Margo Rabb's Cures for Heartbreak is one compelling, wise book for the teen aged reader.
Ninth-grader Mia lives in Queens with her mother, father (who owns a shoe-repair shop), and older, cantankerous sister, Alex. Mia and Alex attend the Bronx High School of Science, where Alex excels as a scientific genius.
One day, mom heads to the ER with a stomachache. 12 days later she's dead. Diagnosis? Melanoma with liver metathesis. Things happen in a blur as Mia finds herself shopping for a dress, with her frugal and decidedly unfeminine sister, for her mother's funeral. Mia, a confused, yet touching narrator, says:
"I stared at the hem of my $119 dress and thought about the one night I'd left the hospital to go home and instead of getting on the 4 train at 33rd Street, I walked all the way to the Barnes & Noble on 54th. I kept walking and when I got there I scanned the shelves of the grief section, the Death & Dying shelves, for a book that would comfort me, that would say exactly the right thing. I'm not sure what I'd been looking for, exactly. Maybe something like What to Do When Your Mother Dies from Melanoma, Which They Thought Was a Stomachache at First. How to Cope When You're Left Alone with Your Father and Sister, Who Drive You Nuts. How to Survive a Funeral, Especially One Hosted by a Disconcertingly Happy Funeral Director and an Upwardly Mobile Rabbi Who Drives a BMW. I didn't find a book I wanted to buy. All that had made me feel better was the walk." (14-15)
The beauty and authenticity of Cures for Heartbreak lie in the fact that there are no cures. Mia tries dressing in her mother's clothes, wearing too much makeup, fighting with her sister, reading romance novels, becoming a hypochondriac, and falling in love. The only things that work, though, are time, patience, and the real sympathy of a new friend.
Cures for Heartbreak is best suited for readers ages 13 and up. Pick this one for Rabb's honest, beautiful writing and her brave, yet vulnerable narrator. Mia is frightened, lonely and unsure of herself, yet she picks herself up time and time again. In the end, she realizes, "if grief had a permanence, then didn't also love?" (232)
Ninth-grader Mia lives in Queens with her mother, father (who owns a shoe-repair shop), and older, cantankerous sister, Alex. Mia and Alex attend the Bronx High School of Science, where Alex excels as a scientific genius.
One day, mom heads to the ER with a stomachache. 12 days later she's dead. Diagnosis? Melanoma with liver metathesis. Things happen in a blur as Mia finds herself shopping for a dress, with her frugal and decidedly unfeminine sister, for her mother's funeral. Mia, a confused, yet touching narrator, says:
"I stared at the hem of my $119 dress and thought about the one night I'd left the hospital to go home and instead of getting on the 4 train at 33rd Street, I walked all the way to the Barnes & Noble on 54th. I kept walking and when I got there I scanned the shelves of the grief section, the Death & Dying shelves, for a book that would comfort me, that would say exactly the right thing. I'm not sure what I'd been looking for, exactly. Maybe something like What to Do When Your Mother Dies from Melanoma, Which They Thought Was a Stomachache at First. How to Cope When You're Left Alone with Your Father and Sister, Who Drive You Nuts. How to Survive a Funeral, Especially One Hosted by a Disconcertingly Happy Funeral Director and an Upwardly Mobile Rabbi Who Drives a BMW. I didn't find a book I wanted to buy. All that had made me feel better was the walk." (14-15)
The beauty and authenticity of Cures for Heartbreak lie in the fact that there are no cures. Mia tries dressing in her mother's clothes, wearing too much makeup, fighting with her sister, reading romance novels, becoming a hypochondriac, and falling in love. The only things that work, though, are time, patience, and the real sympathy of a new friend.
Cures for Heartbreak is best suited for readers ages 13 and up. Pick this one for Rabb's honest, beautiful writing and her brave, yet vulnerable narrator. Mia is frightened, lonely and unsure of herself, yet she picks herself up time and time again. In the end, she realizes, "if grief had a permanence, then didn't also love?" (232)
9 comments:
<< "if grief had a permanence, then didn't also love?" >>
To quote Blanche from The Golden Girls but said in all seriousness, "What a wonderful line."
Adding this to my Books to Read list.
You'll love this one, LW! I even checked your archives to link to your review, being certain you would have read it already :)
Seriously? How complimentary!
Is this going to be in my Pursuit of Happiness/Truth About Forever/Alison Rules grouping???
Thanks for the comment at Seven!
I don't know, LW! I haven't read the others :)
And no problem about the comment. It was great to read all about you. I actually read it late last night, but couldn't comment (difficult, busy day) until later.
If you are emotionally all right to read similarly-themed fiction right now, PLEASE do read The Pursuit of Happiness, The Truth About Forever, The Alison Rules, and Stay With Me. All so, so amazing.
:)
I did read Stay With Me, and I have to say it's on my "black list" (books I did not like for one reason or another). I will definitely read the others though!! Thanks for the recs.
Wah. I love Stay with Me!
Cures for Heartbreak: Received, read, enjoyed, and marked quotes with little slips of paper. Now prepping questions for Margo and thanking you and Colleen for bringing my attention to this title. :)
As for the others I recommended above:
THE ALISON RULES: Don't get spoiled for what happens. Well, unless you _want_ to be spoiled. I don't like spoilers myself!
THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS: This book was my nomination for The Cybils YA category. Enough said - yet I'll say more: The first chapter is more than hook, line, sinker. It's perfection. The book is great.
THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER: My absolute favorite Sarah Dessen book to date, and it's on my top ten list of favorite pieces of contemporary fiction. I remind myself of this book's closing lines whenever I need a little push.
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