Wednesday 2 November 2016

Instructions for a Second-Hand Heart by Tamsyn Murray


Jonny has a faulty heart and his time is running out. Niamh has just lost her twin brother in a tragic accident. As their fates collide, soon Jonny is on the mend - but desperate to know more about his donor. When he tracks down Niamh, he only intends to find out about her brother, the first owner of his heart. He doesn't plan on falling in love...



Instructions for a Second-hand Heart pulled me in and tugged at the heart strings and I haven’t had that in a YA book since reading Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

Johnny has missed out on a normal childhood so far due to a heart condition that has left him spending a lot of time in hospital. Niamh is trying to come to terms with the death of her brother Leo. Johnny and Niamh’s paths cross not quite by accident and before long Johnny finds that what he started out to find soon turned out to be something more than he was searching for.

The chapters alternate between both Johnny and Niamh’s perspectives and both are going through a very challenging time in their life on top of the normal struggles teenagers are going through at their age. I loved each of the characters equally and by the end of the book I was desperate to follow their story further.

The friendship between Johnny and Em is a beautiful one, they have a great connection and they bring each other up on a low day and also bring a comedic feel to the storyline at times with their shared jokes. I would have loved to have seen more of Em in the book as she was a character who really captured my heart.

This is a storyline that will bring a lump to your throat and maybe even a tear to your eye. It is an emotional read but one that is also full of hope and also brings awareness to the importance of organ donations which is something I think we should all be aware of from a younger age. I really enjoyed this book and it had a quick pace too so I read it in one sitting and I am sure many more people will find they are unable to put it down too.


Paperback              Kindle

No comments:

Post a Comment

SITE DESIGNED BY PRETTYWILDTHINGS