Heart on a String

Susan
Soares
Genre: 
Young Adult

Marissa is running away from her past: from her Mom passing away, from her brother not talking to her anymore. She finds solace with her grandma and her best friend, Zoe. But then she finds a balloon while out on a daily run - a heart on a string, stuck in a tree. Earlier she saw a young boy in the nearby cemetery, along with his family, and the boy held on to this very balloon – a message to heaven for his brother. Marissa grows determined to bring the message back to him, and when she figures out the kid’s older brother, Brandon, goes to her school, she decides to deliver the message to him. What follows is the start of a heart-warming romance. 

 

Marissa and Brandon are complex characters. They each have demons they’re running from, and traumas they have to struggle through. This complicates their relationship, and leads to some drama. If they don’t come clean, their relationship may be doomed. But they also find support with one another. The characters are very realistic, as are their emotions, which come across as raw and real. The author’s ability to craft realistic characters is definitely the number one strength of this book!

Majanka Verstraete