** I received an arc of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review **

It is hard to do a love triangle that is a) believable b) interesting and c) hard to have a "winner"
Personally, I didn't love this one. Maybe it's because I really believed in the couple that I felt like they were meant to be.

I did love the writing and the humor in this was great. Also, SWOON. It was adorable. I'd love to see Jacqueline Firkins write a hard hitting contemporary with no love triangle because I think it would be amazing.

This book is a retelling of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. It was a fun easy read about a girl who had to move in with her snobby aunt and rich cousins. I like that the girls all had good relationships and stuck together even when it came to the boys they were infatuated with. It’s nice to see a female character need her friends rather than some guy.

It is almost impossible to put into words how much I LOVED “HEARTS, STRINGS, AND OTHER BREAKABLE THINGS!” It is one of the best books I have read in a long time across all genres and it may take first place in my library of YA retellings and YA contemporary! It is a retelling of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, and it is so well done! It also became my top Jane Austen retelling ever (and I have read ALOT of Jane Austen retelling.)

Jacqueline Firkins did an incredible job of modernizing the entire story of Mansfield Park from start to finish. She had me laughing out loud throughout the entire retelling. First of all, I liked that the names were not changed too much. It was much easier to follow along with the story, if you are familiar with Mansfield Park. She took Franny Price and turned her into Edie Price. I loved seeing Edie break out a little more. She still held her moral ground, but she was a little more open minded. Some may say that ruins the integrity of Edie/Fanny price, but I do not see it that way. I think Firkins stayed true to the overall character of Edie/Fanny and made Edie a little more relatable to the modern reader. I was surprised by the character growth in Edie, but I felt it important for the more timid reader. You can still be yourself, hold to your morals, and still grow and learn in life. 

I enjoyed what a book worm Edie was in the book, especially when it came to classics. She even had a few classic movies thrown in for fun! For the books and authours I have not read, I have made them an even bigger priority. Some of these authours and books mentioned are: The Chronicles of Narnia, Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, George Eliot, The Great Gatsby, Villette, Jane Eyre, Bleak House, W.B. Yeats, Adam Bede, The Twelfth Night, Alexandre Dumas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mary Shelley, and of course Jane Austen herself! I loved they pretended to play Narnia! I became instant friends with the characters in that moment! For those who find the original character of Franny Price dull and boring, I think you will be surprised and fall in love with Edie Price!

The story was adapted by featuring an upscale neighbourhood and school. I liked the use of social media in this story. It was used, but not overdone. I was glad the characters did not just sit on their phones the entire story. That would be boring. 

THIS NEXT PART OF THE REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT READ MANSFIELD PARK AND/OR HEARTS, STRINGS, AND OTHER BREAKABLE THINGS!!!!!!!!!!!

Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things was a nice change from other books I have been reading. This story is the first time I have ever wanted Edie/Fanny Price to end up with Henry instead of Sebastian/Edmund! I found myself rooting for Henry by the end of the story. I applauded Edie’s boldness in asking Henry to prom! I found Edie relatable in the fact I usually had more guy friends compared to girlfriends. I was SHOCKED at how much of a role the locket played in the story. 

I really hope you will consider picking up a copy of Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things by Jacqueline Firkins. It is a true gem among all the other incredible Jane Austen retellings. I hope this will show another side of Fanny Price and how truly amazing Mansfield Park is as a novel to readers who often criticize it. I cannot wait for more books by Firkins! I just want to read this book all over again! Easiest 5 star rating I have given out in a long time! 

Thank you so much to Net Galley, HMH Books for Young Readers, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group for this review copy. I asked for a copy of this e-book for review purposes. In no way does this alter my review or thoughts on the book. The review is 100% my own! I loved it so much I did PURCHASE MY OWN COPY when it was released! That should give you even more insight into how much I loved this story!

I I really wanted to like this book. I'm a big fan of modern adaptions Austen books. Mansfield Park is one of her books that is rarely adapted to a modern setting. I didn't care for the characters. Some YA books are for teen audience and others are can be for adults and teens.

2.5 stars

The problem with reimagining classic novels is that those novels are beloved. Add in an author like Jane Austen, and the bar is hard to reach. And based on other Jane Austen adaptations, Mansfield Park seems to be the one people struggle with the most.

Heart, Strings, and Other Breakable Things doesn’t hit the mark. While I didn’t hate it, and made my way through the entire thing, it wasn’t what I’d consider satisfying.

I struggled with Firkins’ characters. No one is particularly likeable, including the heroine. They all come across as self-absorbed and crass. And while I’m sure real teenagers talk about sex, I sincerely hope they don’t spend every waking moment consumed by it.

What makes this book readable is Firkins’ writing, which is precise and sets a mood. If only the characters were worth rooting for. I suggest this as a library read instead of a purchase.

I won't rate this book because I DNFed it at around 130 pages BUT I do have thoughts on what I read. So before I tear into this book, I want to say that if you loved this book, good for you. You might not want to read this review because I HATED it. I don't often have such strong emotions towards a book but this one just ruffled my feathers.

Now onto my thoughts.

Every single person in this book is a Grade A piece of shit. Edie wanted to kiss her best friend's boyfriend because she wanted to be wanted. So she let him kiss her and then is sad when her best friend is mad at her. Like WTF?! Why on earth would you kiss your best friend's guy? This is the character we follow in the book, the one we should be rooting for but I just wanted to rip her hair out and smack her in the face for being such a selfish bitch.

Not only does she kiss her best friend's guy but she's also after a guy who has a girlfriend. She even almost kisses him once knowing he has a girlfriend. Bitch. I don't even care if he's not happy with the girlfriend, he's taken! Respect boundaries you selfish chick!

Now onto the guy who has a girlfriend. He flirts with Edie even though he has a girlfriend! What a freaking asshole! I mean at this point the two deserve each other in the land of horrible cheaters.

Then there's the cousin to the main girl, she cheats on her boyfriend whom she claims to love all because the other guy is such a great kisser. Also, the guy she kisses knows she's got a boyfriend and doesn't give a rat's ass!

I'm a character-driven reader, I have to like the characters to want to read the story but I honestly hated each one we ran across. I hope none of them find happiness and then they can be shipped off to cheater hell where everyone is single so they will suffer forever.

I know that morally grey characters are totally in right now but I don't like that trend. Sorry. I like a character I can root for not one that just pisses me off. Cheating is one of my hard limits when it comes to reading and so, of course, this book wouldn't sit well with me.

The writing is great and I loved that this book wasn't clean. There was mention of sex just like real teenagers would talk about and that was something I really loved. I also enjoyed that we got to see the 'rich' people. I love those kinds of books where we take the 'poor' character and throw them into a world that they never even dreamed of.

So if you like those kinds of things and don't mind cheating characters, then you might still like this one. As for me... I'm selling it to HPB. If I had a fireplace I would've burned in my fit of rage but I can be a bit dramatic.

Will go live on my blog: 1/30/2020

I love a good YA romance. I was immediately enveloped in Edie's story, while she tryied to understand and navigate her feelings between two boys. The differences in her relationship with both Henry and Sebastian were very interesting. I did not see all the twists and turns coming in this charming novel.  This is a quick, feel good read. Highly recommend!

There are very few Austenesque books inspired by Jane Austen's Mansfield Park and Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things did an excellent job of converting the story to contemporary times and into a young adult novel. With adjustments in the plot and characters, modern readers will identify with Edie the Fanny Price character and her unsettled life, though I was taken aback by some of the author's choices about her. She should be the moral compass of the novel, and some of her modern choices were not in keeping with her philospohies.

Remember how, a couple weeks ago, I said I’d post this review after the blog tour was over because it wasn’t going to get a suitable rating on the tour? The time has come! I was actually super disappointed that I didn’t like this book, because I really wanted to. But I’ll explain it all, I promise.

In Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things, Edie Price is new to Mansfield, Massachusetts after spending her entire life in Ithaca, New York. Mansfield is… different, especially for a girl like Edie. Edie, who was in foster care before moving in with her mother’s sister and family. Edie, who’s last interaction with her best friend in Ithaca was a complete disaster. Edie, who swears off crushes and boys and love and everything with the intent of just pushing through to graduation when she can get the heck out of Mansfield. But Mansfield, and her wealthy family there, have other plans for her. Plans that include boys! And shopping! And trying to be someone she isn’t! The only person Edie really feels comfortable with is Sebastian, a friend from her childhood when she used to visit her cousins in Mansfield. But Sebastian has a girlfriend, so he’s officially off-limits. Isn’t he? And then there’s bad-boy, womanizing Henry, who is the brother of Sebastian’s girlfriend.

Let’s just say that Edie’s time in Mansfield doesn’t go as planned.

Couple leaning on brick wall

3 Things I Loved
Edie’s voice. The writing in this book was really relatable and stellar, truly. I’ll get more into why Edie’s thoughts themselves are problematic, but the writing itself was really easy to get into.
Sebastian. Sebastian is a sweetheart, even though he’s misguided in much of the book. I so looked forward to the scenes with him in them though.
Julia. Edie’s younger cousin Julia was also a sweetheart, also misguided, and also a totally innocent 16-year-old girl who is looking for acceptance. I wanted more of her, and less judgment from Edie, honestly.
Dislikes/Problematic Content
OOF. Let’s start with that. I’m probably not even going to have time to really get into everything here, so let’s tackle the two intertwined issues I had with the book.

First, cheating is normalized. And while I understand that a lot of situations are nuanced, and I want to believe in forgiveness and all that, there are some things in the normalization in this book that are really gross. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Let’s start with Edie’s cousin Maria. Maria is “practically engaged” to this college guy who is kind of a doof. They’ve been together for years, they have all these plans, and it seems mismatched, but fine. But then Maria goes and makes out with Henry. And she admits that she likes Henry and that her boyfriend is boring, so Edie tells her she has to choose. And she basically says no, and her boyfriend forgives her because she’s hot, and that’s that.

WHAT.

A caveat – I understand that this is a Mansfield Park retelling, and I’ve never read Mansfield Park. So perhaps this bullshit was in that book too. But what the eff. Maria is EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD. It’s not like she’s trapped. I have no idea why this is written as so normal?? I really hated it.

So now let’s get back to Edie for a second.

Edie has this big crush on Sebastian that basically everyone knows about. And Sebastian has the “it” girl as his girlfriend. Cool cool cool. But Edie like… keeps trying to get with Sebastian anyway, keeps trying to get him to admit that he has feelings for her, all the while also thinking that she’s not as good as Sebastian’s girlfriend, so she doesn’t deserve him anyway?? I’m CONFUSED. It seems so unnecessary. Is this what Mansfield Park is like? If so, I hate it already.

So, the second issue I had with the book is how Edie’s headspace is discussed – her inner dialogue, I should say. When Edie left Ithaca, one of the last things that happened was that her best friend Shonda’s boyfriend kissed her while Shonda was using a McDonald’s bathroom. Shonda didn’t speak to her again, and Edie moves to Mansfield without any closure. There’s a LOT to unpack here, but I’m going to break down the problems as best I can.

Shonda is blaming Edie when she should be blaming her own scuzzy boyfriend.
Edie internalizes that blame and even emails Shonda APOLOGIZING for something she didn’t fucking do.
I know this happens. I’ve seen it happen. It’s easier to blame the innocent third party than it is to blame the person who is supposed to love you for stepping outside the relationship. BUT LISTEN. This is a YOUNG ADULT book. Is this a lesson we want in a 2019 YOUNG ADULT BOOK???

No. It’s not.

I’m going to say this once, and then I’m going to move on. If your best friend’s boyfriend makes a move on you, IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT. That’s it. That’s the whole lesson here. It doesn’t matter if you thought it might be coming. It doesn’t matter what you’re wearing or how you’re smelling or what you’re doing. IF A BOY MAKES A MOVE ON YOU, IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT.

Now, you can encourage it, if you’re into it too, that’s a separate issue. Edie, based on the words on the page, WASN’T INTO IT. And yet, the book says it was still her fault and she still lost her friend over it. I HATE THIS SOOOOOOO MUCH.

I said these issues are intertwined, because they are. Because Edie internalizes what Shonda is saying to and about her, she approaches Sebastian in a certain way, automatically feeling like the girl who wrecks relationships, even if she doesn’t explicitly say that. And that’s just… fucked up. BUT. How she ends up acting with Sebastian IS on her to an extent, although HE ACTS TOO. So it’s still not entirely her fault.

Okay, I’m done now, I promise.

Rating
A reminder of the rating scale:

Red = DNF, I hated everything
Orange = Ugh, no thank you
Yellow = I mean, I’ve read worse, but there were problems
Green = This was good! 
Blue = Oh my gosh, I loved this book!
Purple = This is the unicorn of books and I will be rereading it until the binding falls apart and EVERYONE should be reading it!
Ha, and here we are, the moment of truth, and the reason I couldn’t post this during the blog promotional tour. This book had problems, enough that the excellent writing and voice couldn’t make it better for me. I haven’t given a rating this low in a while, but here we go! I’m giving Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things an ORANGE rating. If you’ve made it to this point in the 1100+ word review of this book, you should already know why I feel that way!

Thank you to the publisher, Fantastic Flying Book Club blog tours, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Was I too honest this time? Maybe. But that’s what I’m here for, truly.

Happy reading (and happy new year)!

I wanted to love this book so badly. It sounded like the exact kind of cute contemporary that would have me shouting from the rooftops for everyone to pick this up. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

My main issue with this book were the characters. There was not a single female character worth rooting for. They were all so catty and mean and had zero concept of what a relationship/commitment was. The moment someone would look at their man they'd turn into a cast member of Mean Girls but god forbid they knew how to be faithful in their own relationship or not drag some poor soul along. Think Anna & the French Kiss but kick that up a few notches. Contemporaries are generally very character driven, so when it's hard to like anyone, it's pretty difficult to enjoy the novel as a whole.

The only things I really enjoyed was the writing and the lexicon entries. I thought both of those things were super creative and the creativity that shone through with some of the jokes/disses kept me reading. Yes, I couldn't stand the female characters, but I won't deny some of the crappy things they said were creative. I sure as hell wouldn't be able to be that clever when I'm upset about something.

Overall, this book was just of all over the place for me. I wanted to love it, I really did. But I just couldn't get past how much I disliked every single female character is a character-driven book.

This book fell below my expectations. I went into it thinking I'd fall in love with it immediately, only to groan after reading the first page.

To begin with, the writing style felt extremely immature. It seemed to me that everything was being forced and that the author was trying way too hard to appeal to readers. I was cringing just from reading the first chapter, and yikes, that's never a good sign.

Something else that stuck out to me was the way our main character thought it was no big deal that she made out with her best friend's boyfriend. Maybe if you lost half your brain, you'd think that, but no normal person thinks cheating--of any kind or intensity--is okay!

All in all, I couldn't even make it past the halfway mark with how things were going. I gave this book multiple chances and each time, it disappointed. I wouldn't even recommend this to my worst enemy.

I just want to start by saying this is a good, faithful retelling of Mansfield Park. I think if you enjoy the original story, you’ll enjoy this as an updated version. With that being said, I have personal issues with the source material and that made this book slightly less enjoyable for me (I’ve always been a Fannie/Henry shipper).

With that in mind, let’s continue. I thought some of the characters were done well. Edie (Fannie) and Henry seemed well-developed. I liked that they were multi-dimensional and they both seemed to experience some growth as the story progressed. Edie’s uncle Bert was another fun character and I wished he’d gotten more screen-time. The rest of the characters were a little flat for me. Maria and Julia were especially tough for me 95% of the time. They were just so self-centered and MEAN to each other. They seemed to have zero morals.

The tone of the book was inconsistent at times. It read like your average YA book, but then randomly there would be a page that had a pretty explicit make-out scene. Another example of this is that there was almost no swearing the entire book except for a couple of f-words just randomly dropped in there. That kind of thing just made me feel a little blindsided and took away from the book.

Overall, I think if you really like Mansfield Park, this could be a good retelling for you. I personally enjoyed some of Austen’s other books better so if this author does some of Austen’s other books, I could see myself picking those up.

Overall Rating: 3
Language: Moderate
Violence: None
Smoking/Drinking: Moderate
Sexual Content: Moderate

Note: I received this book free from the author/blog tour in exchange for an honest review.

I just started reading Mansfield Park for the first time a couple of weeks ago, so I was so excited when I discovered that this book was a retelling. I’ve only read the first couple chapters of Mansfield Park so far, so I didn’t know how the story ends. I’m even more excited to read the whole story now, to see how this story was adapted from the original. There were many things in this one, such as high school, teen parties, and sex, which I know weren’t in the original story by Jane Austen.

I loved this story! The romance was great. There was lots of drama in the many relationships, between all the different characters. I didn’t really agree with Edie’s final decision, but that was just my personal choice.

I wished there was more of Edie’s aunt, Norah, in the story. The aunt, Mrs. Norris, in Mansfield Park was hilarious. She was very opinionated. Her aunt Norah was in this story a little bit, but she seemed more cruel by denying Edie from money, rather than exaggerated like in the original novel.

This was a great story!

Thank you HMH Books for Young Readers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This YA Romance by Jacqueline Firkins has a distinctive air of a bit of a retelling.

Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things was a good and cute read. Edie, the main character, was very independent, or so she seemed, and she tried to stay that way throughout the book despite outward forces pressuring her to conform to the norm.

Edie grew a lot during the course of the book. She fell in and out of love and went through the stages of being a teenager.

I, myself, didn’t love the book. It was a little annoying what with Edie having a little but of wishy-washy feelings but it added to the story and Edie’s characterization. It was necessary. The love triangle, and yes there is one, while annoying, was necessary for Edie to grow and learn how to trust herself and her feelings.

I did feel as though Edie was a little too dependent, despite the fact that she was independent with her actions. Edie’s thoughts, feelings, and memories were a little too dependent. But other than that it was a really cute read on first love. The retelling comes in with references to Austen’s work and the similarity to the characters between the books.

Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things is a retelling of Mansfield Park, but if you haven’t read the original novel, don’t let that put you off. I haven’t read it either! I still understood a lot of the references, and I don’t think that missing out on the original novel impacted my feelings towards this book at all.

I knew that Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things was going to be a light and fluffy read as soon as I heard about it. It’s a YA contemporary about a girl who’s in a somewhat complicated love triangle, and who is struggling to fit in with her posh family and in her posh school. I love me some rich people drama, so I signed right up for this.

I have to admit that the main character, Edie, got on my nerves a lot. She’s what stopped me from truly loving this book, with her superior attitude and constant classic book quotes. I really couldn’t connect with her at all, and it was such a shame.

Edie spends a lot of time looking down on her cousins and their friends for wanting to go to parties and dress nice, which gave off SO MANY “Better Than Other Girls” vibes. In addition to that, she was always coming out with random quotes from classic novels, which seemed to me as though she was showing off her superior intellect and looking down on people who don’t read. This really got to me, and I was not here for that.

I did, however, get really invested in the love triangle. I’m going to have to be vague here, because my ship didn’t end up together, but in my opinion Edie chose the wrong guy. A guy who she barely knew or spoke to. Instead of the guy who was quickly becoming her best friend. That was about as vague as I could be, so I’ll leave it at that. I WAS DISAPPOINTED.

Aside from all of that, I loved the Rich People Drama and the parties and all of the normal drama that was happening. This was a fun and fluffy book that I think contemporary readers will really enjoy.

Hearts Strings and Other Breakable Things is a modern day retelling of Mansfield Park. Mansfield Park is one of Jane Austens' most disliked books and now I know why if it's anything like this retelling. Beware of spoilers ahead, I don't know how to write a review without any since the synopsis gives us nothing.

➽ Edie - After losing her mom she's been bouncing around the foster care system until one day her aunt and uncle decide to adopt her. She returns to the town her and her mother swore they'd never set foot in again, Mansfield. It's a rich area where she sticks out immediately which her two cousins point out to her immediately. Edie has a lot of anger towards her family who are only trying to help. Her goal is to focus on school, get a good scholarship and absolutely no boys. But then she runs into the boy next door who she has always crushed on. Not to mention the annoying but hot boy she meets at her her first party who won't leave her alone because he likes a challenge. 

➽ Sebastian - The boy next door with no spine. He has a girlfriend but constantly flirts and hangs out with Edie. He doesn't want the life his parents or his girlfriend have set up for him but never stands up for what he wants either. He is a forgettable character with a wet-blanket personality to match. 

➽ Henry - The hottie man-whore who can't take no for an answer, unless it's in response to consent. He's all over Edie from the start, along with both of her cousins... sharing is caring? He actually grows on me but we don't know anything about him except for he's graduated from high school and is brother to Sebastian's girlfriend. Oh and he's funny, hot, and a good kisser. 

This contemporary YA hits all the pitfalls of bad contemporaries. Love triangle, insta-love, characters that aren't well rounded and utterly forgettable. The only reason this gets two stars is because I finished it and Henry. He goes from this hot douchebag of a man whore to this sweet and kind boy who was hiding behind a wall built up to protect himself. I loved his transformation and was sad to see it go to waste. 

The love triangle was bad. Sebastian has a girlfriend but is doing some shady crap behind her back which is something I strongly dislike in contemporaries. Cheating is never okay. He strings both girls along with no regards to either's feelings. Then we get the fake relationship to real relationship with Edie and Henry. I liked them together and if Edie had been all in instead of holding back and waiting for Sebastian they could have had something real. Instead it's two half-a**ed relationships.

Beyond the romance aspects we have Edie herself and her relationships with her cousins, Maria and Julia. Edie is fickle, rude and ungrateful. Her cousins try to be her friend and help her fit in. There is no effort on Edie's part to make her new life work or even be nice to her cousins. Maybe her aunt and uncle took her in for the wrong reasons, but her cousins wanted her there. Then again they were all sharing the same guy so there is bound to be a little tension in those relationships. How hard is it to be nice though?

Edie finished the book the same girl she had started as. I didn't see any character growth on her part. Even her last words are similar to her first words when she arrives in Mansfield. She annoyed me to no end and if it weren't for Henry I would've DNF'd this book. *SPOILER* After the whole love triangle, dumping Henry for Sebastian, and making Sebastian win her back she goes off to college and decides she "doesn't have time for boys" and is "focusing on her education." Okay then what was the whole last part of this book. I wanted to strangle her.

After all this hate I've been heaping on I feel like I should discuss what this book got right. Consent. While a bit of a man-whore, Henry had consent down. So while white and entitled he wasn't down with just taking what he wanted. Consent has been coming up a lot in contemporary YA novels lately and I'm here for it.

So yeah I basically hated this book and unless you actually like Mansfield Park I'd pass this over for another contemporary that doesn't want to make you pull your hair out.

For all its stylistic elegance and its iron-backboned heroine, Mansfield Park is the black sheep of the Jane Austen canon. It’s the book most likely to be placed at the bottom of “Which is your favorite Austen novel?” polls. Public opinion hovers somewhere between “That’s a book by Jane Austen?” and “Gross…cousins marrying.” For many readers, it’s the heroine that’s frustrating. Fanny Price is usually seen as duller than dishwater – her moral compass providing a guide for the plot, but no passion. Even though I’m a staunch fan of Mansfield Park and Fanny’s quiet strength, I can understand why not everyone enjoys it to the level I do. However, the novel’s understated beauty, full cast of characters who are neither fully good or fully bad and Jane Austen’s characteristic humor is all too good to miss. It is this magnetic, complex blend that I eagerly searched for in Jacqueline Firkins’ new Mansfield Park adaptation, Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things.

The book opens with Edie, the heroine (based off of Fanny Price), en route to live with her kind but absent uncle and his unkind and controlling wife (switched around a bit and based off of Mrs. Norris). Edie doesn’t fit in with her two very rich cousins, Maria and Julia, and not just in the financial category. They only care about fashion and kissing hot boys in the neighborhood, while Edie cares about writing music, reading classics, and avoiding romantic entanglements at all costs. Without her mom or best friend by her side, all she has left is her guitar without strings and memories of better times…including one blissful summer spent playing with the adventurous boy next door. Once she arrives at her new home, life becomes way more complicated than she imagined. For starters, that boy next door, Sebastian, is now a (secretly) aspiring author…and still magnetic to Edie. The only problem? He’s already dating someone way out of her league. Henry Crawford, the local handsome but slimy flirt, seems to think he can take turns trying out each of the Price cousins, including Edie. With college application deadlines looming and a mess of drama to contend with, what’s a level-headed, heartsore girl to do?

What I loved about this book is a long list! Chief among them is the writing. I felt connected to Edie every step of the way, more than I’ve felt for a heroine in a while. Her pain over her mom’s death, she struggles to fit in and yet not conform….these things were deftly and beautifully written. Readers expecting this adaptation to be written in the style of Jane Austen will be disappointed, although some characters do occasionally use long, 18th century words. In my opinion, however, because Firkins didn’t aim for replicating the style of Jane Austen’s original (a near-impossible task), she was able to consistently capture its heart. Twists and turns – some like the original, some uniquely different – weave a story that still centers around the main question: Can discovering and staying true to your values help you weather any storm and bring lasting happiness?

Two other plot-points I was really excited about was the redemption of Maria and the explanation of Henry’s motives. Maria is not initially likable (just like her namesake), but Edie finds that family loyalty can surprise one when one least expects it. Henry is still a self-obsessed flirt, but Firkins adds a touch of self-awareness and surprising depth to this character that was fun to see.

The only negative I had with Hearts, Strings, and Other Broken Things was its over-sexualization of teenage life. Whether it’s hated or loved about Fanny Price, her strong moral compass is a part of her character. Seeing her lookalike, Edie, focus a large portion of time on smoldering “staged” make-out sessions and having sexual fantasies of Sebastian was a jarring, out-of-character shift. I suppose one could draw a parallel between whispering behind stage curtains (Henry and Maria – 1800s) and making out in bushes at a party (Henry and Maria – modern-day) based on cultural mores changing…but I’m still a firm believer in romance being a pairing of “the marriage of true minds” with self-control, old-fashioned as it may be.

All in all, Hearts, Strings, and Other Broken Things is a strong Mansfield Park adaptation and a gripping novel in its own right. I recommend it for readers hesitant to try Austen’s original as a way of becoming immersed in the story. For longtime fans of Mansfield Park, check out this novel, highlighter—and tissue box—at the ready!

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**4.5 Stars**
This was 100% a book I chose to read because I thought the cover looked cute and I keep seeing it pop up everywhere on my book social media, but I had no idea what it was about. I discovered that this was an adorable, really heartfelt YA contemporary that I loved. It was complicated and emotional, making me happy, sad and angry all within a few pages and I was 100% invested in Edie and her life. I also discovered that this was a retelling of Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, which I have not read (don't judge, I am not a fan of classics) and know almost nothing about so I have no idea how similar this was to the classic, but I can confirm that it was great based on it's own merit.

I loved Edie so much. She was a pro at self reflection, knowing she had flaws and working to fix them while at the same time forgiving the errors of those around her. She was honest and straightforwards, if at times a bit meek, but her resolve to not give in to cheating and impulse made me root for her more. The relationship dynamics in the story were spot on. This was not a plot driven book but 100% character and relationship driven. Be it Edie missing her mom and coming to terms with the direction her life has taken, to her sorrow and regret over bad choices leading to the estrangement with her best friend, everything was complicated and engaging. The best relationship in the story was with her cousins, equally exasperating, loving, playful and tenuous. Seeing what they became together at the end was the highlight of the story.

"Her mom took Edie’s hands and held them, palms upward. “Anything you keep in these is temporary.” She laid a hand on Edie’s cheek and gently tapped her temple. “This is where you keep the good stuff.” She set a hand on Edie’s heart . “This thing’s fickle, but check in with it once in a while. Just bring that thing with you.” She tapped Edie’s temple again. “The two together can take you places no bus will ever go, and if anyone tells you otherwise, tell them to fuck right off.”


I am aware everything I have said about the book has been very positive, so why the 4.5 stars you ask? Because Edie picked the wrong boy! I don't care how the classic ends, but here there was a very clear winner (in my totally biased view) and he was not selected as her love interest. My heart just about broke when Edie threw away what could have been the best love of her life in exchange for a comforting, predictable blah relationship (with a dude I really did not like!). I am trying not to be spoilery, but one boy was a gorgeous unrepentant heartbreaker who wanted to be better and give her the sun and moon just to make her smile, and the other was an awkward jerk who lied and manipulated as well as basically cheated (I hate books that say cheating is ok!) while still leading Edie on. See?? Clearly, one guy was the winner. I will just pretend that the last few chapters did not exist...

I highly recommend this story for anyone who needs some contemporary YA romance and self discovery in their life and I can't wait to get my hands on more of the author's work in the future.

Nothing like reading a love triangle YA romance at the end of the semester to escape from reality. Jacqueline Firkins new book is a sweet story about Edie, a teenage girl who was taken in by her rich aunt for the summer instead of bouncing around from foster home to foster home. Edie falls in love with two boys - an old crush from her childhood and the brother of her crush's girlfriend. A fun loving story for those who like YA romance.

Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things, by Jacqueline Firkins, is a modern-day love story featuring the boy-next-door. 

Love is the last thing that should be on Edie Price's mind. She is in her final year before graduation, and she needs to spend her time studying and saving money to be able to go off to college in the fall. Life hasn't been easy for Edie. After the loss of her mom and spending months in foster care, Edie is not happy to learn that she will now be living with her prestigious aunt and uncle. Adding her name to the list of her aunt's "charity list" isn't something Edie is proud of.

Determined to just make it to the fall, Edie does her best to settle in with her new life living with her aunt and uncle. But her plans get derailed, when not one, but two, local boys enter her life.

Sebastian, the boy-living-next door, has been on Edie's mind ever since she met him. Now, she is living just next door to her childhood crush. He is everything she wants. But, he has a girlfriend

Henry, the new bad boy in town, is one that Edie wishes to stay very far away from. But his charm and charism ultimately wear Edie down, and she finds him falling into his wild ways.

In the end, Edie must decide what is best for her future and her heart. Be sure to check out Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things.

Additional Note - This novel features some mature relationship decisions. I would recommend it for high school and older students.