Sometimes a shattered heart needs to sing to love again . . .
Sixteen year old singer-songwriter Shaynee Sullivan hasn't so much as touched her guitar since her mom died six months ago. But when she meets a gorgeous and surprising rocker named Dean, her shattered heart begins to mend . . . and then burst at the seams.
Heart-wrenching, heart-warming, and sometimes even heart-racing, Heart Shaped Rock will leave you laughing through tears and rooting for love in all its forms.
Shaynee has had a very tough year, watching her mom getting sicker and eventually losing that battle. She hasn't really dealt with it well. While her younger brother is really open about his feelings and thoughts, it seems Shaynee just keeps it all locked inside and once in a while that dam bursts.
To me it seems she has a great best friend that has helped her keep going. Though it hasn't been easy at all, because everyone seems to keep a brave face around Shaynee, but they are all dealing with that lose.
When Shaynee starts working at the coffee shop, that is the first big decision and action she has done since her mom passed away. It's a new beginning, a new opportunity and forces her to interact with people.
After meeting Dean, which is almost fairytale like, things couldn't go better. He's a genuine nice guy, completely smitten with Shaynee and is still able to pull of a little of that bad boy vibe. Suddenly everything seems to go really well for her, until Shaynee finds out that Dean has been keeping certain secrets. Though in my opinion, secrets in this case is not really correct and Shaynee definitely overreacts towards the situation.
The connection between these two was pretty instant love, but they are very young and it's the first time they really felt that way. So they very much got caught up in each other and it's all very heightened. When things go wrong, they don't just turn bad, they turn miserable, that kind of stuff. Very typical of teenagers, so you just need to go with that.
This girl is so filled with grief and kept it all bottled inside, it now comes bursting out and not in the nicest way. She says some really awful things, behaves like a lunatic and is just mad at the world. All these frustrations need to be let out, before her heart can heal enough to let love back in.
So I'm blaming her behaviour on the grief and the fact that she is a hormonal teenager. Shaynee is very direct with her words, but afterwards often regrets what she said. She knows she made some mistakes and is ready to fix them, because she can not lose anymore people in her life.
Overall a delightful and pretty sweet story. There are some serious issues dealt with in a very direct way, which I liked a lot. Certainly listen to the music while reading, it helps set the mood and amplifies the emotions. That music was definitely a bonus for me and helped connecting with certain characters. Between the more emotional stuff, there is certainly place for some humor. There were a couple of situations (ex. walkie talkie scene) where I was literally laughing out loud.
3.5
Hear the original music performed in Heart Shaped Rock at www.LauraRoppe.com. All music available on iTunes.
The Author
Her first book is the non-fiction memoir, Rocking the Pink. Her latest is a YA-teen romance novel entitled Heart Shaped Rock, featuring a soundtrack.
I've been curious about this book. I LOVED Maybe Someday, and I was wondering if this book worked as well with the music integration.
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I still haven't read Maybe Someday, I know shame on me! If I'm not mistaken, it's the same guy singing Dean's songs. So definitely give it a try, though do know that Heart Shaped Rock is a solid YA, while Maybe Someday was aimed at an older audience :)
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