Hearts Made for Breaking

February 25, 2019
In Lark’s senior year of high school, her best friends decide she needs to change her romantic m.o. They’re tired of her moving through boys, then getting them to dump her before it gets serious. Try something real, her friends say, with someone who’s not like anyone she’s ever dated (“someone who’s not popular, who isn’t a team captain or an honor roll student”)—which is where Ardy comes in. He has just transferred to Lark’s school, and word is that he’s “undateable,” but he’s cute, and when Lark gets to know him, she sees that he’s weird in a good way—substantial, unique. But after she starts snooping into why he transferred rather than asking him, things get messy. Klein (Shuffle, Repeat) shows how Lark flirts to slide through life without letting anyone get too close, and how Ardy’s unconventionality frees Lark to be herself. Lark and Ardy feel genuine, and readers will become invested not only in their relationship but also in the risk-taking new Lark who emerges, who ’fesses up to mistakes and tries to fix them. Ages 12–up.

February 15, 2019
Lark Dayton finally finds a boy she wants to make out with for longer than a few weeks.Lark's best friends, Katie and Cooper (who is gay and of Persian descent), agree on nothing except that Lark is afraid of commitment. Before anything gets too serious, she convinces boys to break up with her. With nothing seemingly at stake, Lark accepts her friends' challenge to get a boy to fall for her, someone different than the popular boys she usually chooses, so she can truly break his heart by having the backbone to end the relationship herself. Ardy Tate causes her to feel things both new and unfamiliar, but Lark worries that he loves his best friend, Hope, who is Chinese-American with gay dads. (Lark, Katie, and Ardy are assumed white.) When Lark discovers unsettling rumors surrounding Ardy's past, she investigates, hoping to destroy his status as "Undateable." Despite her nonchalance regarding the long list of exes, readers will feel for Lark, who is learning to understand first love, combating the pressure she feels from friends, and struggling to deal with her parents' constant fighting. Insights into first-time sex and the unfairness of judging others by their pasts are genuine, giving the story an emotional depth that is more valuable than its lighthearted premise. A surprisingly pleasant read that emphasizes the importance of breaking patterns and making our own choices. (Fiction. 13-18)

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