Thursday, July 4, 2019

#AmReading YA

Symptoms of a Heartbreak
Sona Charaipotra
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Imprint
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
The youngest doctor in America, an Indian-American teen makes her rounds―and falls head over heels―in the contemporary romantic comedy Symptoms of a Heartbreak.

Fresh from med school, sixteen-year-old medical prodigy Saira arrives for her first day at her new job: treating children with cancer. She’s always had to balance family and friendships with her celebrity as the Girl Genius―but she’s never had to prove herself to skeptical adult co-workers while adjusting to real life-and-death stakes. And working in the same hospital as her mother certainly isn’t making things any easier.

But life gets complicated when Saira finds herself falling in love with a patient: a cute teen boy who’s been diagnosed with cancer. And when she risks her brand new career to try to improve his chances, it could cost her everything.

It turns out “heartbreak” is the one thing she still doesn’t know how to treat.

In her solo debut, Sona Charaipotra brings us a compelling #ownvoices protagonist who’s not afraid to chase what she wants. Symptoms of a Heartbreak goes from romantic comedy highs to tearjerker lows and is the ultimate cure-all for young adult readers needing an infusion of something heartfelt.
FACT: I watched Doogie Howser, when the episodes originally aired, and I was totally fascinated with his trials and tribulations as he attempted to navigate the adult world as a teen.

My love of Dr. Doogie drove my desire to read Symptoms of a Heartbreak, and I throughly enjoyed the new life Charaipotra breathed into this concept.

Being a girl genius seemed kind of like a blessing and curse for Saira. Here she was, 16 years old, and a medical professional. She was responsible for making life or death decisions for her patients, but she could not get the other doctors to take her seriously, AND she still had to abide by her parent's rules. This was something Saira struggled with in the book, and I felt like Charaipotra did an admirable  job capturing Saira's emotions and reactions to many of the situations that arose because of this. In the beginning, she showed her age, but slowly, I saw Saira growing and maturing and becoming more professional, and learning that certain things need to be earned.

This book was on the lighter side, and there are many, many fun, sweet, tender, and amusing moments, but Saira was an intern in the pediatric oncology ward, so there were some heartbreaking and painful moments as well. Be prepared. I know I shed some tears.

But never fear, because I was also treated to an adorable romance. Saira's reaction to Link was so sweet, and gosh darn it! These two were precious together. Their union was filled with many complications, but I was still all in on this pairing.

Here's a quick list of other things I adored:
  • Siblings - Saira and her sister shared some really special moments.
  • Dadi - You know I love grandmas, and Dadi not only was a hoot, she was wise. 
  • Food! - There was a LOT of amazing cooking and eating in the book.
  • Central NJ - It's so rare to see books set where I live, and I will always get excited about this.
  • The Ending - I don't want to give anything away, but I was happy with it. 
  • Family - Saira's family was fantastic, and I loved what a prominent role they played in this story. 
Overall, this was a wonderful, touching, and heartfelt read, which made me laugh, and also bought me to tears, but mostly, it made me cheer for this fierce and fabulous girl genius.

Past Perfect Life
Elizabeth Eulberg
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Small-town Wisconsin high school senior Allison Smith loves her life the way it is-spending quality time with her widowed father and her tight-knit circle of friends, including best friend Marian and maybe-more-than-friends Neil. Sure she is stressed out about college applications . . . who wouldn't be? In a few short months, everything's going to change, big time.

But when Ally files her applications, they send up a red flag . . . because she's not Allison Smith. And Ally's-make that Amanda's-ordinary life is suddenly blown apart. Was everything before a lie? Who will she be after? And what will she do as now comes crashing down around her?
A secret from Ally's past had caught up with her, which drastically altered her life, and threatened to derail her future.

I am going to apologize up front for being vague, but it is too easy to give away the plot here, and I liked when my suspicions were confirmed. It was a good gasp worthy moment for me, and I want you to have that too. Therefore, I will share as much as I think I can without spoiling anything.
"Two truths and a lie?"
"I'm angry. I'm scared. My life."
  • My emotions! I will admit, my emotions were all over the place as I read this book. I was definitely channeling Ally at times, because I felt mad, hurt, sad, empty, frustrated, happy, and swoony. I would definitely say, that Eulberg did an amazing job conveying the emotions of the characters in this book. 
  • Found family - It was just Ally and her dad, but she was lucky enough to be "adopted" by her best friend Marian, who came from a HUGE family. They were her de facto family, and when push came to shove, they stood up for her and stood by her side. 
  • An adorable romance - Right before her life imploded, Ally finally declared her feelings for her long time crush. The two of them together were utterly precious and so, so cute. My heart broke just thinking about them having to be apart, but that boy kept surprising me (and Ally) in the best ways. 
  • Father-daughter bond - Ally and her dad shared something special, which I think is not too unusual when it comes to small families. I adored all their "theme nights", and their affection for each other was really beautiful. 
  • Setting - Hello, Wisconsin! It was nice to be out in the midwest for a little change of pace, and Eulberg treated us to lots of weather, cheese, and Packers related anecdotes. I also loved their small town, and the way all the residents circled round to protect Ally. 
  • Friendship - Ally was blessed with an incredible group of friends. Their lunch time follies were amusing, and I was really touched by their dedication to each other. 
This was an emotional and compelling read. I really tore through it, and though, I wish there was an epilogue, I was still left really hopeful for Ally and her family. 

**ARCs received in exchange for honest reviews.

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28 comments:

  1. Both of these are on my TBR, so I'm happy to see they received four stars! I'm going to make a guess based on context, but I honestly didn't know food-tuber was a term. I'm assuming people do with food what book-tubers do with books? Yes? Haha. I'll have to check back and see what other people say about their favorites.

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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    1. I am so not a YouTube person, but Saira's sister's videos were a fun touch in Heartbreak.

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  2. Saira sounds like a great character! I love that you got to see her grow as a character! I imagine I would be crying too while reading this story. Wow Pst Perfect Life sounds like it had you on an emotional rollercoaster! You know a book is good when it makes you feel so much!

    Lindy@ A Bookish Escape

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    1. I feel like it's not a real YA book, if the character doesn't grow and change in some way, but what set Saira apart was the type of growth she needed to experience, because of her employment. She really had to fast forward on that growing up thing. Past Perfect Life was quite emotional, it had to be with the premise of the story, but I thought it was executed well too.

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  3. Both of these sound great. I loved Doogie Howser too so that first one appeals to me for that reason. And I'm all about those emotional roller coaster type books so Past Perfect Life is calling to me as well. Wonderful reviews for both!

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    1. Dr. Doogie was the best, and many of those same issues are explored in Heartbreak, but with a more modern and cultural twist.

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  4. Ahhhh I need Eulberg's book! Thank you for not spoiling anything because I plan on reading it. I can't wait to meet her friends, the romance and see her relationship with her dad!
    Genesis @ Whispering Chapters

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    1. DON'T read too many reviews for Eulberg's books. They totally give away a HUGE part of the plot, or at least, what I thought was a huge part. I liked the unveiling of it.

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  5. I really want to read Sympotoms of a Heartbreak! I love medical stuff and when I read the synopsis of this a while ago I knew I really wanted to read it and you gave it a great review! Past Perfect Life sounds really good too!!

    ~Kendra @ Kendra Loves Books

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    1. The medical cases incorporated into Heartbreak were interesting. A bit sad, but still interesting. Though, I was all in a panic and hoping that my daughter never needs a marrow transplant after reading about how difficult it is for biracial people to find matches.

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  6. I'm slowly reading Past Present Life. You have me wanting to dive into it quicker!

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    1. I had to slowly read that book because it was a blasted PDF 😂 BUT, I did really enjoy it. I hope you like it too

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  7. Symptoms of a Heartbreak sounds interesting. Tricky to be in a situation with so much responsibility. It's like, you may have the education and the know-how but do you have the emotional maturity to handle it? (And thanks for the mental flashback to a very young NPH back in the day!)

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    1. That was a big part of the story. The fact that Saira was off the charts brilliant and had a medical degree, but she struggled with the emotional component, but grew to understand how to keep her emotions in check in certain situations. I was very impressed with her growth over the course of this book, because it takes a lot to acknowledge those sort of shortcomings in yourself.

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    1. If you like a good kid doctor story with a bit of culture thrown in, you should go for it.

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  9. Symptoms of a Heartbreak is one I really want to get to soon, it sounds SO good and I am glad it delivered. I keep seeing Past Perfect Life around but had no idea what it was about- it sounds good too! (Also I won't lie, Doogie is the main reason I was excited for SoaH too hahha.) Great reviews!

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    1. The Doogie vibes totally pulled me in. The Central NJ setting was a nice extra for me though.

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  10. These both sound like something I would enjoy. I love that Symptoms of a Heartbreak had a bit of a Doogie Howser vibe.

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    1. Absolutely, and it's shy I picked the book up. I was happy, that it was its own story too, with just a gentle nod to the boy doctor

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  11. Past Perfect Life sounds great, and I'm already curious about that premise! I love the sound of the father- daughter bond. and of course Wisconsin! :)

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    1. Past Perfect Life was hard to talk about, because the secret is the heart of the story, but I liked where the author went with the premise. Yeah, right! WI never gets enough love.

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  12. I hate to say it but I already HATE Symptoms of a Heartbreak. I feel like this teen prodigy of being so brilliant and achieved being a doctor at 16 is so played and unrealistic for me that I just don't even want to read it. Is that wrong? I don't know but I just rolled my eyes at the blurb. =(
    I am glad you enjoyed both of these tho and I am adding them to my list as this might just be hormones or tiredness talking and I never want to pass up on a good book. =)

    Mary

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    1. I am ok with unrealistic in a fiction book, and there are some of these kids out there in the world.

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  13. Symptoms of a Heartbreak! I've had that on my TBR ever since Nick did some post about books, don't ask me which post, I just know I've had it on my TBR a while. I am so glad I have it on there, it sounds like the book is exactly what it sounded like it would be and I am so eager to buy. I'll be prepared to have a tissue or two at the ready as well.

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    1. I think it was a WOW for Nick. Sick kids never leave me without tears, but at least I sort of expect it. Though, I would prefer all sick kid books to come with the happy, Hollywood ending.

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  14. Now you really have me intrigued about Past Perfect Life!

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    1. It was really good. It was all about the way the author navigating the character's emotions for me, and I enjoyed being with her as she worked through this really sticky situation.

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