My Box-Shaped Heart Review

Title: My Box-Shaped Heart
Author: Rachael Lucas
Publisher: Macmillan's Children's Books
Publication Date: 22 February 2018
Source: Pan Macmillan South Africa
Format: Paperback
Pages: 255
Rating: 3 Stars
Reading Timeline: 21 March 2019 - 22 March 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

Holly's mum is a hoarder, and she is fed up with being picked on at school for being weird . . . and having the wrong clothes . . . and sticking out. All she wants is to be invisible. She loves swimming, because in the water everyone is the same.

Ed goes to the swimming pool to escape the horrible house he and his mum have been assigned by the women's refuge. In his old life he had money; was on the swim team; knew who he was and what he wanted. In his old life his dad hit his mum.

Holly is swimming in one direction and Ed's swimming in the other. As their worlds collide they find a window into each other's lives - and learn how to meet in the middle. 

Book Review:

Pre-reading Thoughts:

I received this book a while back but I haven't quite been in the mood to read it until lately. I have been on such a contemporary marathon as of late which is really strange since its not my preferred genre. However, I am interested to see where this book goes!

Thank you so much to Pan Macmillan South Africa for sending me a copy of this book. Just a small disclaimer for those reading this review, I have received this book for free. Please note that this does not affect my opinions in any way. All thoughts are my own. 

Writing Thoughts:

The writing in this book was good but there are a couple of inconsistencies. In the beginning, the author sort of floods her writing with descriptions for a couple of lines and then it kind of vanishes. It re-emerges, very quickly, in some parts of the novel. However, with that being said, I thought that the pacing was done well and that the dialogue was engaging. 

Plot Thoughts:

The plot was cute and interesting. We start off at the swimming pool, where we are immediately introduced to the love interest. The plot, however, doesn't just focus on the budding romance between Holly and Ed. The plot also focuses on more serious topics such as depression and domestic abuse. The plot also seems to deal with a lot of social issues especially those that surround Holly.

Character Thoughts:

Unfortunately, I felt as though the characters fell a bit flat in this book. I was unable to connect with any of them. This meant that I was only able to sympathise for them due to the distance.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, the novel was enjoyable. I did think that there was a problematic element however, I do like that there is some mental illness representation within the novel. The writing had good pacing and the dialogue was engaging, however, on the odd occasion, there was a small inconsistency. The plot was cute. The characters fell flat for me as I was unable to connect with any of them. However, with that being said, I still enjoyed the book. Thank you so much to Pan Macmillan South Africa for providing me with a copy of this book!

Yours in Reading,