Release Date: October 8, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Page Count: 336
Format: Hardcover
Prima ballerina Anthem Fleet is closely guarded by her parents in their penthouse apartment. But when she meets the handsome Gavin at a party on the wrong side of town, she is immediately drawn into his dangerous world. Then, in a tragic accident, Anthem falls to her death. She awakes in an underground lab, with a bionic heart ticking in her chest. As she navigates her new life, she uncovers the sinister truth behind those she trusted the most, and the chilling secret of her family lineage…and her duty to uphold it.
The Dark Knight meets Cinder in this gripping and cinematic story of heartbreak and revenge. From Alloy Entertainment, this inventive new superhero story is sure to captivate any reader.
I had the pleasure of meeting Amelia Kahaney back in March during the New York City Teen Author Festival and get my copy of The Broken Hearted signed but I had not read her book at that point in time. Fast forward to July and I've read The Broken Hearted as well as its sequel, The Invisible. While the book wasn't perfect it was fairly close to it and I highly enjoyed it (Dark Knight meets Cinder!!).
The idea of the world in The Broken Hearted is similar to a couple others (city split into two for the rich and the poor with violence in one half and not the other) but overall is different enough that it didn't detract from the reading experience. Individual details were very vivid but overall when describing the city as a whole wasn't as clear. One thing I found odd was that the tallest building in the city was described as having around 80 floors. The world seemed similar to real life in terms of technological prowess and the time line yet the buildings struck me as short. Other than that I don't have any others complaints for the world and settings in The Broken Hearted. If this was a fantasy novel I would consider the settings as inadequate but in a non-fantasy book such as this one it is more than enough.
Something I noticed within a few chapters of starting The Broken Hearted was that the plot was really fast. It kind of annoyed me, especially how fast Anthem started liking Gavin and visiting him every chance she got. They meet in one chapter and three more later they're going out and he's buying her jewelry and drawing murals for her. If you're someone who dislikes fast paced books than this is a warning to you that in this book it might detract from your reading experience. Other than that I enjoyed the plot, especially the twist cliffhanger it ended with. The characters weren't on the same level compared to other books but I still fell in love with them (and cried during The Invisible). I hated Gavin and Anthem's parents from the moment they were mentioned in the book but really like Jax and Anthem. Anthem proved that everyone can be hurt, even "superheroes" like her after the surgery. She certainly faced a lot of obstacles but fought her way through them, crying or wounded sometimes. Jax was the "mad" scientist who lost her career and normal life when she tried to heal her daughter's heart condition in an unorthodox way and failed. Not everyone might like her at first but at the latest, by the time you read the second book she will be one of your favorite characters. The Broken Hearted (especially its sequel) gets the privilege of being one of the few books whose characters made me cry.
The Invisible doesn't come out until October but having read an ARC of it I can say that everyone should buy it as soon as it comes out. My review of it will be posted sometime in August or September but I can assure you that all my complaints from The Broken Hearted are fixed in The Invisible and make it an amazing book. The Broken Hearted is perfect for people who like superhero elements and fast-paced books.
4/5 - Really good book
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