Publisher: Headline
Format: ARC
Published: 10th May 2012
Number of Pages: 336
Book: For Review*
Genre: Contemporary, Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Romance, Realistic-Fiction, Thriller,
Suspense, Crime Fiction, Action-Adventure, YA, YA-Adult Crossover
Recommended
Age: 13+
Contains: Swearing, Violence, Smoking, Alcohol References
No Drug References
Author's
Blog: Tanya Byrne
“Yes, I’m Emily Koll.
“Daughter of the infamous Harry Koll.
“You got it in one”.
They
say I'm evil. The police. The newspapers. The girls from school who shake their
heads on the six o’clock news and say they always knew there was something not
quite right about me. And everyone believes it. Including you. But you don't
know. You don't know who I used to be.
Who I
could have been.
Awaiting
trial at Archway Young Offenders Institution, Emily Koll is going to tell her
side of the story for the first time.
Heart-Shaped Bruise is a compulsive and moving novel about infamy, identity and how far a
person might go to seek revenge.
Review:
"Don't
believe everything you read."
Everyone thinks they know Emily, daughter
of the infamous gangster Harry Koll, the girl who went to any length to get
back at the one who got her dad sent to prison.
People say she's evil. They judge her
even though they don't know her.
Now Emily’s an inmate at Archway Young
Offenders Institution, awaiting her trial.
But she's telling her story for the first
time, in this notebook. Letting us know who she was, who she might have
been, what she lost...
And why she did what she did...
You know when you read a book, and it just
kinda strikes a chord? Plays all the right notes? Makes you feel
warm one moment and raw and utterly alone in the very next? For me, Heart-Shaped Bruise was That Book. I devoured it, read it
in a single sitting, unable to put it down. It was beautiful. It
was horrible. It was painful. It tugged at every single heart string I possess. It made me love so much, lose so much, miss
so much, feel so much. Just so
much, so much ‘til I thought I'd explode... Seriously, Tanya: whatever
your next book is, I cannot wait. And thank
you so much for writing this! It is one of my 2012 favourites – one
of my favourites full stop.
Emily Koll was an amazingly complex
character, snarky and strong, but also vulnerable and broken. She
was so real, so miserable, so alone. Maybe I should have hated her for everything
she did, but I just couldn't. Not for a second. Smart, funny, vulnerable,
tough, broken Emily, who took revenge but who I loved whole heatedly
none-the-less. I bow down to Tanya Byrne: You created an amazing lead I
loved no matter what she did.
I have to comment on the relationship
between Emily and Juliet, because it was intriguing. Juliet, AKA "Dad Stabber" (to Emily), was the target of Emily’s anger
and hatred. This part made sense, but it
was like Emily admired and liked Juliet too – which added more depth to Emily –
and this was odd, breath-taking, strange, genius.
All of the characters were so amazingly
real and alive and unique. I loved them
all, no matter how small their part was.
There was Sid King, the boy who stole the infamous Emily Koll's
heart. He was arty and cute and clever and so, so good. I adored Grace Humm, Emily’s personal
tutor at college. Grace was wacky,
bonkers, hilarious – I loved her, even though she was only in one chapter!
The relationship between the girls at the
institution was quite intriguing. There was lots of banter, which made me
laugh, and so many broken girls it crushed my heart in two. I especially loved Naomi "(17,
schizophrenic)" and Lily "(16, anorexic)". Both girls felt so real, and even though they
were broken they really managed to make me laugh!
The writing was beautiful, dreadful, breath-taking.
As I read, I could feel Emily, feel everything she felt, saw everything she saw. It was utterly
addictive and just heart breaking. And I loved how it was written - a
notebook-journal-style tangle of Emily’s life now and before. The plot was equally incredible and utterly
addictive. I was desperate to know everything about Emily, why she did
what she did. What she did – we
knew she'd done something really,
really bad to be in the Institute, but we didn't know exactly what. I was totally, completely
hooked to every single word, trying to figure Emily out. In a strange way, even though I zoomed
through it at the speed of light, I never ever wanted the book to end.
The emotions were just non-stop,
overwhelming. To borrow a phrase from Emily: "my heart"! God, Ms Byrne sure knew how to tear a girl up
inside! It was raw, so raw it hurt. And I felt
how alone Emily was. God, it was dreadful. No one should be alone
like that. No one. Not even the daughter of a gangster who did
SOMETHING bad, who is just fictional anyway. Again let me simply say:
"my heart"...
There was crushing despair and overwhelming
loneliness and heart-breaking hope. Even if I mildly wanted to stop, God
knows I wouldn't have been able to. I adored this book - every
second. I never wanted to stop. Not ever. It was beautiful,
so much so it hurt. I adored it. An amazing, breath-taking, heart-breaking,
beautiful debut, one that left me reeling, one I could not put down. One
I can't get out of my head. If you read just one contemp ever, read Heart-Shaped Bruise. Seriously. You won't regret
it.
Star Rating:
5 Out of 5
5 Out of 5
Read this
book if you liked:
Challenges
It's Taking Part In:
Happy Reading
Megan
* This
book was received from Headline in exchange for an honest review
4 comments:
OMG I'm so jealous of you right now!!! ;D I seriously need to buy this right now, thanks for an incredible review (:
Cliona: I honestly can't recommend it enough! It's amazing! :D
Not my normal thing but it sounds amazing!
Twitch: It is! I can't recommend it enough!
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