BLOG TOUR: UNBREAK MY HEART by Melissa Walker w/ Guest Vlog

WELCOME to the Unbreak My Heart blog tour. Please welcome Melissa Walker to the blog today to share some of her writing methods. And she is here is person! Well, in video form at least.

Thank you so much for sharing Melissa!

Unbreak My Heart

Author: Melissa Walker

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Publication Date:

Source: Bloomsbury via Netgalley for review

The year that broke her heart. The summer that healed it. Sophomore year broke Clementine Williams’ heart. She fell for her best friend’s boyfriend and long story short: he’s excused, but Clem is vilified and she heads into summer with zero social life. Enter her parents’ plan to spend the summer on their sailboat. Normally the idea of being stuck on a tiny boat with her parents and little sister would make Clem break out in hives, but floating away sounds pretty good right now. Then she meets James at one of their first stops along the river. He and his dad are sailing for the summer and he’s just the distraction Clem needs. Can he break down Clem’s walls and heal her broken heart? Told in alternating chapters that chronicle the year that broke Clem’s heart and the summer that healed it, Unbreak My Heart is a wonderful dual love story that fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Susane Colasanti will flock to.

Now, as some of you may remember, I really enjoyed Melissa's Small Town Sinners earlier this year. You can read my review here. So I was really excited when Bloomsbury asked me to join the blog tour for Unbreak My Heart.  Yep, I jumped up and down a little and ran to tell my husband (who stared at me blankly and asked "Is that some chick-lit stuff?" Ugh, men! Anyway, I love it! So....

Here's what I thought:

Unbreak My Heart is a beautiful coming of age story about discovering who you really are and how mistakes help you ferret out the paths of life appreciate yourself and those closest to you.

Clementine Williams had a rough end to her year. She leaves for a summer sailing trip with her family with no friends and thinking she is an awful person who deserves to be alone and miserable. I really liked the way Clem revealed what happened little by little through small flashbacks, and as she reveals the pieces we learn more and more about the person she really is and how harshly she judges herself. 

When she meets James, things start to change. James is so lovable and happy and such a genuine person. I really loved his character and would love to actually be able to know him. (You know me and my fictional boys). Clem's relationship with James transforms her and eventually she takes a risk and finally tells her family and James what happened with Ethan and Amanda.

By far, my favorite character was Clem's little sister Olive. She is a funny, honest and insightful little girl who loves her sister unconditionally. Olive sees Clem for who she really s and forces her remember her true self. She is constantly trying to get the old Clem back, and eventually, she succeeds.

Overall, Unbreak My Heart was a great story about overcoming and coming to terms with mistakes, moving on, and truly understanding one's self. I recommend it to fans of YA contemporaries such as The Summer I Turned Pretty and Jennifer Echols' novels.

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