Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland

John Green meets Rainbow Rowell in this irresistible story of first love, broken hearts, and the golden seams that put them back together again. Henry Page has never been in love. He fancies himself a hopeless romantic, but the slo-mo, heart palpitating, can't-eat-can't-sleep kind of love that he's been hoping for just hasn't been in the cards for him—at least not yet. Instead, he's been happy to focus on his grades, on getting into a semi-decent college and finally becoming editor of his school newspaper. Then Grace Town walks into his first period class on the third Tuesday of senior year and he knows everything's about to change. Grace isn't who Henry pictured as his dream girl—she walks with a cane, wears oversized boys' clothes, and rarely seems to shower. But when Grace and Henry are both chosen to edit the school paper, he quickly finds himself falling for her. It's obvious there's something broken about Grace, but it seems to make her even more beautiful to Henry, and he wants nothing more than to help her put the pieces back together again. And yet, this isn't your average story of boy meets girl. Krystal Sutherland's brilliant debut is equal parts wit and heartbreak, a potent reminder of the bittersweet bliss that is first love.

it was better than I expected

also I loved how it didn't have the expected ending, I love endings like this

Grace Town is new to Henry's high school. Once seen, she isn't easily forgotten. When they are thrown together to be co-editors of the high school paper, so begins their story. Hearts will be cracked, love will be tested, and friendship will broken.

This is my first read by this author and I absolutely loved all the sarcastic wit and humor. I know, for some, it will be irritating and annoying but then ... teenagers so ... it fits and I laughed and enjoyed.

Even though this is essentially a sad book throughout it's refreshing to see the dark side of love done in a way that isn't an obsessive one.

Sometimes love stories aren't meant to be good ones. Sometimes they are meant to help the other person and sometimes they are just a blip in our lives and memories to be held deep within, even when painful.

Henry doesn't need love. It isn't that he's bitter, or stuck in the past - love just isn't something that has ever concerned him. He's got everything he needs, until Grace Town walks into his life. The unkempt girl with the limp, clad in men's clothing, shouldn't catch his eye, but she does, and before he knows it, Henry is sucked into a whirlwind of grief, love, and learning that sometimes, beauty lies in the brokenness.

5 stars! I adored the narrator. I can't recall the last time I read a YA contemporary that had a teenage boy for a narrator, who felt so believable and real and absolutely endearing. Henry's best friends are even better: Murray, the crazy Aussie outback survivor wannabe, and Lola, the Haitian/Chinese lesbian princess, are a constant source of humor, quick wit, brutal honesty, and friendly comforts. Unlike most “boy meets wounded girl” stories, I didn't get the Manic Pixie Dream Girl vibe, which was a relief in and of itself. The book is also surprisingly meta and self-aware, filled with pop culture and internet references, as well as careful dissections of its own characters.

Beyond this point: SPOILERS!

Grace Town, the “wounded girl” in this scenario, is frustrating in the best way, because she feels like too many people I've met in my own life. She punishes herself with grief and pain, refusing to move on from the lost love of her life: Dom, the deceased boyfriend she seems to constantly size Henry up against (and replaces Henry with altogether when she's drunk).

In the end, we learn that this book, unlike most YA contemporaries, does not have a “happy ending”; rather than letting Henry help her piece together the broken pieces of her soul, Grace continues life as a ghost, breaking Henry's heart over and over until he comes to terms with the fact that he is not her soul mate, no great love of hers; he is simply a temporary side character in her life, and one can never fault another for unrequited love.

As someone who has moved past a few tumultuous relationships with unrequited sincerity, Sutherland's writing was a journey all of its own; first, Henry's story tugged at old scars, a quiet reminder of the aches of the past, before smoothing them over with the knowledge that just because something didn't last, doesn't mean it was a waste.