Reviews

Verlieb dich nie in einen Herzensbrecher by Sarah Ockler

thrscldrn's review against another edition

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5.0

I'm ready for the unknown.

This book is literally what it is, "The Book of Broken Hearts". This is my favorite from Sarah Ockler so far. I love how it tackles family, illness, trust and love all at the same time. And most of all I love that Jude Hernandez lived her own life, made her own choices, just at the right moment.

This book is absolutely amazing!!!

alicebme's review against another edition

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4.0

I really enjoyed this book. How do you weave all those themes together so seamlessly? Sisters, Latin culture, Alzheimer's, motorcycles, first love, forbidden love... I devoured this book on a Saturday. Well done.

halynah's review against another edition

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4.0

Four solid stars. Not five, because some parts were slow and unnecessary, like all Jude's memories about her sisters. The book is focused on the relationships between the family members and fighting with illnes of the father of the family. The characters were really nice and I loved Jude's interactions with her Dad. In general - great read.

mollywetta's review against another edition

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4.0

This review also appears on my blog wrapped up in books

First off, I want to talk about the cover. I pretty much think it’s terrible. I rarely discuss the book’s cover in reviews, but I do think a review can be about the entire package and I feel strongly enough about this cover to discuss it. I have a personal issue with that shade of purple going back to childhood trauma involving glitter at the hands of my gifted facilitator in elementary school who was obsessed with the color, so that was the first strike against it. I get the book/heart stock photo goes with the “book of broken hearts” but I really don’t feel it captures the feeling or tone or the “aboutness” of the book AT ALL.

Here’s what I pictured after reading it: blue-grey background, a winding road, and a motorcycle.

I loved this book, and I really felt like the cover did the book a disservice. It’s uninspired and makes it seem like the book is an overly sentimental romance when it’s really about so much more. Gendered covers can alienate a large segment of readers and reinforce stereotypes and I wish marketing departments in publishing houses would stop going for the least common denominator when they design book covers.

Despite the awful cover, I really enjoyed the book. While there is a great romantic storyline, the core of the novel is about family. Jude’s relationships with her father and her sisters are the driving force of the plot. They are a tight-knit Hispanic family—Jude’s parents emigrated from South America—and I loved the realistic portrayal of a family who speaks Spanish at home and my mouth was watering at all the empanadas they were constantly eating. Jude’s relationship with her father was touching and moving and the dynamic between the sisters was complex and nuanced.

Jude’s sisters are older than her, and one has always bossed her around, and she’s always looked up to both of them. She’s determined to make them proud by doing a good job taking care of her father over the summer. Jude’s father has early onset Alzheimer’s and his condition has been worsening.

Jude’s big idea to connect her father with his memories is to fix up his old motorcycle from his life in Argentina before he moved to the US. Their summer project is designed to keep him busy and active, but requires the help of a professional mechanic, too.

Enter Emilio Vargas. One of those Vargases, from a family of heartbreakers. Two of his relatives have devastated Jude’s older sisters and they made Jude agree to a pact to never get involved with a Vargas boy.

But really, their relationship is based on friendship, at least at first. Though he’s a charmer, Jude is reluctant to admit her own feelings. It’s sweet and endearing and I loved watching their love blossom.

As much as I enjoyed Emilio and Jude’s scenes, it was Jude’s father who captured my heart. Too few YA novels showcase teens relationships with their parents, and this one is well-executed.

I highly recommend this books to fans of young adult contemporary stories. I was so happy to discover a beautiful story of family, friendship, and love, especially since it features an immigrant family.

viviennemorgain's review against another edition

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4.0

Four stars, because it was a very good book with endearing characters, but I was also able to stop reading it halfway and returned to finish it after months, so...

notpopeyesolive's review against another edition

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5.0

I have to be honest and say that when I started this book I expected the usual story of good girl turns bad boy into good guy.

Well...boy was I in for a big surprise.

This is a beautiful story about finding yourself, and about learning that in order to really live, you should keep your eyes on the future, and not dwell on the past. It's about accepting the things we cannot change, and about enjoying the beautiful things in life, as long as we still have them.

It's an amazing, poignant story that's definitely worth reading!

sailorkchick's review against another edition

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4.0

The novel really dives into the plot quick and then lets you figure things out as you go, which is a little hard for the first quarter of the novel, but I ended up really enjoying it and I think it'll stay with me for a long time.

jturner73's review against another edition

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5.0

This book was surprisingly emotional. I don't mean just gushy romance either. I laughed, cried, and "aww'd" my through. It was so romantic and sad and hilarious all at the same time! This is one of the best contemporary books I've read.

dizzybell06's review against another edition

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4.0

In this heartbreaking story about a family dealing with their fathers declining health due to Alzheimer's, his youngest daughter, Jude, learns about love and heartache all in the span of one short summer. The boy she was warned to stay away from all her life turn out to be exactly what she needs and the opposite of what her family said he would be. It gives the reader a small glimpse into the life of people dealing with Alzheimer's and how it affects the whole family. Although sad at times, this was a wonderful book and very easy to get through.

yoitsstef's review against another edition

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2.0

I have heard a lot of buzz about this book and I was really excited when I found it at my library. To be honest - I didn't love the book. I mean, it was an ok read, i just found myself getting bored throughout the book. The part of the storyline with the Father was really sad, but the relationships other than that I found were not well written. I didn't really connect with the main character.