jbojkov's review against another edition
4.0
This was a moving account of a 15-year-old girl's wait for a heart transplant alongside the story of the eventual donor's brother and his struggle to come to terms with his sister's death. Nicely interwoven. Some suspense and fairly fast-paced for this kind of novel.
librariann's review against another edition
3.0
Ages 11+ (except for those pesky three pages where the hospital-bound teens play a game of "fucked or foolish")
14 year old gymnast Amanda is dead after a freak accident on the uneven bars. 15 year old Dani is barely clinging to life, victim of a heart that has been malformed since birth. 16 year old Tyler, Amanda's brother, isn't sure how to cope with the suddenness of his sister's death. Milo is on the wait list for a second liver transplant, after he screwed up the first one he got by drinking and not taking his meds.
Teens cope with mortality and celebrate life in this book on organ donation and its effects on donor families and recipients alike.
If you like Lurlene McDaniel or Before I Die by Jenny Downham. An interesting book to pair with Unwind by Shusterman.
14 year old gymnast Amanda is dead after a freak accident on the uneven bars. 15 year old Dani is barely clinging to life, victim of a heart that has been malformed since birth. 16 year old Tyler, Amanda's brother, isn't sure how to cope with the suddenness of his sister's death. Milo is on the wait list for a second liver transplant, after he screwed up the first one he got by drinking and not taking his meds.
Teens cope with mortality and celebrate life in this book on organ donation and its effects on donor families and recipients alike.
If you like Lurlene McDaniel or Before I Die by Jenny Downham. An interesting book to pair with Unwind by Shusterman.
bhav's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes with multiple point of view books (especially more than three) I feel that I can't connect with characters because I only get a limited amount of time with them, that was not the case with Cold Hands, Warm Heart, I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and even without the name of the character at the start of each chapter like many books have, I could pick up on whose PoV it was pretty quick and enjoyed the couple of chapters where we saw the world through their eyes.
[b:Cold Hands, Warm Heart|6006914|Cold Hands, Warm Heart|Jill Wolfson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312048537s/6006914.jpg|6182010] was happy and sad and clever. Even though the way the book was written and the language felt that it would possibly be aimed at a younger audience than me I still really enjoyed the story and felt connected to the characters and invested in the plot. It was (dare I say) heartwarming and definitely something to pick up if you're feeling sad.
[b:Cold Hands, Warm Heart|6006914|Cold Hands, Warm Heart|Jill Wolfson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312048537s/6006914.jpg|6182010] was happy and sad and clever. Even though the way the book was written and the language felt that it would possibly be aimed at a younger audience than me I still really enjoyed the story and felt connected to the characters and invested in the plot. It was (dare I say) heartwarming and definitely something to pick up if you're feeling sad.
abigailbat's review against another edition
4.0
Amanda is a star gymnast. Dani struggles to walk across a room. They've never met. But they're about to become more intimate than most people can even imagine.
Dani was born with her heart on the wrong side of her body. It's a failing heart, a broken heart, and there's only one option if she's going to see her sixteenth birthday: a heart transplant. When Amanda breaks her neck in a gymnastics accident, Dani receives the ultimate gift: a donor heart.
In Cold Hands, Warm Heart we get Dani's story, but we also get the perspective of Amanda's family as they deal with devastating loss and a tough decision.
I loved Dani's voice and I also loved seeing the issue through multiple points of view. This will please fans of medical fiction and I'd recommend it to fans of Lurlene McDaniel who are looking for meatier fare.
Full review on my blog:
http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/05/book-review-cold-hands-warm-heart.html
Dani was born with her heart on the wrong side of her body. It's a failing heart, a broken heart, and there's only one option if she's going to see her sixteenth birthday: a heart transplant. When Amanda breaks her neck in a gymnastics accident, Dani receives the ultimate gift: a donor heart.
In Cold Hands, Warm Heart we get Dani's story, but we also get the perspective of Amanda's family as they deal with devastating loss and a tough decision.
I loved Dani's voice and I also loved seeing the issue through multiple points of view. This will please fans of medical fiction and I'd recommend it to fans of Lurlene McDaniel who are looking for meatier fare.
Full review on my blog:
http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/05/book-review-cold-hands-warm-heart.html
bhav's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes with multiple point of view books (especially more than three) I feel that I can't connect with characters because I only get a limited amount of time with them, that was not the case with Cold Hands, Warm Heart, I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and even without the name of the character at the start of each chapter like many books have, I could pick up on whose PoV it was pretty quick and enjoyed the couple of chapters where we saw the world through their eyes.
[b:Cold Hands, Warm Heart|6006914|Cold Hands, Warm Heart|Jill Wolfson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312048537s/6006914.jpg|6182010] was happy and sad and clever. Even though the way the book was written and the language felt that it would possibly be aimed at a younger audience than me I still really enjoyed the story and felt connected to the characters and invested in the plot. It was (dare I say) heartwarming and definitely something to pick up if you're feeling sad.
[b:Cold Hands, Warm Heart|6006914|Cold Hands, Warm Heart|Jill Wolfson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312048537s/6006914.jpg|6182010] was happy and sad and clever. Even though the way the book was written and the language felt that it would possibly be aimed at a younger audience than me I still really enjoyed the story and felt connected to the characters and invested in the plot. It was (dare I say) heartwarming and definitely something to pick up if you're feeling sad.
michalice's review against another edition
3.0
I've had Cold Hands, Warm Heart sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. I decided to take the plunge and dive in. I really didn't know what to expect from this, just that someone died and donated their heart to someone else. But Cold Hands, Warm Heart was so much more than that. There was a lot of attention to detail, the before, during, and after of people who receive transplants. How it not only affects them, but also their family and friends.
I really enjoyed this book, and while it didn't blow me away it did make me think about a lot of things.
I really enjoyed this book, and while it didn't blow me away it did make me think about a lot of things.
rosesiebuhr's review against another edition
5.0
awesome!!!!! :):):):):):):)::):)):):):):)):):):):):):)::)
tms792's review
3.0
Dani has had fifteen years of surgeries, x-rays, docotor’s appointments, and her favorite hospital class jello, all because she was born with her heart on the wrong side of her chest. She is more than ready to live the life of a normal teenager, but it will never happen until she has a new heart, but getting one isn’t easy at all.
Amanda has been a gymnast for almost her whole fourteen years. She’s one of the best with her sleek muscular very healthy body. On the biggest day of her career though, in a very common routine, something goes horribly wrong without any notice.
Dani and Amanda have nothing in common, don’t go to the same school, and have no idea who each other are, but their lives are about to completely collide. On a journey through life and death, friendship and hardship, the reader learns about the pains of life and death.
This book is really one of a kind. It deals with heart transplants. It shows the life of a kid who needs a heart and the life of a family who provides that heart. It was a good read, but lacked a lot.
The plot was interesting as I mentioned before, but very repetitive. It was interesting to see two different sides to the story – the family and the recipient. The characters were okay. There were so many that it was hard to keep up with them all at times. Dani was a lot of fun though. Despite her set backs she was spunky and funny and really cared about life. It was also fun to see her relationship with Milo, a boy in need of a new liver, develop. The ending tied together nicely and was very satisfying.
Overall I liked this book and learned a lot. It really opened my eyes to the reality and difficulty of organ donation. There was a lot of emotion even though the writing was little bland. I think it would be interesting to read other books by Jill Wolfson as she definitely peaked my interest with this book.
Amanda has been a gymnast for almost her whole fourteen years. She’s one of the best with her sleek muscular very healthy body. On the biggest day of her career though, in a very common routine, something goes horribly wrong without any notice.
Dani and Amanda have nothing in common, don’t go to the same school, and have no idea who each other are, but their lives are about to completely collide. On a journey through life and death, friendship and hardship, the reader learns about the pains of life and death.
This book is really one of a kind. It deals with heart transplants. It shows the life of a kid who needs a heart and the life of a family who provides that heart. It was a good read, but lacked a lot.
The plot was interesting as I mentioned before, but very repetitive. It was interesting to see two different sides to the story – the family and the recipient. The characters were okay. There were so many that it was hard to keep up with them all at times. Dani was a lot of fun though. Despite her set backs she was spunky and funny and really cared about life. It was also fun to see her relationship with Milo, a boy in need of a new liver, develop. The ending tied together nicely and was very satisfying.
Overall I liked this book and learned a lot. It really opened my eyes to the reality and difficulty of organ donation. There was a lot of emotion even though the writing was little bland. I think it would be interesting to read other books by Jill Wolfson as she definitely peaked my interest with this book.
laural27's review against another edition
3.0
Hmm. Great premise, interesting characters and a compelling story line. Lacking in depth though. It felt like this novel only scratched the surface - I would have loved this book to have been twice as long.
thisgrrlreads's review against another edition
2.0
Mildly sappy book about organ donation. It would have been better if it had all been in the first person, some from the organ recipient's perspective and some from the organ donor's brother.