

Author: Krystal Sutherland
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, YA
Format: ARC

“I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.”
There are those rare books where when I turn the last page not only am I completely speechless but I’m left with a sense that it was a book I didn’t know I needed until I read it. Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland has officially made the list of such books.
It’s a story of love. But at the same time, it isn’t.
It does tell a tale of how love can be powerful and disastrous in its many different forms, yes, but it’s also more complex than just that. It’s about grief and what that can do to a person. It’s about how we learn as we grow but make mistakes along the way. It’s about the effect we can have on each other and how some people are giant waves that leave an imprint on our lives forever and how some are just needles in a haystack. It’s about how you can’t just magically fix someone, how they have to want to get better on their own. Our Chemical Hearts is raw, realistic, and truthful.
This book is not your typical boy meets girl, boy saves girl, boy and girl fall in love and live happily ever after story. It’s more like boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, and well the rest you’ll have to read to find out.
Krystal Sutherland doesn’t sugarcoat things and the way she executes all of the above through her tale of Henry and his first experience with love stands out among most of today’s YA contemporary romances. In fact, I feel as if Our Chemical Hearts isn’t truly about romance (or even really a romance novel) it’s more about life.
However, at the same time, this book was hilarious and I laughed more than I cried. It’s full of witty, eccentric, and unique yet flawed characters who are each unforgettable in their own ways. I fell in love with every one of the characters in this book.
“I was a decent enough writer, but talking? With sounds? From my mouth? That was a bitch.”
Henry is quirky, adorable, awkward, hilarious, and self-deprecating. I liked him instantly and he had me laughing at almost every turn but then he had me crying because he broke my heart. The growth in him as a character from page one to the end is ginormous! In a way, he was a bit naïve, at first. And that might have been his biggest flaw but he surprises you.
“The rain was falling like bullets,” said Murray around his cigar, continuing his hardboiled narration of the evenings events in a fifties American accent. It was not, in fact, raining at all.”
Murray, dear god, he might have been the most eccentric of the bunch but he was also the most unique. He had me cracking up at the silliest things, but then I also worried for his sanity. His obsession with his ex-girlfriend was a bit out there, but he was an incredible friend.
“Life is a crapfest and you’re having a really, really tough time, but you can’t go down with the ship. Get in a lifeboat. Shape up or ship out.”
Lola was my absolute favorite! She’s completely badass and a friend that isn’t afraid to tell it like it is. She doesn’t wrap things in a pretty box – if you’re fucking up she’ll let you know. But she also has a huge heart of gold and when you do screw up she doesn’t say “I told you so” she’s just there for you. I honestly wish Lola was real so she could be my best friend!
“Grace Town is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”
Grace broke my heart more than anyone. I really felt for her and her situation. The hand that life decided to deal her wasn’t pretty. However, at her best, she was this mysterious, quirky, and intriguing character. I don’t feel as if we even fully got to scratch the surface of her, there are things we never got to know. But I think that was the author’s point.
I didn’t know what to think of Sadie at first. We learn that she is (literally) a brilliant person who was a delinquent in her youth. She set a classroom kitchen at her school on fire on purpose once. Who does that!? However, you learn just how much she cares for her baby brother (Henry) and how she is willing to do anything for him. I admired her and wish she was my big sister.
Henry’s parents – the only, minor, problem I had with this book. They were not bad parents, at all. In fact, they were so loving, accepting, and understanding. However, they kept some things from Henry that they probably shouldn’t have. I also didn’t agree with the aspect of them letting him do whatever, whenever. They were the perfect example of cliché absentee YA parents, which is something I’m very eh about.
That aside, my favorite aspect of this book was the friendship between Henry, Lola, and Murray. Those three were the perfect example of an incredible (hopefully lifelong) friendship. They were just there for each other through the ups and downs, through their mistakes, and they found ways to build each other back up. It was beautiful and the kind of friendship you want to have in your life.
“I love that even though I failed to make it onto the bus and was possibly dead and/or dying, you two still saw fit to come to my house, eat my food, and play my games without me.”
This book is marketed, via Goodreads, as being a John Green meets Rainbow Rowell type of book. While I agree that it had me feeling reminiscent of Paper Towns at times it is essentially nothing like any of the books either of the above authors have written. It is its own unique and complex being and I loved it for that alone.
“I wondered, in that moment, if it was possible for human beings to go supernova – my atoms felt like they were emitting a shock wave of heat and light as they came unstuck from each other.”
I especially love all of the science and space metaphors that Krystal Sutherland wrapped up into it. I didn’t completely agree with some of them – they were a bit cynical for my taste. But I admired them and how they flowed and how they really showcased how incredible the author’s writing is as well as the personalities she was forming within each character.
“It’s all just chemical hearts. Does that make love any less brilliant? I don’t think so.”
If you love books that are hilarious, truthful, and realistic. If you don’t mind books that break your heart and put it back together. Then Our Chemical Hearts is the perfect book for you. It’s a quick, powerful, and unforgettable read. I highly recommend it and I can’t wait to see whatever the author has in store for us with her future books!
You can pre-order it on: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Google Play, Book Depository, and Kobo
What did you think of my review? Are you excited for Our Chemical Hearts?
I love your review and how well worded it is. I think I’m going to add it to my Tbr once I get my hands on a copy. ❤
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Awwww thank you!! ♥
I hope you end up loving it as much as I did! 😊
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Great review! My request for this book through NetGalley is still pending, so I haven’t read it yet, but I’m hoping to soon! I’ve been looking out for reviews on this book, and saw yours pop up on my Reader so I was excited to hear what you thought about it. I’m so happy to hear that you liked the book!! And you’ve made me even more anxious to read it! 🙂
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Thank you!! ♥
I hope your request gets approved and that you end up liking it as much as I did! It really was an incredible and thought provoking book. 😊
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Thanks! I hope so, too 🙂
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Great review! This sounds so good. I think I saw it on NetGalley a while back. Now I want to go take a look and see if it’s still on there. 🙂
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Thank you!! ♥
I checked earlier out of curiosity because I hadn’t looked to see if it was on there before and it still is. 😊
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This is a brilliant review Melissa! I’ve seen a lot of people reading copies of this already, and I’m definitely intrigued enough to check it out when it’s released. It sounds a little bit heartbreaking, and I’m kind of half in love with the characters just from the way you’ve described them as well!
There are so many positive review already and I want to read more YA contemporary so this one is going to have to go on my to-read list! 🙂
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Awww thank you, Beth! ♥😊
It’s definitely a little heartbreaking but it has the perfect mixture of that and these light, funny moments. Honestly, it was such a great read and the characters really made the book. I hope you end up loving it as much as I did whenever you do read it! I can’t wait to see your thoughts on it. 😃
I’m with you on wanting to read more YA contemporary! I used to read so many but I’ve turned into more of a fantasy reader the past couple of years.
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That’s all right! 😀
Ohh that sounds like the perfect YA contemporary book then! You need a little heartbreak I think but not too much that it becomes a depressing story! I’ll have to wait for its release but I’m already excited to get my hands on it!
I’ve always been a fantasy reader but I’ve recently been getting into contemporary books so I’m always on the lookout for more YA contemporary books I can check out! 🙂
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Exactly! I love the perfect balance between ripping my heart out and making me laugh when reading a YA contemporary. Though I do love some that are just completely heartbreaking and some that are really cute and make me laugh a lot as well lol. I’m such a mood reader that it really depends on what I’m in the mood for. 😊
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Yep, while I love fluffy contemporaries at times there needs to be some kind of tension, and books that rip my heart out stay with me much more than fluffy happy books! I feel you need a mixture of both right, some light and fluffy, some heavy and heartbreaking, too much of one or the other would get boring after a while! 😀
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Yes! I feel the same about books that rip my heart out. They always end up being the ones that stay with me for a long time. But they require happy books read afterward because if I go into too many serious/heart breaking reads in a row it sends me into a terrible reading slump. So yeah a mixture is always great! 😊
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There are books I read for the first time months and even years ago that I still haven’t forgotten just because of how heartbreaking they were! Oh yes I completely agree, you need some happiness to balance it out, it’d depress me too much to read only sad books! 🙂
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Same! My all time favorite, go to recommendation, book is one that broke my heart more than it didn’t. But it has that balance between happy and sad because it definitely had its lighter moments. 😊
Me too!
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Two of my favourite books, and two that I’ve taken to recommending to everyone, are heartbreaking books! I won’t even say there are lighter parts, just heartbreak!
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I’m curious now! What two books are they? 🙈
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The Book Thief and The Song of Achilles. Both destroyed me but both are favourites of mine! 😀
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One of those I just recent added to my TBR, because of your review, and the other has been on my TBR for so long. I need to read them. Probably when I’m in the mood for a book that will destroy my heart! 🙈
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I’m going to assume the first one’s The Song of Achilles because I haven’t reviewed The Book Thief on my blog yet 🙂
But whenever you’re next in the mood for a sad book definitely pick one of those two up! 😀
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Yep! And I definitely will. 😃
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This sounds SO good! Your review was great and the characters sound wonderful. I really need to check this book out when it releases 🙂
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Thank you!! ♥
It really is, I loved it and the characters are probably some of my favorites as far as books I’ve read this year go! I hope you end up enjoying it whenever you get around to it. 😊
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