Review: Heart-Shaped by Siobhan Parkinson

Series: Companion novel to Bruised
Publication Date: 1st August 2013
Publisher: Hodder Childrens Books 
Source: Borrowed from my local library

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Blurb: Written with sensitivity, humour and a lightness of touch, HEART-SHAPED is a companion to Siobhan Parkinson's highly-acclaimed novel, BRUISED - for fans of Meg Rosoff, Aidan Chambers and David Levithan. Annie makes a startling discovery one day - and everything changes. She fears for the safety of her boyfriend Jonno, who has vanished, knowing he is in desperate trouble. Feeling alone, she clings to her dad, her only parent, but he can't fill in all the gaps in the puzzle that is Annie's life. Nor can her best friend. To do that, Annie has to look into her past and understand who her mother was, what happened to her and why. So the truth behind Jonno's disappearance - which is the story in BRUISED - becomes a mirror for what's happening in Annie's own life. The reader is desperate for him to come back, so that Annie can fully fit the pieces of her existence back together.



My Review- 


Heart Shaped is Parkinson's companion novel which takes place in the same time frame as Bruised. Although the books are linked, you do not have to have read Bruised before reading this which is good as it has been many many years since I last read Bruised and I still enjoyed this novel. 

This novel centres around Annie, an Irish teenager whose life is a little up and down lately. Firstly she has to deal with the troubles of secondary school, secondly she is dealing with the passing of her mum and living with just her father as a parent and lastly, she discovered her boyfriends mothers dead body. So you could say Annie has a lot on her plate!

One of the aspects I enjoyed the most about this novel was the really well written relationships that were key to the plot and story of the novel. Annie has suffered a lot of stress over a short period of time and is seeing a psychiatrist doctor who she goes to to talk and get things off her chest. I really enjoyed the humorous interactions she had with this doctor and often found myself chucking away at the things she would come out with!
I also enjoyed the relationship between Annie and her best friend and also the important relationship Annie has with her father and enjoyed reading about the father daughter bonding. 


The writing style was good, but not wholly memorable. I did enjoy reading the Irish slang and such in the book and could hear the characters Irish accents carry across the page. 
Although I found some of the writing style to be a little too direct and non descriptive, and found the book somewhat slow at times, I would definitely recommend this novel and Bruised to boys and girls between the ages of 13 - 16 . With lots of humorous, sad and touching scenes, younger teens will love this novel.



Rating: 

3 Stars