Book: Another Little
Piece of My Heart
Author: Tracey Martin
Publisher: Harlequin
Teen
Source: Publisher via
Netgalley
Date: Available now
My grade: A+
What if your devastating break-up became
this summer’s hit single? In this rock-and-roll retelling of Jane Austen’s
Persuasion, music can either bring you together or tear you apart.
At her dying mother’s request, Claire dumps Jared, the only
boy she’s ever loved. Left with a broken family and a broken heart, Claire is
furious when she discovers that her biggest regret became Jared’s big break.
While Jared is catapulted into rock-star status, another piece of Claire’s
heart crumbles every time his song plays on the radio.
The summer after her senior year, it’s been
months since the big break-up, and Claire is just trying to keep her head down
and make it through a tense trip to the beach with her family. But when Jared
shows up, and old feelings reignite, can Claire and Jared let go of the past?
Or will they be stuck singing the same old refrain?
Initial reaction
Can I just pretend I haven’t read this so I can start all
over from the beginning and experience it again for the first time????
Cover story
It’s ok. I don’t love
it or hate it. I DID however, like the
title! In fact, this Janis Joplin song
is what caught my eye on this one. I
love Janis and I like the way the author used the title from a sixties musician
when it was a story about kids who are musicians that like sixties music…..wow. Talk about your run-on sentence. But still.
The title worked in so many ways for this one. I think a nice psychedelic cover would have
been cool also, but what do I know? I
don’t get paid the big bucks to make these covers……
What’s the story?
The first thing that attracted me to this book was the Janis
Joplin title. But when I read the
description and saw that it was a Jane Austen retelling, I was sold! This is loosely based on Persuasion, Jane
Austen’s final completed novel.
I loved this book. I
seriously loved it. I read it over a
week ago and I still keep thinking about it.
So here’s the story: Claire is
sort of the black sheep of her family. (Totally identified with that one!) Her parents are very wealthy and they run in
some high class society circles. Claire,
however, does not buy into all of that.
She makes friends with Jared, whose mom is divorced and they live in a
small house and they are not wealthy.
Eventually, Claire and Jared start dating. They bond over music (The Beatles!!!) and he
teaches her how to play guitar. But
Claire’s parents keep pressuring her.
And when Claire’s mother is dying of cancer, Claire gives in and breaks
up with Jared to make her dying mother happy.
He takes off for the summer and the next time she hears from him, it is
through a hit song on the radio. One
that he wrote. About a rich girl who
broke his heart because she thought she was better than him.
Great setup, right?
And it was well-executed. I felt
Claire’s pain acutely in the beginning of the novel. And when she runs into him unexpectedly in New
Hampshire after graduation, things really start to get fun! Now the tables have turned and Claire’s
family is in financial trouble while Jared is making tons of money on his
heartbreak song. What follows is a
hilarious, if sometimes frustrating, comedy of manners with lots of near-misses
and dumb decisions until everything comes together at the end.
Now, I know that there are going to be people who will give
this a negative review because they will be upset that Claire and Jared didn’t
just come right out and talk to each other.
Do you remember when you were a teenager? Or not even just a teenager? When you had been hurt by someone you love? Did you open yourself up and spill all the
truth or did you play around the edges?
Because that’s what a lot of us do.
It’s easy to stand on the sidelines and give advice, but I can remember
well doing exactly what Claire and Jared do.
And it must be pretty commonplace or else there wouldn’t be so, so many
stories that make use of this trope.
Even the Bard uses it. Just think
of all the misconceptions and issues that arise in Much Ado About Nothing
because of people not being straightforward!
So to the naysayers, I just want to point out that if it was okay with
Shakespeare, I think it’s ok with me. : )
On a side note, I have not been able to find this book as an actual book, only as an e-book. Am I missing something here? Because that is very disappointing! I want this book for my library, dammit!
In spite of my occasional frustration with the characters, I
loved this book. It was a cute, sweet
little story that was so much fun to read!
The characters reminded me a lot of myself and my friends in high
school, so that made it even better. If
you like music and you like Jane Austen and you like comedies of manners, you
can’t go wrong with Another Little Piece of My Heart. Just be prepared because
this book left me with a raging book hangover and it was hard to extract myself
from the story!
The Soundtrack
Well, Janis Joplin, duh!
What’s really cool is that Tracey Martin put her own soundtrack at the
end of the book! I’m only taking a
couple of her songs though.
Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin
Piece of My Heart by Erma Franklin (Aretha’s sister who
actually performed the original of this song!)
Thinking of You by Katy Perry
You’re the First, the Last, My Everything by Joshua Radin
1234 by The Plain White T’s
Love Comes Tumbling Down by Matt Nathanson
Here, There and Everywhere by The Beatles
The Final Grade
My final grade for this one is an A+. I loved this book. I can’t stop thinking
about the story and I think this may be one of my favorites for the year.
