do the same after death. It isn't until she's declared brain dead that Emmitt and her family find out that Minnie signed up to be an organ donor.

Later, when dealing with an inconsolable mother and a father who won't even acknowledge Minnie's existence, Emmitt receives anonymous notes from two of Minnie's organ recipients and decides that the best way to honor Minnie and help his parents cope is to immortalize her like she did for the roadkill she turned into art. Being an aspiring filmmaker (and not, you know. A murderer with access to human corpses) Emmitt decides the best way to achieve this goal is to track down each organ recipient and create a movie about Minnie's life both before and after her death.

Full of heart, hope, and a healthy dose of teenage shenanigans, Heart Sister is a gorgeous story that's bound to stick with you for a long time.