The Hiding Spot

Goodness, I love this novel. Unbreak My Heart is just... perfect. Simple, yet filled with such emotional depth and meaning that I wanted to simultaneously hug it to my chest and thrust it at my roommate and command that she read it immediately.I'll admit, the cover is quite girly. I think it's adorable, but I know that some readers might look at it and see fluff. Unbreak My Heart is not fluff. It does, however, have a hopefulness to it that the cover illustrates in ways. I like that Clementine is on a boat in the middle of nowhere with nothing on the horizon... to me, this is reminiscent of Clem's state of mind throughout most of the novel. Still, don't judge this book by it's cover! It's light enough to be a beach read in that's it's fairly straightforward and isn't dark and twisted, but that doesn't mean it's fluff. (I mean, look at Anna and the French Kiss... the cover looks fluffy, not to mention the cutesy title, but Anna is not fluffy!)I adore the characters in Unbreak My Heart. All of them. They all felt real to me and I loathed to leave them behind when I finished the novel. Clem is surrounded by such wonderful people that you just knew that she'd make it through her rough patch... even if this wasn't a YA novel with a pink cover, I know Clem would have been just fine.One of the best aspects of this novel is the fact that, while Clem is distressed over having fallen for her best friend's boyfriend, she much more worried about her relationship with her best friend than with the boy. Yes! This is so, so important to me. In addition, I liked that the novel dealt with the double standard of the best friend getting ditched while the boyfriend is forgiven.Annnnd of course there's romance. And it's wonderful and hopeful and fresh! Sometimes I get so discouraged by all those star-crossed lovers and messy love triangles - especially when my real love life features messiness way too often. It's nice to see something lighthearted and positive. It was such a relief to see someone healthy enter into a heroine's life... that simplicity is refreshing. And, honestly, unique in comparison with I've been reading lately.Unbreak My Heart is contemporary YA at it's best. I can't stress enough how firmly this book has wedged itself in my heart. Read it! You won't be disappointed.