Cold Hands, Warm Heart

May 1, 2009
Gr 8-10-Fifteen-year-old Dani has a congenital heart defect and is waiting for a transplant. Fellow patients in the hospital include Wendy, a pesky 8-year-old awaiting a kidney, and 17-year-old Milo, the bad-boy love interest who abused his first transplanted liver and is determined to do better if given a second chance. Dani and Wendy become "transplant sisters" when they receive organs from the same donor, a 14-year-old competitive gymnast named Amanda. Readers come to know and appreciate Amanda through the remembrances of her older brother, Tyler, who discovers her true, caring nature when he searches through her computer files. Some of the characters are truly extraneous and the writing is sometimes clichéd, but readers will still feel the wrenching agony of the donor's family. The physical and emotional anguish that transplant recipients endure appears to be realistically portrayed, as is the strong language to express their anger and frustration. It is unfortunate that the book begins with a dreadfully erroneous description of a gymnastics meet, including gymnasts who vault over a pommel horse and swing from metal uneven parallel bars. It is difficult to trust the author's medical information after such a shaky introduction to the story. Nonetheless adolescent readers may be drawn to the drama surrounding organ transplants, the teen love affair, and the dynamics of Tyler and Amanda's sibling relationship."Patricia N. McClune, Conestoga Valley High School, Lancaster, PA"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2009
Grades 8-10 The social and psychological ramifications of organ transplantation on the lives of recipients and the family members of the recently deceased fuel the plot of this well-written novel. The lives of two teenage girls become literally connected after 14-year-old Amanda unexpectedly dies during a gymnastics meet, and Dani receives Amandas heart. Wolfson intersperses Danis account of how transplant technology influences her life with a third-person narrative that focuses on Amandas teenage brother, and adds a dollop of letters from the recipients of Amandas other organs (kidney, cornea, etc.). These three strands are compelling and give a full view of sibling loss, hospital friendship (and budding romance), and how donated organs canand cantaddress recipients spectrum of needs. Dani; Amandas brother, Tyler; and Milo, a teen awaiting a second liver transplant after abusing the first in typically adolescent ways, all ring true. Showing teens confronting unexpected emotions in both themselves and others, this novel is sure to please fans of realistic but gentle teen romance or medical stories.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)