Fierce Fragile Hearts by Sara Barnard
‘This time around, I’m going to be so much better. I’m going to prove to them that it was worth waiting on me.’
Two years after a downward spiral took her as low as you can possibly go, Suzanne is starting again. Again. She’s back in Brighton, the only place she felt she belonged, back with her best friends Caddy and Rosie. But they’re about to leave for university. When your friends have been your light in the darkness, what happens when you’re the one left behind?
Rating:
I know I am late to the party and that finished copies are already out, but Sara’s books are very intense and I had to be in the right mindspace for it. (And I am glad I waited or I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much).
We find Suzanne ready to rebuild and start “over” again in Bristol. She’s an adult now, at 18 and wants to be independent. And gosh, just this part of the story was heartbreaking, because ebing an adult is really difficult, and becoming independent completely and trying to make ends meet is also hard. I loved the fact that she doesn’t just magically afford every single thing and have it perfectly fine without any issues.
The rawness of the book is one of the best things, seriously. But it also means that this book should come with the warning of saying that it deals with mental health, drugs, alcohol, relationships and abuse. This is done in a tasteful (to my palate at least) way without being too preachy but also not just like “it’s drugs and rock n roll”.
There is a lovely old lady as part of this book, and I just loved this so much. Everything about it made me smile and cry and just it is beautiful (don’t really want to spoil a lot). There’s a cute dog. And friends, and how friendships change.
Sue also has to learn that she’s not the only one having issues, and hey, she can actually try to help her friends. And discovering how to help others and how to be a friend are part of what this book touches on.
Gosh, it even made me want to go visit Bristol and find the places it mentions. And now I am not making a lot of sense. But basically, this book will give you a lot of feelings and make you emotional, different emotions at a time like sadness, happiness and anger (there are others and at times I just laughed in the middle of the bus while I was reading, weird looks were given, I didn’t care).