The Anatomical Shape of A Heart by Jenn Bennett

Hardcover, 291 pages
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Published by: Feiwel & Friends
Stand-alone
Source: Own 
For fans of: Contemporary Romance, Art, Chick-lit, Realistic Fiction, Hot Literary Guys, Diversity FTW


     Artist Beatrix Adams knows exactly how she's spending the summer before her senior year. Determined to follow in Leonardo da Vinci’s footsteps, she's ready to tackle the one thing that will give her an advantage in a museum-sponsored scholarship contest: drawing actual cadavers. But when she tries to sneak her way into the hospital’s Willed Body program and misses the last metro train home, she meets a boy who turns her summer plans upside down.
     Jack is charming, wildly attractive . . . and possibly one of San Francisco’s most notorious graffiti artists. On midnight buses and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who Jack really is—and tries to uncover what he’s hiding that leaves him so wounded. But will these secrets come back to haunt him? Or will the skeletons in Beatrix’s own family’s closet tear them apart?

*MY THOUGHTS*

     When I read the description of this, I didn't immediately add it to my TBR. The "drawing cadavers" part kind of threw me for a loop . Ironically, that ended up being the reason I wanted to read it. I'd never read anything like that before and at the very least it'd be original enough to keep me interested. It ended up being much more than that.
"...the sensible thing and the right thing aren't always the same choice, and no one but you could truly understand the difference."
pg. 104
     Beatrix Adams is not your average artist. She doesn't just paint or sketch things she sees on an everyday basis. She likes to draw things for science. Like cadavers. WILLED BODIES. Her mom is 100% against it, so sneaking around to do it is the only way she can. But then in doing so she meets Jack, who has a couple secrets of his own.
"All of me or none of me- that's what I'm offering."
pg. 111
     The writing style in this is what made me fall in complete love with this book. Jenn Bennett is a new to YA and a new to me author. I sincerely hope she writes more. I thought I would shy away from Beatrix's drawings and Bennett's descriptions of them, but I loved them. She didn't make them gruesome or try to sugar coat them. I also loved the way the book flowed. I was on a cruise and I was sucked into the book so much I found myself reading from our balcony, on Mexico's beaches, and in a corner of the ship's casino. (Don't judge...) It was like I couldn't put the book down. Nor did I want to.
"Art shouldn't be practical. It should be emotional and expressive."
pg. 143
     As for the romance, this is the reason this book doesn't get an entire five star rating from me. Their relationship was definitely insta-lovey. It didn't annoy me as much because it's a book with less than 300 pages. Because it was so short I knew it had to move fast. But then there was the rest of the relationship. Things they did went fast too. But again, it didn't bother me because the writing style was so amazing. Bennett made it to where I was fanning myself and had to remember it was a YA novel I was reading and not an NA. But once their relationship got going, I didn't want it to stop. Bex and Jack were awesome together. I loved everything about them together, but more importantly apart as well.
"...doing nothing can cause as muuch damage as doing something."
pg. 217
     Jack was super funny and so very romantic. Bex was funny as well, but with her Gothic side, I fell in love with her a little more. I loved that she wasn't the "regular YA" girl and had something that set her apart from other characters. I also loved that she blogged. (I will always fall in love with characters who blog! lol Don't judge!)Them together made an electrifying couple. Their smexy times were explosive as well as their everyday conversations. They were just a super hot couple that has climbed their way to my list of favorites of 2015.
"I think I'v'e been waiting for you all my life."
pg. 238
     This is one book you don't want to miss out on y'all. There is so much I loved about this book, and I'm upset that I almost missed out on it because of ONE small thing in the synopsis. Don't let the synopsis fool you guys!
Overall, I give this
Real Rating at 4.5 but I rounded up 

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,