Review: The Heart is Not a Size

The Heart is Not a Size (ARC) by Beth Kephart
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: March 30th, 2010
Pages: 256
Age Level: 12+

Synopsis
Georgia knows what it means to keep secrets. She knows how to ignore things. She knows that some things are better left unsaid.... Or are they? When Georgia and her best friend, Riley, travel along with nine other suburban Pennsylvania kids to Anapra, a squatters village in the heat-flattened border city of Juarez, Mexico, secrets seem to percolate and threaten both a friendship and a life. Certainties unravel. Reality changes. And Georgia is left to figure out who she is outside the world she's always known.

Beth Kephart paints a world filled with emotion, longing, and the hot Mexican sun.

Review
The Heart is Not a Size was a good read and I liked it but it was not quite as great as I was expecting it to be, I'm afraid.

Georgia, though a likable character, was sadly not very memorable to me. Riley was more interesting and better developed but I found it hard to connect with her or even like her. As for the other characters, well, there were so many of them that you really didn't go to know them or see their own individual personalities. They seemed liked they could have been great characters but the book was just too short for them to have a chance to develop properly. The one character that really stood out to me, however, was Drake. He was just so different then your typical YA guys in books these days and I just wish there had been more of him.

They story itself was thought-provoking and moving. The details were very accurate which makes sense considering Kephart has actually been to Juarez. The secrets mentioned in the synopsis weren't what I was expecting but worked well.

The writing, however, was something I had mixed feelings about. The dialogue and context in general were very beautiful and believable but sometimes scenes and events seemed to change too abruptly. There was also something about the actual writing style that through me off and made it hard for me to establish any kind of flow while reading, at first. Once I got into Part 2, things picked up the pace a bit and the book was more enjoyable.

The ending was good but seemed to happen a little too quickly. Something else that could have benefited from the book being longer.

All in all, to me, The Heart is Not a Size was a worthwhile read though not perfect. I'm not entirely sure if this is one I'd reread though I do intend to read Kephart's other books. If this book sounds good to you then I'd say pick it up, after all, I've noticed most the ratings on this book are high and it is worth the time.

Grade
Characters: C
Writing: C +
Plot: B-
Ending: C+
Enjoyment/Likability: C
Recommendable: C
Cover: A-

Overall: C